And it just goes to show that you don’t have to write what you know. Because I emphatically do not know how to be romantic. I’m the “dishwasher is a good gift because it’s practical” type of romantic. I’m oblivious and quiet, and I listen more than I talk, quite often.

So how did I win a GCLS Award for mid-length romance?

Faith and work, I suppose. My wife had faith in me, believing that I can write anything I put my mind to, and boy, did I have to work at it. But Fragments of the Heart was also a lot of fun to write. I really loved the characters, and I really understood what made them tick. I suppose that’s always the answer when it comes to writing: you have to really get your characters. You have to know that they’re out there, just waiting for you to write their story.

I fell a little in love with Shawn, to be honest. She’s the first neurodiverse character I’ve written, and I really felt for her when she was faced with so many challenges that forced her out of her comfort zone. And being attracted to someone so opposite to you can be really scary, too. Maybe there’s more of me in Shawn than I realized…

Getting an award for this book makes me feel like a writer. Yes, it’s technically my thirteenth book, but writing in a new genre, one that doesn’t come naturally to me, had me doubting myself. Now I feel like maybe I’ve got a piece of this writing thing going for me.

Maybe there’s hope for me as a romantic after all…