Four years ago, I self-published the first book in my Jersey Scene series, A Jersey Kiss. It was an exciting, nerve-wracking experience, but one where I learnt a huge amount. I can still remember taking a deep breath and pressing ‘Publish’ on Amazon KDP. That first day I sold 30 copies. It was exciting and terrifying to think that people outside my family would read the book. I waited for the reviews to come in… always scary.

Months later, I published my second book in the series, A Jersey Affair. Shortly after that Accent Press Publishers signed me to a four-book deal to re-publish the first two books in the series and for a further two books, A Jersey Dreamboat and A Jersey Bombshell.

A Jersey Kiss then went on to be a finalist in the Joan Hessayon Awards for New Writers 2015 and the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards 2016 (RoNAs). To be shortlisted for an award at glittering award ceremonies in London and shortlisted with authors I admired, such as Liz Fenwick, Veronica Henry, Bella Osborne and Melanie Hudson, who went on to win the Contemporary Romance RoNA award, was incredibly exciting.

I then went on to write Summer Sundaes, book one of my second series, The Boardwalk by the Sea. It was then that I realised how much I missed having control over my Jersey Scene books. These books, like most of my others, are partly based or in the case of A Jersey Kiss completely set, on the island of Jersey where I live. I contacted my publishers and began the quest to have my rights reverted to me.

It has taken eighteen months, but I’m now delighted to have had my UK rights reverted and the US rights for one of the books. I still have to work on my US rights being reverted for three of the books because those rights were sold on, but that doesn’t detract from my excitement of finally getting my book babies back.

I will be republishing A Jersey Kiss, A Jersey Affair, A Jersey Dreamboat and A Jersey Bombshell over a period of weeks, so that the entire series will be republished by this summer. The new covers for my four books are being designed and will be ready soon – I can’t wait to share them with you!