Back Home at Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy: A Wonderful, Wintry Love Story

Back Home at Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy is a wonderful love story set against wintry Firefly Lake, Vermont; perfect to curl up with by the fire sipping a large mug of hot chocolate!
It's the third part of Jen's Firefly Lake trilogy which focuses, this time, on Cat McGuire, Nick's sister from Summer on Firefly Lake (although each of the books stands alone) and NHL* hero and Olympian ice hockey player, Luc Simard.
However, for me, re-engaging with all the other characters in the previous two books was like going back home, and I'd settled in before the end of the first chapter!
Firefly Lake is a small town community, and Jen Gilroy gives an excellent picture of what you'd imagine it to be like to live there in the winter time: snow, ice, hockey, everyone knowing everyone's business and, romance!
Cat has returned to the town with her daughter, Amy. She has a grant to work on a research project, which she hopes will get her that university job she's dreamt of for years, but she doesn't want to stay with her mother, Gabrielle, at Harbor House, preferring to be self-sufficient and rent an apartment over the craft gallery in return for payment and helping out.
Widower, Luc, Nick's friend, whose dad and brothers run the creamery, has left NHL after a shoulder injury and returned to the lake as well, building a new house where he can make a new start and get over the death of his wife, Maggie, who was expecting their first baby. However, the junior league ice hockey coach breaks his leg, so Luc takes over the training and allows twelve-year-old Amy, a keen hockey player back in Boston, to join the team.
After all these years since they were together at school, when although he was friendly enough, and she admired him from a distance, Cat and Luc can't help finding each other attractive, but is this what they both really want and where will it end, especially when Amy tries to get them together?
It's an engrossing story, full of ups and downs that make you want to keep reading to the final page to find out what happens! I loved it.

*National Hockey League, for those not living in North America!

Summer on Firefly Lake - Interview with RNA Author, Jen Gilroy

Welcome to my blog, Jen, please make yourself at home. I've made a Victoria sponge cake with jam and cream which I hope you'll like, perhaps washed down with a good cup of English Breakfast tea?

You know, I've really enjoyed reading your latest book, Summer on Firefly Lake, and I'm so pleased you're here so I can ask you some questions about it! 

Thank you for inviting me to chat with you again, Jean. I’m happy to be here and talk about my Firefly Lake books with you and your readers. As you know, I lived in England for many years and am a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA). Visiting your blog is a virtual trip to my second home! Victoria sponge cake is my favourite and not well known in Canada, and I'd love a cup of English Breakfast tea too. Thank you!

1.     Firefly Lake is a beautiful setting for a novel. Have you ever thought of living in such a place to get inspiration for your writing?

I’m glad you like the setting for my Firefly Lake books. I’d like to live in the fictional Firefly Lake, Vermont, myself!

In terms of the sense of community and inter-connectedness, though, I live in a small town much like Firefly Lake so don’t have to look far for writing inspiration. My town doesn’t have a lake, but there are many lakes and rivers nearby and in summer, I often go to such places to read and plot.

I’m rooted in the kind of small-town world I depict in my fiction so (with a large infusion of imagination), I’m in many ways ‘writing what I know.’

2.     What influenced you to write about Kylie, the troubled twelve-year-old? And what sort of research did you have to do?

As part of finding my writing voice (and long before I was published), I read and wrote young adult fiction. Within the context of romantic women’s fiction, I still enjoy writing about younger characters and the joys, as well as challenges, they bring to the lives of adult protagonists. Kylie’s character was born from that interest.

I have vivid memories of being Kylie’s age, and although I was blessed to grow up in a loving and supportive family, I had schoolmates who weren’t so fortunate. Kylie’s character is loosely based upon their experiences, but I also read widely about fostering from the perspective of both child and caregiver and learned from friends who have looked after troubled youth.  

3.     Was it easier to write Summer on Firefly Lake when the scene was already set in The Cottage at Firefly Lake? Did it help, or did you feel restricted by it?

