Katie Shepard: Sweetens the Deal With Her Second Romance Novel
Katie Shepard is, in no particular order, a fangirl, a gamer, a bankruptcy lawyer, and a romance author. Born and raised in Texas, she frequently escapes to Montana to commune with the trees and woodland creatures, resembling a Disney princess in all ways except age, appearance, and musical ability.
When not writing or making white-collar criminals cry at their depositions, she enjoys playing video games in her soft pants and watching sci-fi shows with her husband, two children, and very devoted cat. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Katie Shepard
In this post, Katie shares how her second romance was actually her first, her thoughts on writing a neurodivergent protagonist, and more.
Name: Katie Shepard
Literary agent: Jessica Watterson
Book title: Sweeten the Deal
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release date: October 17, 2023
Genre/category: Contemporary Romance
Previous title: Bear With Me Now
Elevator pitch for the book: A neurodivergent MBA student hires a starving artist as her sugar baby after an unexpected inheritance.
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What prompted you to write this book?
So, I come from the land of fanfic writers, and the “sugar baby” trope is very popular. I thought it would be interesting if I reversed it and gave the younger, more naïve character the “sugar daddy” role to make the power dynamics more equal.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Sweeten the Deal was written in the summer of 2021 over about three months. (It was the pandemic; I wasn’t getting out very much.) I queried it in the fall of 2021, signed the deal in January 2022, and now it’s coming out in October 2023. That’s not unusual in this genre as a timeline, but it’s a little unusual that it’s my second book.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
This book took a slightly circuitous route, because Sweeten the Deal was actually the manuscript that I queried and went on sub with. This series was always planned as a trilogy, and I’d actually started writing the sequel when I got the offer, but when my editor saw the book 3 pitch, she asked if I could write that one next, have that be my debut, and have Sweeten the Deal release second.
This didn’t require many rewrites to Sweeten the Deal, but I did have to get creative about the way the main character of Sweeten the Deal appears in what became Bear With Me Now.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Caroline came into my head as a very developed character, and the very logical way she goes about hiring a boyfriend in light of her social difficulties was there from the first draft, but the more interesting issue for me was the extent to which her inheritance changed or balanced the power dynamics with Adrian, who’s much older and more worldly.
So when an early reader asked if she was neurodivergent, my reaction was ‘yes but why does that matter?’ Because Caroline has no idea. She’s largely homeschooled. It’s not part of her identity. But several people encouraged me to make it explicit, because it is a big reason that her perspective on their relationship is so different from Adrian’s.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
First and foremost, I hope they have fun, because in a lot of ways this book is pure wish fulfillment. Caroline gets two million dollars, a hot boyfriend, and to enjoy the Boston arts and culture scene the way I very much wanted while I was stuck at home. But if people see themselves in Caroline, her vulnerability, and her questions about why things work differently for her than everyone else, I’d really love that too.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Write what you know! I think your passion for a subject or a type of character will come through in your writing.
Some of my favorite characters, like Ali Hazelwood’s scientists or Mazey Eddings’ dentists, were born out of their creators’ former careers. I’m neither an artist nor an MBA, but I took readers in Sweeten the Deal to some of my favorite places in Boston, and hope that shines through.