Roses: 5 Behind the Scenes Facts...

A few things you may not know about:

1. Roses Don't Have to be Red is not the original title. Nope. For almost ten years I called this story: Am I 30 Yet?
And if I'm being honest, as much as I love the line "Roses don't have to be red."<-- I wrote that line, I love that line, I really really loved my original title. But my publishers professional opinion was that the title Am I 30 Yet was exclusive, it limited my readers. And so we moved forward from there and that's why the title was changed. How it became Roses came from my editor who also loved the line from the book. :)

2. As I mentioned in #1, I didn't JUST write this story. Nope. It was the first novel I finished (not started... haha! But the first I finished). I wrote it the year I turned 30. A few stories and experiences in life and from friends made me want to write about a girl different from myself--and yet not so different.

3. The very first draft of this book was an LDS version. It wasn't my first choice to write exclusively to an LDS audience, but I thought at the time that it was my greatest chance at getting published. So... a few things that changed--> I talk about the peace corps, originally that was an LDS mission. I talk about volunteering at a homeless shelter, originally that was going to church.

4. Other changes... But after a few rewrites, I changed other things. Originally Sam had gone away to college, she'd become a teacher. But after rewriting it was apparent that it was very important to Sam's character that she sacrifice all of that--college, leaving home, a career, all for her family. Those sacrifices are noble and good, but she never moves on which eventually leads to Samantha's rut. The story also originally took place in Utah. But after publishing two books that take place in my home of Wyoming, I very much wanted Roses to do the same. For the first time I chose not to make up a town though. I chose Star Valley. The Valley seemed like the perfect small, home-knit community for Samantha Blake to grow up.

5. At the end of the original book Sam and Angela Bell become good friends. I couldn't figure out how to keep that in this version though. Originally at the end of the book Samantha and Cole move back to her home town while she teaches another year and then she gives her notice to quit. However, with the switch from teacher to working at a wood mill, I didn't have a reason for her to stay, at least not a whole year and so the relationship never formed.

It's funny. Most of these things my publisher doesn't even know because they weren't in the version I sent her!