In some ways, yes, it was easier to write Summer on Firefly Lake because I’d already got to know Firefly Lake and some of the people who lived there in my first book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake. 

Nick and Mia, the hero and heroine of Summer on Firefly Lake, were introduced in Cottage so I already had a good sense of their characters, motivations and challenges. When I started writing Summer, though, they still surprised me, as characters always do, and new characters came on the scene and wanted their stories told.

Although I wouldn’t say I felt restricted by writing a second book also set in Firefly Lake, it did mean I had to be extra careful in double-checking details at every stage. It’s easy to use different names for the same secondary character in different books, or be inconsistent when mentioning eye colour and other physical characteristics. I’m grateful to copy editors and proof readers everywhere (and mine in particular) for catching little glitches I missed.

Suffice to say that for the future, I’ve learned the importance of creating a series ‘bible’ from the start!

4.     I enjoyed reading about Gabrielle’s love affair. What inspired you to write about an older woman being in love?

Although much contemporary romantic fiction focuses on younger characters, I’m a fan of what in North America is called ‘seasoned romance’—stories with older heroes and heroines. The hero and heroine of Summer on Firefly Lake are both thirty-nine so are somewhat ‘seasoned.’ However, since I believe it’s never too late to find love, I wanted to give Gabrielle, the hero’s mother, her own happy ending as part of a secondary romance.

Since all my books take place amidst a network of families and communities, it made sense to include more mature characters and give them their own romantic storyline. Young people don’t have a monopoly on falling in love, and so far, Gabrielle was one of my favourite characters to write. It touches my heart that many readers have warmed to her.

5.     The third novel in the Firefly Lake trilogy, Back Home at Firefly Lake, is out in the UK on 28th December 2017, can you say which characters from the first two books are in it, as it was great seeing Sean and Charlie from Book 1 in Book 2?

Many characters from the first two books reappear in Back Home at Firefly Lake including Charlie and Sean and their baby; Mia, Nick and their new blended family; Gabrielle and Ward; and more. The hero and heroine of Back Home at Firefly Lake are historian Cat McGuire and retired NHL ice hockey player, Luc Simard, who were also introduced in previous books.

As a reader, one of the reasons I enjoy reading a series is because I get to know familiar characters, as well as their community. As an author, that’s the feeling I want to create in my books, and I love giving glimpses of previous characters experiencing their “happy-ever-after.”

Back Home at Firefly Lake takes place in the winter, and I hope readers will enjoy curling up with this story to experience the small town blanketed with snow, ice skating on the frozen lake, New Year celebrations and more.

6.    In your blog, you talk about a new series of novels set in a family bakery. It sounds delicious! What made you choose this new setting?

Thank you for reading my blog, Jean. I’m glad the new series I mentioned sparked your interest. I enjoy baking and, when I travel, I seek out local bakeries. They’re often family-run and have a long history in their community. 

When I started writing this new series, and as often happens for me, the bakery setting almost chose itself. Alongside a central romance, though, I wanted to explore multi-generational family relationships and a family bakery lent itself to that kind of story.

The small town where I live has a bakery that has been in operation since 1885. I can do ‘research’ on my doorstep and writing a bakery-set story is the perfect reason to sample sweet treats to ensure my fictional world is realistic!

Thank you so much, Jen, for spending time with me on my blog today. I can't wait for the Christmas Holidays to be 'Back Home at Firefly Lake'! 

If you've enjoyed this interview with Jen as much as I have, and you would like to find out more about her books and her new life in Canada, please visit:

Website: www.jengilroy.com

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Summer on Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy - A Deep and Loving Story

