Behind the Scenes with Tuppenny Bridge
Some time ago I promised you a look behind the scenes at one of my most popular series - Tuppenny Bridge. Well, I got a bit distracted but finally, here I am, ready to tell you how Tuppenny Bridge came about and what really went on - before I began it, while I was writing it, and after I finished it.
My beautiful Tuppenny Bridge covers by Debbie Clement.
Believe it or not, Tuppenny Bridge began with the story of a vicar and his wife…
Yes, you read that right.
I created the entire market town in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales just so I could write about Zach and Ava Barrington. They were my main characters, and I’d been chatting about their storyline for literally years with my friend, Jessica Redland, refining the plot, working on their characters, and telling her how excited I was to get cracking on it! I even had a working title for it - The Vicar’s Wayward Wife.
But as I began thinking about Tuppenny Bridge as a whole, I realised there was potential there for a lot of stories. After all, a vicar has to have parishioners…
Then I decided that, actually, I would save Zach and Ava’s story to end the series. I would write the first five books, building the two of them up as background characters, then finish Tuppenny Bridge with book six, The Vicar’s Wayward Wife, and a very emotional ending.
Hmm. So what happened?
Well…
So let’s go back to the beginning.
Although I’d already had the idea for Zach and Ava’s story, I was working on other projects while I brewed the idea further. I’d started writing The Other Half series, and it wasn’t long before I realised the potential to crossover the two series.
I saw that The Other Half books might be the ideal introduction to Tuppenny Bridge, so I included a visit to the market town in the second of the series - How the Other Half Lives Part Two (which later became How the Other Half Lies). Confused? You will be…
Related Reading: Behind the Scenes with The Other Half
Okay. So, I ended The Other Half series with How the Other Half Lives Part Three. I then began working on what was supposed to be the first Tuppenny Bridge book - Summer Tenants at Monk’s Folly.
This book - in that form - never saw the light of day.
It still featured Ben Callaghan, who ended up being the ‘star’ of the first published Tuppenny Bridge book, but the female character wasn’t Summer Fletcher.
It was someone who never made it into the series in the end. In fact, her entire family was ‘evicted’ from Tuppenny Bridge! There were a few odd scenes that were eventually recycled for later use, but by and large the book was scrapped. It just didn’t work.
Going back to the drawing board, I decided to make the first Tuppenny Bridge book about Sally and Rafferty, making it a direct sequel to The Other Half series. I called it Winter Wishes at The White Hart Inn.
The first Tuppenny Bridge book - at the time!
I indie published the book as I’d indie published all my books up to that point, and loved the process. I got in touch with my lovely cover designer and gave her the brief for the book, and she sent me a few options. We went with the one above and Winter Wishes was published in October 2022.
I then set to work rewriting Summer Tenants at Monk’s Folly, replacing the axed heroine and her family with Sally Fletcher’s daughter, Summer, and focusing on her relationship with young vet, Ben. I renamed it Summer Dreams at Monk’s Folly and my cover designer made me a cover for it. I was ready to publish, but fate had other plans.
Sadly, this cover never saw the light of day - until now.
Enter Storm Publishing
I sent the book to my editor and was gearing up to self-publish it, when Jessica messaged me to tell me about a new publishing company she’d spotted, which was looking for submissions. To be honest, I didn’t know whether to submit or not. I was quite happy self-publishing, but on the other hand there was no denying that it was getting harder and harder to gain visibility and I thought maybe being with a publisher would gain me new readers.
Related Reading: I’ve Signed with Storm Publishing!
I submitted Winter Wishes at The White Hart Inn to Storm Publishing, explaining that it was the first in a series, and I heard back from them about a week later. They loved the book and wanted to have a chat. I had a video call with my future editor, who told me she adored Tuppenny Bridge. I explained that this was a six-book series with a series-long arc as well as individual arcs in each book. She wanted to sign me, initially for a three-book deal!
The only problem was, she wasn’t sure whether the series should start with a Christmas book, and wanted to check with her boss. When the news came back it was a bit of a blow. Not only did he not think the series should start with a Christmas book, but he didn’t want a Christmas book in the series at all…
Oh. Dear. So after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I offered to unpublish Winter Wishes, add it to my The Other Half series, and start Tuppenny Bridge for Storm with what had been planned as book two, Summer Dreams at Monk’s Folly. I signed the three-book deal and sent my editor the manuscript. We were on our way!
Click to buy
Winter Wishes at The White Hart Inn therefore became How the Other Half Loves. I gave all my The Other Half books new titles and new covers to fit with its new look, and began Tuppenny Bridge again.
How the Other Half Lives Part One became How the Other Half Lives
How the Other Half Lives Part Two became How the Other Half Lies
How the Other Half Lives Part Three became How the Other Half Loses
Winter Wishes at the White Hart Inn became How the Other Half Loves
Under Storm’s management, Summer Dreams at Monk’s Folly became Summer in Tuppenny Bridge with a new cover by Debbie Clement, and was published in May 2023. I was so excited!
Click to buy
Related Viewing: The Other Half Book Trailer
I had the six-book arc planned out. The series would culminate in Zach and Ava’s story. It was all going to plan.
Until it wasn’t.
A Change of Plan
Book three, Snowflakes and Surprises in Tuppenny Bridge had originally been planned as a Christmas snowed-in book, but obviously that couldn’t happen because Storm didn’t want a Christmas book in the series.
