Love@work series: Trinal, Book One
Triangle romances in Silicon Valley
Now that I’m two books into the series, I thought I’d talk about Love@work as a whole and the individual books: Trinal, Love Contract, and the upcoming third book, Work Spouse.
Trinal is actually an erotic romance set in a tech company in Silicon Valley. Although this first story is erotic, the other books, Love Contract and the upcoming books that have been planned, are steamy stories. I was told it would be risky to start a series with an erotic tale if the rest of the books were not in the same vein. I argue that it’s my writing style and, whether it’s erotic or steamy, the reader will still hear my voice in each story.
Inspiration from Life
The idea of creating a series of romances around the workplace came when I was asked to contribute a story to a writing event. Trinal received great reviews and I decided to use the story as the first book in the series.
I wrote the novella around the time of the Facebook hearings when Mark Zuckerberg was testifying before a joint session of Congress. I write about an imaginary company similar to Facebook called Folio. I like to begin a story in the midst of conflict. We see the protagonist, Shelby, who is the director of communications, and the leadership team watching a C-SPAN broadcast of Carter, the company’s CEO, testifying along with other industry leaders before a joint congressional hearing.
Book Synopsis
Shelby and Carter became lovers shortly after she began her internship at Folio. We are now about ten years into the relationship. This aspect of the story is an older man/younger woman trope. We explore what it means to both of them to be in this relationship they’ve created.
This is also a love triangle, and we see the introduction of a younger man closer to Shelby’s age. Sagan is a handsome, brash reporter who has been trying to get her attention for the past few years. The relationship between Shelby and Carter changes and this leaves an opening for Sagan to become the second love interest.
I like to write about women whose circumstances have changed. They’re forced by the new reality to get out of their comfort zone, adapt, and fight for their happily ever after. Shelby is tested at every turn and I think she’s probably the most creative of my heroines to date.
This is a novella with lots of twists and turns that make it seem like a fast read. It is romance erotica, which means a love story, great characters, and hot sex.
Check out my next blog post as I discuss Book Two in the Love@work series: Love Contract.