♡
Hey ho! Thanks for reading 'Falling for my Boss'! I hope you liked the book as much as I loved writing it!
In this afterword, I'd like to post the source of my inspiration for this book, how I went on to writing it and a few memes that I had come across that I felt like suited M & S!
SO - THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS BOOK
I was watching some movie with Anne Hathaway and Simon Baker - I loved how the couple looked with the brown hair and blond hair. One of my favourite movies is the Devil wears Prada. Additionally I read a ton of boss love stories, one where a girl made coffee for the boss or something if I remember correctly, and the ideas just kept on forming in my head.
Now, in my head, the story was n o t h i n g like the book I released.
Michael should have, frankly, been an asshole. A cold asshole with a secret, a lady's man and quite rude to the female protagonist, our Sara. He wouldn't let her leave on Christmas as it wasn't a religious day for her, would make her work over the new year with him, etc etc. In my older/original version, the female protagonist exploded and left the company.
The boss then noticed how much he actually valued her work and made her come back - the female protagonist told him that if he acted that rudely to her, she would walk right back out the company. The female protagonist worked through several departments to avoid him. She would have to continuously prove herself to her boss, taking on too much work and suffering a lot because of it, but she would keep quiet to show she wasn't weak.
Then I went on to writing the first chapter - so far so good.
Then I wrote the second chapter - and Michael appeared. The moment the elevator doors opened, asshole Michael turned to sunshine Michael. He fell for Sara, he yearned for love, he had a hurtful past.
The female protagonist that was easily heartbroken but stubborn stayed - Sara worked, Sara argued, Sara was stubborn, she cut off people easily but forgave them as easily.
Yet the story just kept on changing. A lot more friends were included, a wedding was included, an engagement, his family (I initially just wrote about his mother), Michael tried to be a good boss and cared for his employees even if he didn't show it.
Sara was the same - she fought against her feelings but in the end, she gave in. She got the happiness she deserved.
In the original story, she was happy after working so hard. No hard past, no real story behind her character.
In this story, Sara got her happy ending after she was abstained of love from her ex, she found a man that built her right back up into who she truly was (you'll see in the next book what I mean) and loved her purely.
NOW, FOR THEIR NAMES
For Michael - I at first loved the names Philippe and Matthew, but Michael just stuck with me as I did some research.
The name Michael means the following: From the Hebrew name (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God.
I wanted to show no matter how perfect you think he is, with his symmetrical handsome features, good built and sharp mind, that nobody is perfect in the end.
Sara - oh Sara. I love the names Rebecca, Emma, Victoria, Terese, Rachel, Megan/Meghan, Genevieve, Eleonore, Seraphina, Arabella, Elise, Charlotte, Alexandra, Beatrice, Catherine/Katarina, Cordelia, Delilah/Dalilah, Diana/Dianne/Diane, Elizabeth, Eloise, Grace, Isabelle, Lucina, Luna, Meredith, Olivia - and after so many names, my eyes were stuck on the name Sara.
The name Sara means the following: Frequently, the name refers to Sarah, the wife of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Old Testament, and the Islamic Quran. In Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian, it means woman of high rank, often simply translated as "Princess". In Modern Hebrew, "sarah" (שרה) is the word for "woman minister". It also means lady, priestess, noblewoman. In Islamic it means pure, happiness.
Now, the funny part is Sara is my name, but that completely slipped by me, until I one day told my sister about this book that I was writing. She laughed and asked why I had chosen my own name, and I told her I hadn't - only then I noticed I had actually chosen my own name. Let me tell you, certain scenes are weird to write now lol.
But it also makes it easier to know how she feels, since we are similar in some things.
WRITING THIS BOOK
It was easy, really. Sure, sometimes I lacked inspiration and had to take a break, but let me tell you what surprises me always without fail when I write books:
the characters take shape and act on their own!
Soon you aren't writing what you wanted to write, no, it feels as if the characters are making you do that. You have no controll over what you are writing. Michael acts out. Sara acts out. Arguments, confessions, feelings - they decided on them, not me.
You always start off with an idea, but then your characters are shaped to live the more you write. They have a mind on their own and soon you are writing down their words, as weird as it sounds.
Michael decided he hated his father, Sara decided to withdraw herself from Michael - not me. The characters chose this path and I followed.
I had often written down something, typed something, without me actually realizing that I had done so. Often I had said 'Oh, so this is how it will go?' because the characters chose themselves that's how they wanted it. I create an outline, the characters fill it.
FUTURE PLANS
I plan on writing a follow up story on Michael's and Sara's life - family, work, arguments, plans, etc etc.
The kids - oh the kids. 3 of them are stubborn and forced ideas into my head.
A few of them started off doing their thing, but life led them down a different path. One of them has big shoes to fill. One of them is constantly in danger. One of them followed Michael's passion - but with a twist. Two of them have stayed quiet so far and didn't let me look into their personalities or goals at all.
So yeah, leaving it vague on purpose ;)
Also, if you'd like, I would publish details how I researched Michael's character and what I had planned for him or any other character!
Also, I might post a chapter of the new book!
NOW ONTO THE MEMES
These are the kind of memes Michael and Sara would send each other - and yes, they would do that.
Again, thank you for supporting me thus far on this amazing journey and I hope to see you all in the next book of this series 'The Billionaire's Wife'.
Before I write their new story however, I must finish my two other books first!
But until then, you could help me choose a title for the new book! This is my sort of way to show how thankful I'm for each one of you! ♡
So, the titles I came up with so far are:
- The Boss's Wife
- The Billionaire's Wife
- The CEO is my husband
- The CEO's wife
- My husband is a CEO/My husband is the CEO
- I'm Mrs CEO
- Mrs CEO
If you have any suggestions, you can let us all know!
Until then,
Saaraaaxy xx