Many of us have rented a holiday home for two weeks by a lake or beside the sea, but how many of us wonder about the lives of the people who live there all year round, or the visitors who stay so regularly that they become part of the community and therefore inextricably intertwined with them?
Jen Gilroy paints a beautiful picture of the seasons in Vermont, in the second novel of her trilogy, Summer on Firefly Lake, and the lake itself becomes almost another character in the story, reflecting the actions of the people involved in and around it.
You don't have to have read her first book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, because each stands alone, but that one centres on Sean and Charlie who rekindle their love after twenty years, and this one concerns Nick, Sean's friend, and Charlie's sister, Mia, although Sean and Charlie do appear!
Nick is a high-flying lawyer in New York. He is back at the lake to help his mother sell the family home, Harbor House, after her illness, and move into a bungalow as fast as possible so he can return to the big city on Labor Day.
Mia is settling at the lake with her daughters, Naomi and Emma, to be near Charlie because her husband, Jay, has gone off with a younger woman.
Neither want a relationship: Mia, because of the way Jay has treated her, and Nick, because his wife Isobel left him too, but as the summer progresses they begin to fall in love, but will it be the sort of love that will make them want to stay together forever?
Gabrielle, Nick's mother, also falls in love with Ward, a man who is visiting the lake to make a wildlife film, and it is touching to see people in their sixties facing the same problems of commitment as the younger ones.
Another key character is Kylie, a twelve-year-old who has spent her life in foster care.  Her social worker has arranged for her to spend some time at Camp Rainbow which has been set up in the cottage that belonged to Mia and Charlie's mother. When Mia and Nick take an interest in her, she tries to keep them together, just like Gabrielle does because to her Mia is the perfect woman for her son.
Nick and Mia do appear to be a perfect match, but it becomes clear that events in their teens are keeping them from each other too. Will they be able to let go of the past and their desire for independence and freedom, or will they find independence and freedom together at Firefly Lake?
I really enjoyed Jen Gilroy's deep and loving story which explores the love between lonely adults, the love between a son and his mother, and the love that can be shared with a lonely child.
I'm looking forward to her third book, Back Home at Firefly Lake. It's out in the UK on December 28th 2017, and it's got snow on the cover! Perfect for reading after Christmas!
 

Guest Interview - Jen Gilroy Talks About Her Debut Novel - The Cottage at Firefly Lake

Hello Jen, and welcome to my blog. It’s lovely to have you here today to talk about your debut novel, The Cottage at Firefly Lake (Grand Central, Forever, January 2017).

Thank you for inviting me to visit, Jean. I’m delighted to be here to talk about my first book with you and your blog readers.

Some mistakes can never be fixed and some secrets never forgiven . . . but some loves can never be forgotten.

Charlotte Gibbs wants nothing more than to put the past behind her, once and for all. But now that she's back at Firefly Lake to sell her mother's cottage, the overwhelming flood of memories reminds her of what she's been missing. Sun-drenched days. Late-night kisses that still shake her to the core. The gentle breeze off the lake, the scent of pine in the air, and the promise of Sean's touch on her skin . . . True, she got her dream job traveling the world. But at what cost? 

Sean Carmichael still doesn't know why Charlie disappeared that summer, but after eighteen years, a divorce, and a teenage son he loves more than anything in the world, he's still not over her. All this time and her body still fits against his like a glove. She walked away once when he needed her the most. How can he convince her to stay now?

The Cottage at Firefly Lake is set in Vermont, a state renowned for its beautiful lakes and mountains. Can you say why you chose a lake as the setting for your first novel?

The Cottage at Firefly Lake celebrates everything that’s wonderful about a summer holiday by a lake with a small town nearby. I had many such summers growing up and, after a succession of damp and cool English summers, subliminally I think I wanted to recreate the idyllic summers of my memory in fiction!

I set the book in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, a special, unspoiled corner of the state where my husband and I spent several happy vacations.

In your novel, there are many parallels between the stories of Sean and Charlotte, and his son, Ty, and Naomi. Did you find it easy to step into the shoes of these teenagers to write their story?

When I first started writing, I tried young adult fiction, only to discover it wasn’t my niche. However, I still love writing young adult characters, possibly because I remember so vividly what it is like to be that age.

I also read young adult romance so that helped me ‘step into the shoes of…teenagers.’

Charlotte, for various reasons in the story, left Firefly Lake when she was eighteen to be a war correspondent. Did you draw on your own experiences of leaving Canada to work in Europe?

