The Story Behind the Story

People often ask where my story ideas come from.

Usually, they begin with a question that won’t leave me alone. But Unforgettable had a different seed.

It started with a character.

Cameron Shades has been quietly waiting in the wings for years, hoping I’d finally tell his story. His older brother, Jonas, appeared decades ago in Blackmailed Bride for Harlequin Intrigue. A few years later, I wrote his sister Juliana’s story in Hidden Legacy. But Cameron’s turn never came.

Some characters whisper. Some shout (thinking of Max from Rescue You!) Cameron simply waited until the right story came along.

While writing The Art of Mending Hearts, I mentioned that Dalia’s grandmother lived at The Good Shepherd, a small independent-living home in Brighton Village.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

I knew Cameron had found the place where his story belonged.

If you’ve read the earlier Shades family books, you may remember little glimpses of Cameron’s personality—his bad boy image, his love of jazz, and the sensitivity he often tried to hide. Miranda saw that sensitive part of him as a teenager. She was right.

Cameron is a gentle soul.

He’s also carrying wounds that have shaped his life in ways that almost destroyed him. For years, he searched for healing in all the wrong places.

Until Miranda needed him.

As their story unfolded, it grew into much more than romance. It became a story about home, belonging, protecting the people we love, and discovering that sometimes the family we choose changes us forever.

I hope Unforgettable leaves you smiling, believing a little more in second chances, and feeling as though you’ve spent time with friends.

Unforgettable arrives August 25, and preorders mean so much to authors. If Brighton Village feels like somewhere you’d like to visit, I’d be honored if you reserved your copy today.

https://www.amazon.com/Unforgettable-Love-Brighton-Village-Book-ebook/dp/B0H85N2YJ2

Warmly,

Sylvie

P.S. If you’re planning to visit Jonas and Juliana’s stories in Blackmailed Bride or Hidden Legacy, just know they’re romantic suspense novels written earlier in my career and are a bit steamier than my Brighton Village books.