The Process

Saying I've been waiting to discuss this one is an understatement. The Florist and the Pastry Chef was the fourth story I wrote on Wattpad and it was the first one that really gained any traction. For me, the two most common factors in gaining followers and reads are patience and consistency. I'm a chaotic writer. I will work on several different stories at a time. This one, however, was different. Before doing a rewrite, I meticulously planned everything out, which is very rare for my style. From chapter one to the epilogue, I knew where Sebastian and Paisley's story was going. 

The story starts out with them already being undeniably attracted to each other, and during the writing process, I was building on that. Basically developing and strengthening their feelings for each other through forbidden romance. It was an easy story to outline because of this. There was no building up or showing how they fell in love with each other (though, I do have an idea for a prequel!). I didn't have to do any pushing or pulling with their emotions, and I think that was why writing their relationship was so easy. It felt natural. 

Where I had issues within the storyline was figuring out how to make their families rivalries. A lot of people asked me how a bakery and a floral shop could be rivals when they create different pieces of art. This was where the past between Paisley's mom and dad and Sebastian's mom came into play. A rivalry doesn't have to stem from two floral shops or two bakeries battling it out. Not when the rivalry is being driven by old emotions that were never resolved. That's why having a bakery and floral shop go head-to-head worked in my favour. One could also argue that their rivalry, in the business world, could stem from one shop getting more attention than the other or being hired for more events such as weddings. But it's apparent throughout the story that something's happened between the DeGrande and King families, and several hints are given. You don't find out the truth until Sebastian and Paisley's relationship is revealed. Playing on this aided me in furthering the storyline and keeping it interesting. 

To be honest, I never really wanted to make their families rivalries. As much as I wanted to write a story where two people fell in love and lived happily ever after without any drama, there needed to be some. What is a romance story without some kind of issue, right? You need that typical "love conquers all" theme in there somewhere! 

What I had issues with during the writing process itself was balancing dialogue and description. In a lot of my stories, I will bounce back and forth between either heavy dialogue or too much description. It's one of my flaws in writing that I continue to work on. In some chapters, the mood was heavily influenced by the location of the scene. Take the one where Paisley is teaching Sebastian how to de-thorn roses. This was one area, before I edited it, where description took over the dialogue because I wanted the readers to see where this fairly intimate scene was taking place. One piece of advice I can offer regarding this issue, whether you depend more on dialogue or description, is to keep writing until you're done and then go back and edit. If you get stuck editing, the story will never reach its end. Just remember to cut yourself some slack, and that all first drafts are crappy!

The Inspiration

My family owns a catering business in West Kelowna. We're nothing super fancy, but we do a lot of weddings and company Christmas parties. To say the least, I've seen a lot! A few years ago, we catered this wedding, and there was this gorgeous wedding cake I couldn't stop looking at. It had three tiers and was covered in white fondant with some intricate gold designs on it. Where each tier met, there was a waterfall of flowers: roses, baby's breath, and peonies. It was breathtaking.

Now, this will sound a little lame, but seeing that cake sparked an idea in my head. Part of me feels like that's too simple of an explanation, but it's the truth. I'm an avid baker and I love tending to the garden, so I basically looked at the cake, split to the aspects in half, and there it was! The Florist and the Pastry Chef! 

When I got home later that night, I stayed up until three-in-the-morning and outlined the story. 

The Names

I've always loved the name Sebastian, and that is thanks to, although I'm a Vancouver Canucks fan, Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes (damn those cheekbones!). Aside from watching The Little Mermaid when I was a kid, that's really the only time I've heard the name Sebastian. There's a notebook I have where I write the names down for any future characters I want to write. Sebastian is a German name, but there are French variations, which is also part of the reason I chose it. It also paired well together with the name Paisley. Does anyone else make sure the names of their two MCs work together? 😂

Paisley's name was also one I had written down for one reason: it kept coming up on Pinterest. When I did more research on the name "Paisley," I discovered that it means "church or cemetery." The latter, cemetery, suited the journey I was putting Paisley through. At the beginning, she's a bit of a pushover with her family. She lets them take advantage of her kindness and doesn't know how to embrace her confidence and independence. By the end of the story, you see that change in her, and the old version is dead (yes, that's a Taylor Swift reference). She's embraced her love for Sebastian and her desire to control her life. 

My Favourite Scene

My favourite scene to write was the one where they go to the pumpkin patch. This chapter holds a bit of my personality. Although I love summer, autumn speaks to me in so many ways. I love corn mazes and bobbing for apples, campfires and carving pumpkins. I'm also terrified of clowns. Constructing this entire concept was so much fun because I based it on a place in Vernon, BC called O'Keefe Ranch. Vernon is about an-hour-and-a-half away from where I live. Every autumn, I'll visit O'Keefe Ranch for the kettle corn, haunted corn maze, maple candies, and their perfect pumpkins. Their haunted corn mazes are BEYOND fantastic. They always scare me and send me running and screaming. I know I sound a little incompetent here--why should I enjoy something that terrifies me? I don't have the answer to that question, and I don't think I ever will😂

Making Sebastian scared of clowns and clinging to Paisley for dear life was done for two reasons: it shows readers how much he trusts her, and it's just so damn funny. Personally, I felt like that was a turning point in their relationship. 

The Sequel

As of right now, I'm still working on their sequel. It's taken me almost two years because I took it down for a bit, and then got to rewriting it. I am hoping to have this story done by the end of the summer so I can move on to Cadence's story, and then Margaux's story. Oh, and Dani and Dane's!