Friday Reads – The American Woman by R J Gould

Welcome to another Friday Reads post. This week’s featured book is the contemporary women’s fiction novel The American Woman by R J Gould. Grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Richard. 😊

Blurb

When it’s impossible to forget is it possible to forgive?

Jennifer is stuck doing dead end waitressing jobs, her naïve dream of Hollywood stardom in tatters. Gareth, an IT consultant on a temporary contract, is the unlikely customer at Giulio’s Diner in the downbeat part of Los Angeles where she is now working.

It shouldn’t be a perfect match, the attractive, outgoing waitress from Idaho and the shy, good looker from Wales, but when it comes to relationships nothing is predictable, is it?

They move from state to state and when Gareth’s work in America dries up, Jennifer follows him to Britain. Everything changes. What is she supposed to do when she discovers that she’s been fed a pack of lies?

Now living alone in London, Jennifer is a regular at the popular Dream Café with a great job and a lovely set of friends, but it’s impossible to cast aside the wonderful memories of her time together with Gareth.

Were his lies justified? Are they forgivable? And most importantly, should she be giving Gareth the second chance he so desperately wants?

Buy links

The eBook:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1803029080/

The paperback: https://www.feedaread.com/books/The-American-Woman-9781803029085.aspx

Welcome back to my blog, Richard. Can you tell my readers how you came to write romance novels?

Soon after starting to write novels I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association following a recommendation by a fellow author. I went along to my first annual conference – in fact, this was when I met Karen – and signed up for the New Writers’ Scheme. My book was shortlisted for the organisation’s first novel award.

An admission: I never set out to be classified as a Romance author, I got put there by my publisher because I write about relationships. One thing apparent at that first conference was that I was one of only a handful of male delegates, which led me to investigate the nature of the fiction marketplace. Why do so few male authors write Romance bearing in mind approximately half of those in a relationship are going to be men? Equally, relatively few men read romantic fiction, indeed, my own audience is predominantly female. I’m told these readers like to discover the excitement, anxieties and complexities of romance from a male’s point of view. My stories tend to flip the typical Romance novel, with my insecure, self-doubting men chasing the alpha females of their dreams.

Dream Café typifies this scenario with a male character, David, lacking in self-confidence but desperate to have a relationship with the gorgeous Bridget and to open an arts café. Readers have asked to know more about David and Bridget’s progress since I had left the story to some extent open-ended. As a result, I’m writing an ‘at the Dream Café’ series. In each novel, new characters are café customers whose lives intertwine with those of my original cast.

The American Woman is the third novel in the series and here’s the thing – I have absolutely no idea why a middle-aged, British male (me), decided to write about a thirty to forty-year old American woman, written entirely from her point of view in the first person. I loved writing the story which starts with Jennifer sitting alone and feeling miserable at the Dream Café in London. How has she ended up there, a life journey that has taken her from an Idaho farm home to Hollywood, Vermont, Salford and Cardiff before reaching London?

When I start a new novel my intention is to plot meticulously because this is probably the most efficient way to write. But I can never do it. I establish key points in the plot (though even these can change as the writing progresses), but as my characters grow, they take over and drive the story. I can have a firm plot point planned, but by the time a protagonist reaches that place their voice can be strong enough to make me change my original idea. The situation could be frustrating, but in fact, it’s wonderful.

Close to the end of The American Woman, Jennifer joins the local tennis club which is where the next story picks up. In Team Spirit (to be published in early Summer 2024) there are plans for a full refurbishment of the clubhouse and the committee arrange to use Dream Café as their venue for meetings and post-match afternoon teas. It doesn’t go smoothly! You are welcome to sign up for my newsletters here to receive updates about this novel, other aspects of my writing and special offers.

I remember that conference, Richard! Thanks so much for dropping by to talk to us today. Your books sound great, it’s very interesting to read about relationships from the male point of view. 😊

Meet Richard

Richard, writing as R J Gould, is a rare male member of the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association. His contemporary fiction about relationships uses a mix of wry humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic life journeys of his protagonists. Much of his writing focuses on fresh starts and second chances.

He has been published by Headline Accent and Lume Books and also self-publishes. The American Woman is his ninth novel, the third in the ‘at the Dream Café’ stand-alone series. He has recently released his first audiobook – Nothing Man.

Before becoming a full-time author he worked in the education and charity sectors. In addition to his addiction to telling stories, he has somewhat milder addictions to playing tennis, watching film noir cinema, completing Wordle and eating dried mango slices.

Richard lives in Cambridge, England.

Links

Website:                     http://www.rjgould.info

Twitter:                       https://twitter.com/RJGould_author

Email:                          rjgould.author@gmail.com

Facebook:                   https://www.facebook.com/richard.gould.14418

https://www.facebook.com/RJGouldauthor

Instagram:                  https://www.instagram.com/rjgould_author           Goodreads     

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