Sharon Kimbra Walsh | Why I Had To Write ‘A FALLEN HERO’ A Sequel To ‘FOR THE LOVE OF A MARINE’

I confess I have no answer to that. My debut novel was birthed from blood, pain,
tears and tantrums. Don't get me wrong. It’s all worth it. When you've done as
much research as your weary brain can take; you've had the mother of ideas at 2
am in the morning (on more than one occasion) and you HAVE to get it down on
your laptop; you've coped with the hiccups and glitches of your pc and you've
recovered from all the trauma of thinking that your manuscript has disappeared
into the ether; you've edited, edited and edited it for what you pray is the
final time and there’s an "oops, I need to check that", or, "have I done this,
that or the other?", it’s finished! A huge sigh of relief, throw your hands in
the air and do a little cha-cha around the living room before falling exhausted
into bed. So, after all that, why, oh why, did I choose to right a sequel?

I will truthfully say, with some embarrassment, that I had totally and utterly fallen in love with my characters, Joe and Katie. I missed them, their love for each other and their struggles and I felt that their journey together was not at an end. My initial idea was to have Joe killed but those of my friends who had given me feedback and help on the rough drafts of FOR THE LOVE OF A MARINE, protested vehemently. I am not going to divulge anything more or tell you what decision I came to as that would only spoil it.

Suffice it to say that the urge to write further of Joe and Katie's love for
each other, despite the trauma and struggles of war, was too strong to deny and
once I had taken a break, off I went - another journey into the realms of
editing, blood, sweat and tears, my faithful laptop resignedly ready for the
swearing and the occasional thump when it decided to spit is dummy.

Success again! Another dance around the living room, my West Highland Terrier looking at me as though I had lost my mind, my husband rolling his eyes, tolerant and accepting of my weird antics. A FALLEN HERO - done and dusted, sent off into the electrical ether and Joe and Katie could continue their love affair in print indefinitely. About Sharon Kimbra Walsh:

Sharon spent eight and a half years in the Women’s Royal Air Force. Originally
based in London, after she met her husband, Sharon relocated to Scotland to
settle in Edinburgh. Already loving the country after having been stationed
there during her time in the military, Sharon has never looked back. She lives
with her husband and rescue West Highland Terrier, Snowie, (who thinks that she
is a Rottweiler in disguise).

In 2014 Sharon started to have visions of writing a contemporary military
romance. The ideas started to pile up and there was nothing for it but to get
them down on her laptop, regardless of time and place.

You can take a look at Sharon's website here.