Guest Post - The Story of Rosie and Pete by Jon Rance - Blog Tour

This is the story of Rosie and Pete. From the beginning until the end.

Hello! I’m very excited to be here as part of my blog tour for, About Us. Thanks so much Rachel for having me. Let’s crack on, shall we.

About Us, is my sixth novel and it’s the story of Rosie and Pete, from the beginning until the end. The book goes backwards and forwards in time to show Rosie and Pete as teenagers in the 90’s right up until present day when they’re early forty somethings living in south London with three children. I loved writing this book because it gave me the chance to look back over my own life. I’m forty-one (forty-two next week!) and so the time frame the characters go through is very similar to mine. Obviously my life is very different from the characters in the book, but the idea of making decisions is something that affects all of our lives.

How every decision we make changes our life is one of the big themes of the book. I’ve always loved reading biographies because it isn’t until we read the whole thing that we understand how every tiny decision made changed something else and it made a whole life. It’s something I think about a lot, because I’ve made a lot of decisions in my life that have changed it so much. I met my American wife while backpacking in Australia. We met, fell in love, and I ended up moving to California where we now live with our two children. So many small decisions ended up with me meeting my wife, but meeting her changed my life forever. It’s one of the parts of being a writer I love. I get to create characters, lives, worlds, and all of it is at my mercy. I can make anything happen and it’s wonderful to imagine all of the possibilities.

In, About Us, Rosie is faced with a number of huge decisions that change her life. Probably the biggest decision comes right at the end of the book and it was a decision I laboured over a long time. I had to put myself in her shoes. Rosie is a strong, ambitious woman at the start of the book. She’s optimistic and brave, but as the years go on, she becomes less so and so when she has to make a decision, she finds it incredibly hard. She also has her three children to think about. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it’s an ending I love and that I’m incredibly proud of. I think it’s some of my best writing to date. I hope you love it too!

About Us, is a dramatic comedy about life, about love, about us, and it’s out now exclusively on Amazon. Grab your copy now for just 99p for a limited time!

Thank you so much Jon for talking to me about Rosie and Pete. I purchased my copy the other day and am really looking forward to reading About Us when I have time. 

Amazon UK

It's about life. It's about love. It's about us. 

HILARIOUS AND HEARTBREAKING.

From the bestselling author of Sunday Dinners and Dan And Nat Got Married, comes a bittersweet comedy about a marriage, about how it begins, how it falls apart, and the choices we're forced to make. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Jojo Moyes, and Mike Gayle.

Rosie Willis isn’t happy. Her once perfect marriage to husband, Pete, is falling apart, her mother is dying, and her three children are starting to feel like strangers. At forty she feels like she’s stuck, but then she meets handsome widower, Mark Hornby, at the school gates and he makes her feel alive again.

As she drifts further from Pete, she gets closer to Mark, but approaching Christmas she realises she needs to try to save her marriage and keep her family together. Despite her feelings, she can’t have an affair. Unfortunately, Pete has news of his own that throws everything into doubt. 

Rosie must choose a new life. There’s Pete, Mark, or going it alone. It isn’t easy when you’re forty, when you have three kids, when you feel past it, when your mother is dying, but life isn’t meant to be easy.

Please follow along with the rest of the blog tour

Guest Post - Writing From The Male and Female Perspective by Jon Rance - Blog Tour

Hello and thanks so much for having me on your blog! I’ve very excited to be here and to introduce my new romantic comedy novel, Dan And Nat Got Married. This is stop six on my blog tour and today I’m going to talk about writing from the male and female perspective. 

When I sat down to write Dan And Nat Got Married, I knew I wanted to write it from both perspectives. I’ve read some great novels that use this device from the brilliant, ‘The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me’ and to a different extent, ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls. I knew I wanted to write it this way because I wanted to tell both of their stories. This isn’t just a love story, but a story of two people. You just can’t tell the same story if you only write from one perspective. 

