Greetings from cherry blossom season in Tokyo 🌸🌸🌸

It’s been a while since I sent out a newsletter. I mean to send one every month, but this year got off to a rocky start, culminating in an emotionally exhausting, crazy-busy March.

Spring break in Japan occurs between school years. The final semester ends in March and the new school year begins in the first week of April. This year the dates worked out to leave only 12 days of break for multiple ballet rehearsals and recitals, a special gymnastics class, a few park outings (can’t miss those blossoms 😅), and going through all the preparations for the new school year. And my husband’s movement disorder (dystonia) necessitated an operation (baclofen pump insertion), which put him in the hospital for half of the month. Oh, March, let’s not do 2022 again.

But I was able to start and finish a contribution for a New Year historical romance anthology scheduled for publication this November. Mine is the short story of a talkative heroine and shy hero with a long-standing mutual crush. Against the backdrop of Tokyo’s Sweets and Spirits ball, they finally connect, and, wow, the sparks! The kisses! 

This story takes place in 1872 about a decade after Japan lifted its 250-year ban on foreign residents and a few years after foreigners were given reclaimed land in Tokyo to build the foreign quarter of Tsukiji. In the space of those few years, the foreign community put up hotels, churches, schools, and a neighborhood of homes. They set Tsukiji on course to resemble a London or Boston suburb, which was how visitors for decades to come would describe the foreign quarter.

Now, I’m tweaking the second installment of the Tokyo Whispers series. This one takes place in 1900. It’s the love story of Marcelle, lady’s maid turned modiste, from Talk of Tokyo and Shige, an overseas Japanese who returns to Tokyo to open Japan’s first department store and marry an aristocratic Japanese woman of his mother’s choosing. Spoiler alert: mother is not pleased.

I’m also thinking about romance tropes for future books. What tropes do you like? Which ones can’t you stand?

My favorites in historical romance are enemies to lovers, bluestockings, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and second chance. I’m not a big fan of secret baby, secret/unknown nobility, and age gap. Looking forward to hearing yours!

Also, please don’t forget to leave reviews for Talk of Tokyo and Scandals of Tokyo. Even just the star(s) would be fine. Reviews give authors a way to gauge a book’s reception and guide other readers to books. Thanks if you’ve already left a review. You can leave reviews on BookBub, Goodreads, and online retailers like Amazon.

Wishing you a beautiful, petal-filled spring,
Heather

These are the cherry trees at the school next to our home. On windy days, the petals shower our yard, balcony, clothing, hair, and it’s lovely.