They’d pencilled in a January release date, so instead, I set the book in January through to the spring.
The release date was then unexpectedly moved forward to December 2023 - a week and a half before Christmas - to ‘catch the Christmas market’. I’m not sure why, in that case, it couldn’t have been a Christmas book as I’d planned, but hey ho.
My contract was completed, but I still had three books in the series to go. Then I was offered a one-book contract. This was a bit of a blow, to say the least. My editor said that, going forward, they would assess the series one book at a time to see if they wanted to continue it. I had a six-book arc plotted out, and the thought that the series could be cancelled at any time was an awful shock.
Related Viewing: Summer in Tuppenny Bridge Book Trailer
Worried I wouldn’t get the chance to complete the arc, I sat and worked out a plan, then made an offer to my editor. ‘If I complete the arc in five books, will you give me a two-book deal instead so I can guarantee I’ll finish the series?’
She agreed the deal then passed me to another editor as she was taking on other duties within the company. I duly wrote Coming Home to Tuppenny Bridge and Hope Blooms in Tuppenny Bridge for my new editor. And that was that. Contract completed.
But I still hadn’t written The Vicar’s Wayward Wife, and the couple I’d created the entire town of Tuppenny Bridge for never got to tell their story…
Knowing now what I didn’t know then…
Looking back now it’s easy to see that I probably should have spoken to my new editor and discussed the sixth book. She was and is absolutely lovely and very approachable, so I don’t know why I didn’t. I suppose the truth is, I was feeling very bruised. Bruised from having to cut the series down; bruised from having to set my planned Christmas book in January, yet being told they’d decided to bring publication day forward to December in order ‘to catch the Christmas market’; and bruised from not getting audiobooks for my last two Tuppenny Bridge books, which likely meant few people would be willing to start the series at all, knowing only the first three were available in audio.
The Christmas book that wasn’t… Click to buy
I hadn’t yet realised how publishing works, and I certainly hadn’t developed a thicker skin, or learned how to shrug and say, ‘It’s just business.’
I took it all very personally. I loved the people at Storm Publishing. I still do. I think they’re an amazing publisher and find the team friendly, approachable and responsive. But when you’ve self-published twenty-seven books it’s very hard to hand over that control, and when you don’t get to do what you’ve assumed you’ll be able to do, and when you’ve waited years to write a book only to learn that you might not be able to after all, it’s very hard to deal with.
Such is the life of a published writer, as opposed to a self-published writer. I made all the decisions when I self-published. I knew exactly what I was doing for the foreseeable future. But when you hand over your writing career to a publisher it’s a whole different game. You never can tell what will happen, and you can never take anything for granted. Basically, you have to weigh up if you can trade all that in, in the hope of more readers and increased sales. It’s not a trade-off that everyone wants to make, and even if you do make it, there’s no guarantee that you’ll have greater success, sadly.
I have to say, though, I’m very proud of Tuppenny Bridge. I think I just grieved for it for a long time because it didn’t turn out the way I’d envisioned for so long. It was supposed to start with Winter Wishes and end with a Wayward Wife! Neither of those books ended up in the series. But I learned such a lot working with Storm and I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given. I think, together, we produced five wonderful books.
By the time I completed Tuppenny Bridge, I’d come up with ideas for three new series, and wasn’t sure which to write next. I was wary of short contracts and afraid that any series I started would be cut short again. I contacted Boldwood Books, who I knew offered long contracts (and the series security I needed) and told them my ideas. I asked them if they’d be interested in any of them. There was a vague idea I’d had about a living history village complete with resident ghosts… They liked that one.
Related Viewing: I Have Big News!
You know what happened next.
Amazing that Ghosts 4 is out already! Time flies… Click to buy
Moving On - Sort Of…
So what about Zach and Ava - my handsome vicar and his wayward wife? Well, I couldn’t quite let go of them, and when Boldwood signed the Ghosts of Rowan Vale series, and what became Kelsea Sands, I’d already decided to rewrite my couple and include them in the latter series. I was cheered when I learned that my Tuppenny Bridge cover designer, Debbie Clement, was also doing my Kelsea Sands covers. Maybe it was a sign! Maybe, at last, I’d get to tell Zach and Ava’s story…
But the truth is, I can’t. You see, throughout five books in the Tuppenny Bridge series, I’d dropped little breadcrumbs about Zach and Ava. About her well-known father. About her growing resentment of being only known as ‘The Vicar’s Wife’. About her love of art and her wish to start painting again. The art school at Monk’s Folly was actually created for Ava!
I couldn’t recreate that all over again, so sadly I had to accept that I would never write the story that would have been The Vicar’s Wayward Wife.
So what about the story I’d planned for my new vicar and his wife, Niall and Kendra? Well, as it turned out, Niall and Kendra soon made it very clear to me that they’re not like Zach and Ava, and I’ve had to adapt quite heavily from my original idea. But the root of the idea is similar, and I’m looking forward to finally writing what will at least be a version of the story I planned all those years ago, and laying the idea to rest.
Phew, that was a long post! I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek behind the scenes at Tuppenny Bridge. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about the five books that make up the series just let me know! I’m always happy to chat books with my readers.
If you haven’t read the series yet you’ll find more about it here. And if you haven’t discovered The Other Half and would like to know how Sally, Rafferty and Summer ended up in Tuppenny Bridge, you can find out more here.
Happy reading!
