Читать книгу The Divorce Party - Jennifer Hayward - Страница 6

Dear Reader

This story begins on a cold winter day with a cup of coffee, a newspaper and a real-life party that sparked a tale that just had to be told.

On the front page of my newspaper that morning was the story of a lavish divorce party a Manhattan billionaire was throwing to celebrate the end of his three-year marriage. The embossed invitations, the incredibly civilized approach to the end of a union due to irreconcilable differences fascinated me. What would bring a couple to this point? Why would anyone want to end their marriage in front of family and friends?

I started to wonder—what if the billionaire didn’t really want a divorce? What if what he really wanted was his wife back and this was the only way he could get her in the same room with him? What if they were madly in love but the very act of being together destroyed them? Could this marriage ever be saved?

My billionare became sexy Italian wine magnate, Riccardo De Campo, and his feisty, on-the-run wife, Lilly.

I’ve dreamed of writing romances for as long as I can remember, but the story of Riccardo and Lilly’s tempestuous relationship was special. It got me out of bed one night to write the first chapter while I was knee-deep in another book and wouldn’t let me go until I’d written ‘the end.’

I entered Riccardo and Lilly’s story, The Divorce Party, in Harlequin’s 2012 So You Think You Can Write contest, hoping others would love it as much as I did. Never dreaming the De Campos would capture the imagination of so many people and win me the publishing contract I’ve always wanted. Every minute of that journey was magical.

I’ve had a hard time letting Riccardo and Lilly go. I hope you do, too.

Enjoy!

Jennifer

I’d love to hear from you! I can be reached at

www.jenniferhaywardromance.com.

or on Twitter: @jenhayward_