1st Place Winner in the Historical Friends And Family Category of the Romance Reads 2024

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Bio: Heidi is happily married with two huge dogs. In addition to writing, loves gardening, reading, binging great shows, and wasting time online. Heidi has both some formally published stories but also some on Wattpad that are free to read.

Story title: The Twenty-Year Triangle

Premise/Blurb: The past always has a way of coming back around.

Finding herself at rock bottom after a tough divorce, Kinsey Abbot is forced to rebuild her entire life from scratch. She returns to her parent's farm in Sweet Haven, Tennessee, where she reflects on her past relationships with her two childhood best friends and teenage heartaches, Hunter Wilde and Oliver Stone. She thought those old feelings were long buried, but as she and Hunter bond over their respective failed marriages, she can't deny something is bubbling under the surface. And when Oliver makes an unexpected return to Sweet Haven, unresolved feelings complicate things even further. Did Kinsey escape a failed marriage only to find herself back in the love triangle that nearly destroyed her as a teen?

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What inspired you to write this book?

This is a fun question. It was actually a late night, and I was listening to music. Kelsey Ballerini's song "Penthouse" came on, and suddenly, I was so inspired. The first concept of the story was going to be a woman going back home and healing from a divorce. The love triangle came into play as I developed Kinsey's back story and present-day story, but the arc of Kinsey healing from a divorce was still very present in the story, too.

What was the inspiration behind the main character and their love interest?

Kinsey was totally inspired by Kelsey Ballerini. As I listened to more of her music that night, I got a very clear vision of who Kinsey was. My first three pages of notes on this story were all about who Kinsey would be.

A strong Southern woman with a huge heart, a great family, and a silly sense of humor, Kinsey doesn't take herself too seriously and can be a little dramatic and, at times, impulsive. She was an only child, and because of that, she can be a little short-sighted, but she adores her friends and family.

I weaved her past story into her present story to slowly tell the readers who she was with in high school and why it ended. In the present day, she finds herself back in that same love triangle. What happened back then becomes very important to Kinsey as she figures out her heart.

The love interests—I wanted them to be very different from each other, but both are good guys. I wanted the choice to be hard not just for Kinsey but also for the readers. The best friendship between Kinz, Hunter, and Olly was at the core of it all, but it went very wrong when hearts got involved.

Olly was a bookish nerd who was very smart, shy, and bullied as a kid. He had a glow up towards the end of high school. As a man, he ended up becoming rich, successful, super handsome, but very guarded.

Hunter- Was your 90's grunge kid, bigger than the other kids and tough no one would mess with him. As an adult, Hunter became a southern cowboy type, rugged but sweet and extremely protective of Kinsey.

What sparked your interest in writing, and how did you end up writing on Wattpad? I've always had these little daydreams in my head. At one point I loved playing The Sims so I could create these stories for them. Finally one day I started writing these ideas down (fanfics at first) I loved writing them and getting comments. I then took a long break and came back in 2020 and started writing my own stories.

Do you have a favorite scene in your story? If so, what makes it special to you? So many! But I think my favorite scene was actually when Kinsey went storming into the old bookstore and gave James a piece of her mind. It was such a fun scene to write and showed who Kinsey is.

How do you create and develop your characters? Do you base them on real people, or are they entirely fictional?

It's so different for each character. Kinsey was inspired by a real person. Olly and Hunter were fully made up in my head. All the characters in all my stories really come to life as I write them.

Do you have any favorite romance authors who inspired you to write romance stories on or off Wattpad? Feel free to name up to three people and some of your favorite stories they authored.

I have so many amazing friends and writers that I admire here it's very hard to only mention a few!

@LNRoberts1, you have to check out her Fated Series! It's a beautiful romance story that evolves as the characters age from book to book. If you love 20 years the first book has those same 90's vibes and then the second book is so suspenseful and steamy!

@lvann26 —Definitely check out her love series! These are very emotional, dramatic romance stories about flawed humans. Her books often have me staring at the wall, lost in my emotions after certain chapters.

@MelissaDyb- I adore her writing style, and she leans very lightly into a little supernatural element. They make me think deeper! Her book Soulmates and Twin Flames is so engaging and has a love triangle that will keep you on your toes!!

*Please also check out, @JspRomcoms, @Vivhouse, @PollyF79, @rayjaysuckaa, @minimox @_abhipreeti_, @alysunsanders13, @acetylcholinee, @Rochellesjjx, @ArielMLongee, @HappyCoati and @EvangelineNott for more amazing books.