We chat with author Emily Stone about Yours For The Season, which is a charming holiday romance where one woman fakes a relationship with her ex over Christmas in Scotland and could be the perfect opportunity for revenge—or a second chance at love…
Hi, Emily! Welcome back! It’s been a year since we last spoke. How have you been and what have you been up to?
Hello! I’m really good thanks! I’ve been busy writing mainly – and I have acquired a dog! She is a rescue dog from a charity here in the UK. I was supposed to be fostering her temporarily while she found a new home, but she got rather attached to me and I have ended up keeping her…
Your latest novel, Yours for the Season, is out October 7th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Festive, Scotland, romance, family, tension
What can readers expect?
It’s a second chance romance set in the Scottish Highlands in the days leading up to Christmas. With the festive period looming, Mel is trying to concentrate on her jewelry business, and not think about the fact that this Christmas is going to be a tough one. When her ex-boyfriend, Finn, knocks on her door, she doesn’t know whether to punch him or slam the door in his face, given he very publicly broke up with her months ago – and broke her heart at the same time. What’s more, he’s asking hre to pretend they’re back together and spend the Christmas period with his family in a cottage in the Scottish Highlands. She agrees on one condition – she can publicly dump Finn at the end of the week and show him just how it feels.
But of course, spending time with your ex in close proximity is never easy, and it doesn’t take long for feelings to resurface, as much as Mel tries to pretend otherwise…
Where did the inspiration for Yours for the Season come from?
I’m not sure there was any one thing that sparked the idea, but I really wanted to write a second chance romance, with a slight not to enemies to lovers, which is one of my all time favourite tropes. I’m half Scottish, so writing a book mainly set in Scotland felt really special!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
This novel is a little lighter than some of my others, so I had a lot of fun writing it! I particularly loved leaning into the banter between Mel and Finn at times. And I loved spending time researching the Scottish Highlands!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The book is told from both Mel and Finn’s point of view, but Finn’s chapters are all in flashback, from the moment he met Mel, right up until the moment he breaks up with her. I had to play around with the flashback scenes to find out what worked – that was probably the biggest edit in the end.
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
Best advice is probably to never give up – it’s an oldie but a goodie! I also love a tip on scene structure – get in as late as you can and out as early as you can into a scene, in order to help with pace. Worst advice is harder… Probably the worst advice was that you shouldn’t write in a certain genre because it’s ‘done’ – many years later, I’ve seen that genres come and go in terms of popularity, so even if something isn’t hot right now, it might be in a few years!
What’s next for you?
I’ve got quite a lot on at the moment! But right now I’ll be working on edits for my new festive romance, which is going to be called Counting Down To You and will be released next autumn. It was a really special book to write – partly because it made me so emotional. It’s about Ali, whose best friend Robyn died just under a year ago. They always had a tradition to set each other ‘challenge calanders’ instead of chocolate advent calendars – and this year is no different. Ali has one last calendar from Robyn to complete, with lots of challenges that push her out her comfort zone – and some which made me tear up a little.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I wish I’d had more time to read this year – I feel like I’ve been writing a lot with different hats on! I’ve had a brief stint reviewing books for a magazine called My Weekly here in the UK, so I’ve read some good ones doing that, one of which was The Last Days of Summer by Sarra Manning, which is both funny and heart-wrenching, the way I like them. My TBR is endless – I’ve got a lot of fantasy and romantasy on the list, including The Jasad Heir, which I’ve heard great things about. I also MUST read Quicksilver to see why everyone loves it… I’m also very excited about Ali Hazelwood’s Mate as I loved Bride!
