A shortlist of UNDER THE ROSE tasting notes...
One of the (many) stages of my drafting process involves boiling down all the major themes, ideas and conflicts into a handful of colorful post-it notes that I pin up on my wall. It helps my writer brain zero in on the "hook" (what makes it juicy), what's keeping them apart (what makes it even juicier) and the overall texture (the juiciest!). The texture details appear sporadically (and sloppily) in the first few drafts until I finally smooth it all out- but they're my touchpoint while writing, an important reminder of the feel, the flavor, the sounds and smells and world-building aspects that are not just my favorite things to write, but my very favorite things to read.
From the desk of Kathryn Nolan -- my post-it notes for UNDER THE ROSE were:
Snarky, enemies-rivals-competitors-to-lovers
Historic Philadelphia
Prohibition-era secrets
Flickering candlelight
Code words
Masks
Love letters
Dangerous mysteries
Glamorous wealth (pearls, diamonds, gowns, martinis)
Heart-pumping adrenaline
Delicious slow-burn
UNDER THE ROSE is coming on Friday, April 3rd!
Rivals-to-lovers. Action-packed fun. Romantic suspense. The Codex team is back, baby! Keep your eyes peeled for a cover-and-blurb reveal soon. The cover is this-close to being finalized and I am low-key o b s e s s e d with it!
UNDER THE ROSE is the second book in the Codex series. It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading BEHIND THE VEIL first (because it's so damn good!)
If you haven't read BEHIND THE VEIL, it's a steamy, suspenseful, fake-marriage, action-packed romp with book thieves and private detectives and limo sex (😏) And it's currently free on KU!