Although I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time, my experiences as an expatriate did shape some aspects of Charlotte’s experience. Unlike Charlotte, I always maintained strong ties to North America, but in her case I wanted to explore the pull of home for someone who spent her adult life cutting ties with the past and a place and people she once cared about.

Having spent much of my life living outside my home country, questions of home—what it means, and how and where we find it—run through both The Cottage at Firefly Lake and everything I write. My author tagline is even ‘Romance to bring your heart home.’

Sean has a twin called Trevor who’s a good friend too. Do you have any twins in your family to draw upon for their experiences?

There are no sets of twins in my immediate family, but I’ve always been fascinated by the twin relationship, possibly because there was a set of twins several years below me at school who were the focus of considerable attention.

To write about Sean and Trevor’s relationship, I read about twins and also talked with my husband who has three brothers very close in age. Apart from the twin bond, I wanted to depict a close relationship between brothers—the love, but also the teasing and male rivalry.

Has most of your writing been set in North America, or have you tried writing stories about your time in the UK?

I lived in the UK for a long time and consider England my second home. However, when I started writing seriously towards publication, I recognised early on that I have a North American writing voice.

For a time, I belonged to a writing group in England and, in that context, I did try to write stories set in the UK and featuring British characters. However, my dialogue was stilted and plots contrived.

Although I don’t rule out writing about my time in the UK, for now writing from my heart means setting stories amongst the people and places that first influenced me.

Jen and I and other members of the Reading RNA
Chapter

You belong to the RWA in America and the RNA in the UK where we both attend the Reading Chapter. How would you describe the different approaches to romance writing on each side of the Atlantic?

As I see it, the primary difference is size and, to some extent, related organisational culture.

I came through the RNA New Writers’ Scheme (NWS) and without the supportive critiques I received via the NWS, I don’t think I’d be a published author now. Compared to Romance Writers of America, the RNA is small and for that reason, has a cosier, more intimate feel, at least to me.

However, I also owe much to RWA. It has a highly developed online learning programme I’ve benefited enormously from, and its large chapter network offers excellent contests that give unpublished writers feedback and, as a finalist, visibility. Under a previous title, The Cottage at Firefly Lake was a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart® contest in 2015. That experience changed my life and introduced me to a wonderful and supportive community of fellow finalists, now writing ‘sisters.’

Although some romance publishers (e.g. Harlequin/Mills and Boon) produce different covers for books published simultaneously in the UK and North America, when it comes to actual romance writing, I think the two markets are quite similar. As romance authors, and irrespective of geography, we have the same goals—to create characters and stories that evoke an emotional response in our readers and deliver the happy endings they expect.

The Cottage at Firefly Lake is the first of a trilogy, which I’m really looking forward to reading! Will we find out more about Charlotte and Sean or will you be concentrating on other the characters in your book next time?

I’m so pleased you’re looking forward to reading the other books in the series. While each book stands alone and can be read independently, there is also continuity between them with recurring characters and, of course, a common setting. 

The next book, Summer on Firefly Lake is released on 27 July 2017 in the UK and tells the story of two characters, Mia and Nick, who are introduced in The Cottage at Firefly Lake. Although not main characters, you will certainly find out more about Charlie and Sean in the second book.

The third book, Back Home at Firefly Lake, will be released in March 2018. Once again, previous characters reappear to give readers glimpses of their ‘happy ever after,’ as well as life in Firefly Lake.

Thank you for answering my questions today, Jen, and good luck with this and your future books.

Thanks so much, Jean. It’s been my pleasure to chat with you.

The Cottage at Firefly Lake can be purchased in either mass market paperback or e-book from all online platforms including Amazon UK http://tinyurl.com/hner7s3

And, as I said, Summer on Firefly Lake will be available in the UK from 27th July from the above including Amazon UK http://tinyurl.com/hoexomz

You can also find out more about Jen on her website: http://www.jengilroy.com or catch up with her on Twitter @JenGilroy1 or Facebook www.facebook.com/JenGilroyAuthor