The Honeymoon Affair is a novel about dealing with life as it is, and not as it might have been. It’s about finding what makes you happy and having the courage to embrace change, even when it’s unexpected and unwelcome.
Izzy was within weeks of getting married, but is devastated when her boyfriend calls off the engagement. Ariel is questioning her ability to stay successful in her career as a literary agent while younger and more ambitious agents are snapping at her heels. Ariel and Izzy don’t know each other but they’re brought together by Charles, Ariel’s client (and ex) who Izzy meets at what was to be her wedding location. Charles has issues of his own, not least that he’s a successful author struggling with writer’s block and a looming deadline. All three are facing seismic and unwanted changes in their lives, and they’re struggling to accept them.
Character building is a very important part of my books and I hope my readers enjoy finding out what makes Izzy, Ariel and Charles tick and how they deal with the unexpected.
I enjoy using location as an integral part of plot development, and I’ve chosen one of my favourite places in the world, the Caribbean, as a tropical backdrop to part of this novel. As always, though, there’s a lot of action in my own home city of Dublin where I name-check two of my local pubs!
Authors are often advised to write what they know, and as I’ve been in the publishing world for over thirty years now, that’s what I’m doing. It was nice to write about a literary agent as well as an author, a relationship that’s pivotal in The Honeymoon Affair. But it’s also fun to do research on other jobs. It matters to me that my characters have well-defined jobs and careers, and I had great fun researching the work of Customs Officers at Dublin Port for Izzy’s character. I can see the Port from my house, so it was lovely to be able to include it.
Happy reading!
You can now pre-order The Honeymoon Affair by Sheila O’Flanagan.
