I’m so excited to announce my brand new series. It’s still in the development phase but I hope to have it released early 2015. I’m going to be working hard to get it done and I’m thrilled about this series.

The series will be set in the fictional town of Winterville, NY, outside Buffalo, of course. It centers around eight women who are friends or become friends during the series. But it isn’t going to be your every day fiction series.

All these women are overweight and struggle with accepting themselves.

It’s a story many of us have faced. I’ve been overweight pretty much forever and I know the emotions and fears all too well. I finally decided these women needed a voice and I was going to give them one.

My eight main characters have a variety of concerns, and I won’t get into all that right now, but each book will center around the women finding a way to be happy with herself, whether that means changing or staying the same. Of course they are also love stories so the books will involve a man who falls hopelessly in love with each heroine.

I’ve only been working on this story for a few weeks, but I’m so excited about it that I can barely contain myself. Today I just wanted to introduce you to it.

The story is set in Winterville, NY, a small town long winters and short summers. Winterville is the kind of place where you instantly feel at home with a charming downtown area to wander and shop and plenty of hills for sledding and skiing and even an outdoor ice rink. Winterville is the perfect place to be in the winter, and not so bad in the summer.

The first woman you’ll meet is Mandy. She’s a fun, sarcastic, snarky woman who is always laughing and having a good time. Mandy has been overweight her entire life and struggles with accepting herself even though she jokes about it with her friends.

Claire is a good friend of Mandy’s. In high school she was thin and athletic but her boyfriend tried to rape her. Afterward she hid her body and gained weight so no one would ever try to take advantage of her again.

Samantha’s mom was thin and healthy and always told her she needed to lose weight. Sam hides her food and eats her feelings, not willing to accept that she’s even lying to herself. She decides to change it and starts going to a gym to make herself happier and healthier.

Addison is athletic and fit, but not thin. It bothers her that she can’t seem to lose weight even though she’s always working out. She wants to change things up and volunteers to help with her school’s (she’s a teacher) ski club.

Riley is the biggest one of the group and wonders if her friends are only friends with her because she makes them all look smaller. She’s always been shy and buried herself in books, but she’s a fun person when you get to know her.

Caroline is uncomfortable in her own skin. She never wears revealing clothes but has a good sense of style. She disguises her weight with nice clothes to hide how much she hates her shape.

Alexandria is your typical overachiever. She’s driven and motivated with a very successful career. She doesn’t make time for men or relationships when she’s working 60+ hours each week. She’s lonely, but she’s never admit it.

Charlotte has dedicated her time to her cupcake shop. She loves to bake and made a career out of it. Men always see her as a friend so she doesn’t let herself get too attached to any guy she likes. She lives in the friend zone.

Each woman faces struggles we all face, independent of weight or appearance. Each woman struggles with her weight but handles it differently. I hope these books are fun and exciting and show all of us that it’s possible to be…

Big & Beautiful!