The Most Difficult Part of Writing Farm to Fabre

When I came up with the idea for Farm to Fabre, I knew I wanted to play with the ‘stuck together’ trope. Or, the ‘snowed in’ trope, but without the snow. I wanted to stray far away from making the pandemic a massive part of the story.

It was the vehicle for which they get stuck together. But I wasn’t trying to write a story that focused on it. And for me, that wound up being the hardest part of writing Farm to Fabre.

It required a lot of research, figuring out the timing of lockdowns in Scotland and Italy (for Andie’s family.)

There was a delicate balance to show them being lockdown in this remote area while keeping that from being at the forefront of the story.

Farm to Fabre is an ace romance. That had to be the focus for me. Not the turmoil and grief from a global pandemic. I had to acknowledge it while avoiding detailing it too much.

In the end, I’m really pleased with how the story unfolded. I think I managed to tell their unique romance story in just the right way. Not sure I’d want to tackle a second one in the same time frame, though. I found it quite stressful.

What inspired Farm to Fabre?

I thought it would be fun to share a few things that inspired Farm to Fabre. It started with farming shows. I watched loads of them.

Other inspiration came from the time I spent a child on my adoptive grandparent’s farm. It was a lot different from Andie’s farm in the book. But it did give me an idea for where I wanted to go.

For Doc, I didn’t have to look far for inspiration. My own battles with writer’s block and other struggles came in handy. It was almost cathartic to be able to talk through some of it, even if in fictional form.