February is celebrated as the month of 💘love!💝 I say every day has the opportunity to be Valentine's Day so why save it for just one day? 🥰
Despite how you feel about the actual day itself or whether you intend to celebrate it, over the next week or so I will be posting about the characters I've created -- The couples within my stories. If you've read my books, you'll recognize them and you can comment on your own views. If you haven't, I hope these intrigue you to read more.
Now, I should remind everyone that I write closed-door romance. My reasonings were discussed in last week's post (Feb 03 2025, titled "Where's the Romance?") but you can expect PDA and flirting at most in my books. Insinuations and innuendoes as well. But does that make for a crappy romance book? Nope. In fact, I doubt you'll even miss the spicy scenes.
(NOTE: All photos are AI representations of the characters created using various AI apps on Canva.)
So let's get started!
Angelina Sutton is working as a ballroom dance instructor at Baldasarre's Ballroom and is in her last semester of college. Her friends and coworkers are also her roommates. She had been in love once before but it ended in a tragic way. But Angelina found an unexpected friend who knew similar grief when she answered the phone at work one night, and on the other end was her boss's best friend.
Ryan Carson is a soldier, gone from Cedar Grove for the last decade. His two life long best friends are Chris Enright and Greg Powell. Chris is Angelina's boss, while Greg used to date dance instructor Paige Marshall, who is Angelina's coworker and roommate. He isn't the same person he was when he had left Cedar Grove ten years ago when he was known as the Carson Heir. He hadn't expected that calling the ballroom last year, having his calls avoided by Chris, would lead to anything he'd think about constantly, let alone want to keep connected. When his father recieves a grim diagnosis of cancer, Ryan is called home.
Home means family. Home means friends and good times. Home means taking Angelina out too see if what they have built has a future.
But Chris and Greg have other plans.
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Author Q&A: ⚠️May contain spoilers!⚠️
Q: How did you come up with Ryan and Angelina?
Angelina was actually a thought in my head way back in the day when I was browsing through the toy section of a Target, looking for gifts for my young niece and nephews. My eyes fell upon a Barbie doll. That particular Barbie doll had a story behind her so I put it in my cart. I wheeled around to the next aisle and there they had the 12-inch GI Joe action figures (This was the early 2000s so they still had really cool toys.) Once again one caught my eye and I thought, "Hmmmm, what if..." And the story began. Of course, at the time I was heavily involved in ballroom dancing, which was the love of my life back then, so I knew I had to incorporate that into the story.
Q: Why are they both 'shy' about who they are?
In the dance world, there are so many different kinds of personalities. All walks of life come in to learn how to dance and take lessons. So you could be among college students, postal employees, police officers, judges, politicians, well-to-do widows, lawyers, CEOs, and every other job you could imagine. Everyone had different upbringings, went to different schools, and had different life paths. So what if...Two people who had similar upbringings, who were both seen for who their family was, and just want to be seen for who they are, not the glamour of their family. And then what if they just happened to meet? And what if.... So, yeah, you get it.
Q: Talking about the Cedar Grove series, which characters do you relate the most to and why?
I relate wholeheartedly to Angelina and Ryan's plight in Along the Way. While some people out there are real go-getters in every single area of their life, I'm only that way in some areas, some of the times, when it matters most to me. Dating was always something that came difficult to me because I do believe I was overly considerate and empathetic in taking other people's thoughts and feelings in consideration, even giving the other person a load of excuses and reasons for their behavior which may or may not have been true (like maybe they're working...Or busy with family...Or maybe they really did have plans already.) In my teens and twenties, I really lived mostly in my head, but that's not surprising given that I'm an author. Second, third, tenth chances, all the while figuring eventually it'll all come together because sometimes people are hard headed (OK. It was me. I'm hard headed.) Of course, experience is the greatest teacher and you have to learn or you keep repeating it until you do. I know I drove some people nuts. While some friends would give advice on how to do something, that advice always backfired because it wasn't me -- such as "Why don't you just walk up and ask him out?" and "Just call him." (Complete and utter failures each time and you'd think I'd had learned from that. Nope. Persistence. Ha.) So that's why in Along the Way, Ryan and Angelina and their dealings with themselves and their friends, I can completely empathize. They are living in their heads a lot, and then what they are thinking doesn't always match what they actually say. And I know there is someone, somewhere in their life, who just wants to shake some sense into them (Their friends are much too understanding and accepting of them balking at what everyone knows is meant to be, I know.) Now, the older me would do things completely different. The older and cantankerous me would tell the younger shy me this: You deserve to be someone's priority, not their option. If they can't find the time to see or talk to you, then they are not worth your time. There is no excuse. Period. Actions always speak louder. Always. Always. Always. Sometimes people can and will grow and change, sometimes they can't and don't, and sometimes they will never be the person that you thought they were. Don't waste your time or energy chasing anyone who isn't chasing you back because we have to refer back to the original point -- You aren't an option. Know who you are, be at peace with who you are, and don't compromise for second or third best, because perhaps it is them who isn't "enough." Of course, that leads to the best advice I've ever heard: "Never compare yourself to others -- They are more screwed up than you think." Which is true. You never know what is truly going on with someone else and what battles they are fighting in their head. But still, if you want something you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. If I wrote this series from my perspective today, it'd be a whole different story. But, I was able to write it way back in my 20s with the experience and perspective I had back then. Overall, I think Ryan and Angelina, and their friends, would be fun people to know in real life. I'd get along with them all...Except for Chris. Nobody likes Chris's behavior. Don't be a Chris Enright.
Q: Would you have changed anything about their story or their romance?
No. When it comes to love and matters of the heart, not everyone is confident all of the time. The fear of being hurt, of being wrong about the other person's intentions, and heartaches of the past play a major role in our confidence levels. At first there is always a "could it be?" and questioning everything. One hand is always on the door, ready to admit defeat and that they "knew" it wasn't right. But time is the only thing that gets us over it. Time and just seeing where it goes is what builds the confidence. Actions over words.
Q: It's Valentine's Day. What songs are Ryan and Angelina going to dance to?
It's been over 25 years since I wrote their story. I've included several song titles in the book but today I'd say they'd either dance to Stargazing (Moonlight Version) by Myles Smith or Dance with Me by Morgan Evans with Kelsea Ballerini. Both songs are on Amazon Music if you wanted to listen.
If you have read Along the Way and Wherever It Goes, what sticks out to you about Ryan and Angelina? Who are your favorite characters and why? What surprised you about their story?
There is always an adventure in an Em Brooks book -- Get started today! You can find
Along the Way and Wherever it Goes at Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Audible, and kindle, as well as on Kindle Unlimited.
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