Guest Post - The Unexpected Benefits of Writing Before You by Kathryn Freeman

I’m absolutely delighted to be a guest on Rachel’s Random Reads. Thank you so much for hosting me on your fabulous blog. To celebrate the launch of my latest paperback, Before You, I thought I’d tell you one of the unexpected benefits of writing this particular book.

My street cred with my teenage boys went up (a teeny bit).

It can’t be easy for a teenage boy to have a mum who writes romantic fiction. When I had my first book published, in 2013, my boys were 13 and 15. They managed to keep it quiet for about a year before their mates started googling names of their parents for a laugh – and hit jackpot when they discovered my website. As my first paperback featured a pair of pink shoes on the cover, and a title of Do Opposites Attract, you can imagine the schoolboy jibes.

Before You, while still a romance, increased my teenage boy credibility a smidgen because it’s set against a background of Formula One (and though there’s a girl on the cover, she’s looking out at the famous Monte Carlo hairpin). What’s more, my own family began to look at me with slightly more respect (for a short while) when motor racing was discussed. You see, you can’t write a book set in the world of Formula One without doing some research. Yes, I enjoy watching the sport. Yes, I’ve been lucky enough to watch it live, but that insight wasn’t enough to help me understand what my hero, racing driver Aiden Foster, might do when he wasn’t racing. Or what he might be going through during a race. Because in order to write from Aiden’s point of view, I had to become a racing driver … on paper (no speed cameras were triggered during the writing of this book).

So while I watched a race with my family, or talked about the sport, I would sneak in some of the random facts I’d learnt during my research.

• You see them haring round that corner? The G-forces they’re experiencing are almost the same as those of a fighter pilot. 
• See how sweaty he is on the podium? That’s because it’s so hot in the cockpit. Drivers can sweat off up to 3kg of their body weight in a race. 
• (… if there was a smash). I’m glad I’m not responsible for replacing that car. They cost around £6 million.
• Look at the way he’s breaking into that corner. The brakes will be heating up to around 1,200 oC. And the force of deceleration is massive; it’s like a normal car running through a brick wall at 180 mph.  
• (before the Monaco Grand Prix). Did you know the manhole covers have to be welded down because otherwise the downforce created by the cars would create enough suction to rip them right off?

I could go on, but I’m afraid if I do I’ll bore you as much as I did my family. After watching two races with me, they banished me into another room for the rest of the season. But fear not, the book isn’t a long list of motorsport facts. My research just helped me build a picture of the life of a racing driver and therefore, hopefully add some realism to the book. Just like having experienced life with two ten-year-old boys helped me to create the one who enters Aiden’s life. And turns it upside down.  

Thank you so much Kathryn, I wish you had continued with those facts as I was loving them, then again I am a fan of F1! 

When life in the fast lane threatens to implode …
Melanie Hunt’s job working for the Delta racing team means she is constantly rubbing shoulders with Formula One superstars in glamorous locations like Monte Carlo. But she has already learned that keeping a professional distance is crucial if she doesn’t want to get hurt.

New Delta team driver Aiden Foster lives his life like he drives his cars – fast and hard. But, no matter how successful he is, it seems he always falls short of his championship-winning father’s legacy. If he could just stay focused, he could finally make that win.

Resolve begins to slip as Melanie and Aiden find themselves drawn to each other –with nowhere to hide as racing season begins. But when a troubled young boy goes missing, everything is thrown into turmoil, including Aiden’s championship dream.

Before You is now available to purchase as an eBook and paperback. Visit our website for buying options or type the title into your chosen book supplier’s website or eBook provider of choice: http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/before-you/

About the Author:

Kathryn started her working life as a retail pharmacist but soon realised trying to decipher doctor's handwriting wasn't for her. Next she joined the pharmaceutical industry where she spent twenty happy years working in medical communications, doing a lot of writing - about medicines. What she really wanted to write about though, was romance.

In 2011, backed by her family, she left the world of pharmaceutical science to begin life as a self employed writer, juggling the two disciplines of medical writing and romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it's the reaction to a hunky hero... 

She lives with two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine's Day whether he has to bother buying a card again this year (yes, he does) so the romance in her life is all in her head. Then again, her husband's unstinting support of her career change goes to prove that love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes can come in many disguises.

Author contact details:

Website:  http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1