Whilst some of my books are driven by new ideas, others have their roots in notes, stories, or inspiration from years ago—sometimes the detail is lost to memory. When people ask, “Where do you get your ideas?”, I may honestly need to reply that I have no clue, especially concerning certain novels.

After the success of my debut, FLOORED, I trawled my PC for all the romcom bits and pieces I’d accumulated over the years—ideas which never became scripts because something else came along or, more likely, I wasn’t in the headspace for the genre.

(My back catalogue, written under my real name, consists of 10+ books, many of which have romance and/or comedy, but aren’t “true” romcoms).

APPY EVER AFTER is one of those stories whose genesis dates back over two decades.

In 2004, I wrote a screenplay entitled “THE GIRL WHO STOLE THE EIFFEL TOWER”. At the time, I was fond of homages, in-jokes, references and movie-led inspiration – partially because I was going through a period of screenwriting. This title is taken, unashamedly, from the Audrey Hepburn film “Paris When It Sizzles”, the plot of which centres around the shooting of a fictional movie (called “The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower”). I was also influenced by “Matinee (1993)”, which contains a film within it – a spoof horror called “Mant”.

However, the title was chosen for relevancy, not merely self-amusement!

The story centred around a matchmaker, Sam, who works as a business consultant, meeting Amanda, an ice hockey player. I’ll keep the details of the non-romance plot a secret, because this was cast aside in the rewrite – but will return in a later book!

Sam largely remains intact as a character, especially his romantic fixation on a meet-cute in Paris. In APPY EVER AFTER, it’s venture capital manager Beth who hopes to steal his heart, thereby denying Sam his dream French girl and his “destiny”. 

[In the original screenplay, Amanda is jokingly referred to as “the girl who stole your Eiffel Tower fantasy”. (I had to crowbar the book’s title in somewhere, so readers got the meaning of the title – even if none would ever know that I nicked the title from a movie!)] 

The rewrite came about because I wasn’t “feeling” the years-old storyline. Chiefly, it had too much plot, with lots of ideas thrown in. It also had lots of visual scenes, including a montage… which is ideal in a screenplay, but not in a book.

At the time, I was planning future books and realised there were essentially two good storylines trying to coexist. It seemed a shame to waste the “Paris destiny” plot on a romcom that was essentially a sports romance (because Amanda is an ice hockey player).

The easy (!) solution was to split the idea in two, reserve Amanda’s story for later, and go ahead with Sam’s in APPY EVER AFTER.

[Amanda is now Callie, and she’s mentioned in MATCH DAZE and WICKET MAIDEN. I took the name Callie (Calliope) from “Grey’s Anatomy”, a show which also sowed the seed for the plot of FLOORED… which is the first in the romcom series of which APPY EVER AFTER is the second instalment. Everything is subtly related!]

So, having ditched Sam’s potential love interest, I needed a replacement. I wanted a strong female character, someone in a position to be more than merely a girl that Sam falls for—especially because the central obstacle of the story is that he doesn’t explicitly fall for her.

The idea of Sam turning his matchmaking gift into an app gave him a plot line, and putting Beth in as his business partner forces them together, working towards a common goal. This goal is significant for Beth, as she’s coming out of a divorce, somewhat jaded about dating, and desperate for an app—or even a matchmaker—to help her with a second chance romance.

This led to the plot being centred around a series of dates which are part of the research and specification phase for the app—providing a great way for Beth and Sam to bond, banter, and flirt. In a heartbeat, this became a fake dating romcom, with much more sexual tension than in any book I’ve written to date… until you read Callie’s story, that is!

Importantly, Paris still forms a theme, as do a few nods to Casablanca. This movie—one of my favourites—has been mentioned in my work as far back as 1995, but this time there’s a twist because at one point I’m not actually riffing on Casablanca, but on the Red Dwarf episode where they homage the film! Shameless, I know, but if it makes the reader laugh, that’s what’s important. In fact, the line, the pun, from Red Dwarf has been living in my head for years, and it’s nice to finally borrow it, using it as part of illustrating Beth’s home life. Her pet is more than an excuse for one line—he’s there for comic relief and an alternative to a bestie that Beth might pour her heart out to.

One of the issues with the original screenplay was that the dénouement—a mad dash to get the girl—was too engineered and required the reader to suspend too much disbelief. As an author who likes to write relatable stories and characters, I had to ditch the ending, primarily as it centred around an ice hockey match! Nevertheless, Sam still gets his grand display of affection… paired with a British awkwardness that’s one of my trademarks.

So, as in the book, Beth and Sam have come to the story from different directions, but they seem to belong together…