The inspiration for Ever After Street all started with The Cinderella Shop, the dress shop where Sadie works in A Midnight Kiss, and the thought of their unique guarantee – that you’ll find love while wearing one of their dresses or get your money back – and the Cinderella-like love story that could go with it if someone was to ‘borrow’ a dress and go to a ball in it. Would she meet Prince Charming and share a magical kiss as the clock struck midnight? Cinderella and ballgowns go hand-in-hand and you can’t have a Cinderella story without having a Cinderella castle, can you?
I instantly pictured the world-famous Disneyland castle, and then the more realistic Neuschwanstein castle in Germany, said to be the real-life inspiration behind the Walt Disney castle. The images of that – this massive castle in the hills, emerging from the trees, is what gave me the idea for the castle on Ever After Street – a real-life Disney castle, buried in the hills of the Wye Valley, hidden by trees as it fell into disrepair after decades of being abandoned, and of course, the characters who would bring it back to life over the course of the book.
The idea of this castle gave way to thoughts of the street it overlooked, and how great it would be if every shop there was fairytale-themed in some way. I wanted to create a place where both adults and children can go to escape reality and believe in magic for a little while. Think Disneyland, but for the retail industry, a perfect mix of entertainment for children and shopping for tired parents. I loved coming up with the various shops that would exist on the street – and the characters who would run them and the love stories that would take place there!
From the beginning, I described it as Hallmark-meets-Disney, where a happily ever after is always guaranteed, because falling in love is the real-life version of a fairytale, and I hope everyone who reads the Ever After Street series will come away believing there’s a touch of magic in the world and sometimes, if you’re in the right place at the right time, you’ll find it.
Make sure to pick up your copy of A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street today to be the first to start reading: https://mybook.to/midnightkisssocial