I’ve written from female perspectives before. In my novels, ‘Happy Endings’ and ‘Sunday Dinners’, I wrote from both male and female perspectives, so it isn’t something I haven’t done before. It is hard though and requires some serious thinking. So how is it different writing from the male perspective? The biggest thing is that I’m a man. I know, obvious right. I know how men think, what they talk about, how they act, and how they interact. I’m not a woman, although I do know and have known many women, I still have to put myself inside their head and make it sound believable. And it’s the believability that’s the hardest part. Especially so because a majority of my readers are women and if it doesn’t work, they will quickly tell me! There are a lot of scenes in the book between Nat and her best friend, Ellie, and I think (I hope) these really work. They’re the best of friends and I think their relationship, for me at least, is one of the best things about the book. I especially love the scene when they’re talking on the train. 

I’ve read quite a few novels by women about women and it definitely helps. I’ve been married for twelve years and so knowing my wife so intimately definitely helps. But here’s the thing. When I’m creating a character from scratch, I have to get inside her head, walk in her shoes, and so despite knowing a lot about women, I have to actually think like one and that isn’t easy. It’s like the difference between watching sport and playing it. It’s like watching the Great British Bake Off or actually being in it and I don’t know about you, but I’m rubbish at baking. It’s a real challenge, but I think the sort of challenge that writers need to take to get better and improve.  

I did really enjoy writing Nat’s story and especially her scenes with best friend, Ellie or Elle’s Bells as she calls her. It took me a bit of time to really get both of these characters, but after a few drafts I really fell in love with them - not like that! I love how they’re so close and can tell each other anything. In contrast, Dan and his best friend, Adam, are typical blokes and don’t like discussing anything a bit emotional or deep with each other. Although due to events in the book they’re forced into it and it’s funny and interesting seeing how they deal with it. It’s actually easier in some ways writing from the female perspective because I get to be completely open and honest, which isn’t always the case with men. With men, as in real life, we keep everything in, skirt around the issue, and don’t feel comfortable discussing anything slightly personal or awkward. Dan and Adam just end up spending a lot of time in the pub, which is basically where men go instead of actually discussing problems. It’s a nice contrast. 

For me characters are everything. If you read a book with flimsy, badly written characters then it doesn’t matter how great the plot is, you probably won’t enjoy it. But great characters can make even weak stories comes alive. There’s the great quote about the sitcom ‘Seinfeld’, where Jerry Seinfeld calls it a show about nothing and essentially it is. I think he’s doing his storytelling ability a bit of a disservice because some of the plotlines were brilliant, but what he’s essentially saying is true. It’s just a sitcom about four friends in New York - as Friends was just a sitcom about six friends in New York. But what made both of these shows so successful was the characters. Characters are everything. So writing from both the male and female perspectives as I did in, Dan And Nat Got Married, made it even more important to get it right and I think, I hope, I have. 

So this is, Dan And Nat Got Married, a love story told from both sides. If you’re a woman you’re going to get a real insight into the male psyche - it’s scary, I know - and if you’re a man, hopefully you’ll enjoy reading about love and marriage from a female perspective. It’s also a story about two sets of friends and how they help each other overcome obstacles. It’s men and women together, apart, and somehow making life work. It’s a book of two halves that hopefully makes a fantastic whole! Thanks so much for having me on your blog. It’s been an absolute pleasure. 

You are very welcome Jon, its been a pleasure to host you, and I really enjoyed Dan And Nat Got Married.

About Jon Rance

Jon Rance is the author of four novels: The Kindle top ten bestseller, This Thirtysomething Life, Happy Endings (both published by Hodder and Stoughton), This Family Life and Sunday Dinners. He's also the author of the short story prequel, This Twentysomething Life and the Christmas novella, A Notting Hill Christmas. Dan And Nat Got Married, is his fifth novel. 

Jon studied English Literature at Middlesex University, London, before going travelling and meeting his American wife in Australia. Jon loves comedy (especially sitcoms), the films of Richard Curtis, travelling and tea. He just turned forty, which is a terrifying time, so his books might get a bit edgier and possibly angrier as a result.

Jon writes dramatic, romantic, comedy fiction similar to the work of Mike Gayle, Matt Dunn, Nick Spalding and David Nicholls.

You can email him at: jonrance@yahoo.com

Please visit his website: www.jonrance.co.uk


Follow him on Twitter: @JRance75

The British romantic comedy you need to read this year. 

From the bestselling author of This Thirtysomething Life, Happy Endings and Sunday Dinners, comes a brilliantly funny romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones. 

Marriage can be difficult. Especially when you've only just met. Meet Dan Fox, 34, an online marketing manager from Clapham, who was jilted at the altar two years ago by the love of his life and hasn’t dated since. 

Nat Howard, 32, is living back at home with her parents in Dorking after her perfect boyfriend dumped her and she had to move out of his bespoke flat in Putney. 

On separate Stag and Hen weekends in Las Vegas, Dan and Nat wake up married. Both too drunk to remember what happened, they return to England and try to get on with their lives. But there was something about Nat that makes the usually cautious Dan think they should give their marriage a go. Nat’s still in love with her Ex, but maybe Dan can help mend her broken heart. 

Can marriage between two relative strangers really work? And when Nat's ex-boyfriend - the gorgeous Charlie - comes back into her life, she must decide - something old or something new? 

Set in London, Dan And Nat Got Married, is a funny and full of heart modern romantic comedy about marriage, relationships, and giving love a second chance. 

Book Review - Dan And Nat Got Married by Jon Rance - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title:  Dan and Nat Got Married

Author: Jon Rance

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied review copy

Publisher: Self Published

Publication Date: 4th October

Rating: 4 Stars

From the bestselling author of This Thirtysomething Life, Happy Endings and Sunday Dinners, comes a brilliantly funny romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones. 

Marriage can be difficult. Especially when you've only just met. Meet Dan Fox, 34, an online marketing manager from Clapham, who was jilted at the altar two years ago by the love of his life and hasn’t dated since. 

Nat Howard, 32, is living back at home with her parents in Dorking after her perfect boyfriend dumped her and she had to move out of his bespoke flat in Putney. 

On separate Stag and Hen weekends in Las Vegas, Dan and Nat wake up married. Both too drunk to remember what happened, they return to England and try to get on with their lives. But there was something about Nat that makes the usually cautious Dan think they should give their marriage a go. Nat’s still in love with her Ex, but maybe Dan can help mend her broken heart. 

Can marriage between two relative strangers really work? And when Nat's ex-boyfriend - the gorgeous Charlie - comes back into her life, she must decide - something old or something new? 

Set in London, Dan And Nat Got Married, is a funny and full of heart modern romantic comedy about marriage, relationships, and giving love a second chance.

How would you react if you woke up next to a stranger in your bed, one you have no recollection of? It may have happened to lots of you after a drunken night out. However have you ever woken up with a stranger in your bed, in Las Vegas and suddenly realising you both have wedding rings too? 

Well that is how Dan and Nat Got Married begins, with some out of character realisation that they may both have done something very foolish the night before.  And yet after a meeting in London where they are intending to discuss the divorce they both agree is going to be required, things go rather differently than planned, and it leads Dan to suggest they attempt to make a go of their marriage. 

As they get to know each other properly, it becomes apparent they are both carrying significant baggage into this relationship, in addition to various other temptations too. 

Their friends are really encouraging, but they may have an ulterior motive. 

What it is safe to say is this is a story with a lot of laughs in it, there are ups and downs, and its all about two strangers learning to make the most of what was a drunken situation. As friends and families are introduced, exes arrive back on the scene, they have to decide just how much they can trust each other, and whether what has started as an interesting decision can really be love. 

This is the first book I have read by Jon Rance and defini-Nat-ley won't be the last, and I can see exactly why he has been compared to Matt Dunn and Mike Gayle. Very similar sorts of humour and themes, and great to see believable male and female characters. The lads scenes felt very realistic when Dan was out with his mate Adam, and I loved Ells Belles with Nat. 

The chapters alternate between Dan and Nat, with only a small overlap in some cases as the action is moved forward. I found it quite easy to follow the story, with both of the characters written in the first person, and with a really enjoyable writing style. 

I really enjoyed Dan and Nat Got Married, and with such an amusing premise, its a marginally bizarre story, but could so easily be a true story, after all life is stranger than fiction!

Thank you so much to Jon Rance for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.