Fun Facts for “Singlehood: Toronto (#1)
Factoid One
I purposely gave half of the six main characters (Ginger, Henka, and Jasmine) personality traits that were more reminiscent of men , so that there would be a clear dichotomy between them and the remaining women in the friend group, as well as to create the necessary tension and comedic interplay between them.
Factoid Two
Ginger started out as Ginger, but then about halfway through the book I decided to change her name to Tabitha for some reason I cannot recall now. Fortunately, I changed it back to Ginger…which I prefer.
Factoid Three
Another Godfather reference! Dedicated readers of my books will note that I have referenced the Godfather films several times in them. And why not? It’s the type of movie franchise that has situations in it that are applicable to all facets of life.
Factoid Four
Ginger has a How Not to Eat Donuts plan, which involves her avoiding walking routes that do not include donut shops. Unfortunately, when I go for strolls, I actually pass by at least two donut shops…and they are good ones. However, I have to use sheer willpower to prevent myself from going into one and buying 2 or 3 donuts. Somehow, I’ve managed to be successful.
Factoid Five
I found Henka’s name in a baby naming book I own. I was literally just flipping through it and spotted it. I though it was unique, and I like finding unique names for some of my characters. The name is Polish in origin, from Old German, and means “Home Ruler.”
Factoid Six
In a way, one could view Jill as an alternate universe-type version of Vanessa. She is spectacularly gorgeous, incredibly sexy, unavoidably alluring…but she just doesn’t have it together the way Vanessa does.
Factoid Seven
The fact that all of Ginger’s sculpture pieces are named Untitled, followed by a number, was really to make life easier for me as a writer. I did not want to have to come up with names for each of Ginger’s pieces, especially for a series of books.
Factoid Eight
Originally, this series was going to be set in San Francisco. But after determining that I wanted to break away from always using California locations, I decided to move it. I considered New York, but thought that was a bit too obvious. Miami was also considered, but I felt the vibe of that city and the vibe of this series wouldn’t match. I also considered London, but didn’t want to have to deal with another series in which I have to write in a British fashion.
Eventually, I settled on Toronto for its vibrancy and ethnic diversity.
Factoid Eight
It turns out Canadians spell some words differently than Americans…but not as many as the English do. Fortunately, I found a page on a university website that lists all of the words Canadians spell differently than Americans. I bookmarked it and referred to it constantly while writing this book.
Factoid Nine
Originally, I was going to write it so that Jill had bought Nova the puppy…as a kind of way to fill the void since Ginger broke up with her. But then I couldn’t make even myself believe that Jill was responsible enough to take care of another living creature.
Factoid Ten
I have learned a lot about the Professional Women’s Hockey League during the writing of this book, and have their website bookmarked in my browser. In fact, before I started writing this book, I hadn’t been aware there was even such a thing. But at the time I started writing this book in the series, there wasn’t a WNBA franchise playing in Toronto yet. (There will be starting in 2026, the Toronto Tempo). And what I wanted was a professional women’s sport that a handful of my characters could be fans of.
Bonus Factoid
I am considering this series to be something like an expanded version of my Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance series. Instead of each book focusing on only two women—like the Carlsbad series—with only occasional mentions of the greater cast of characters in the series (the various friends), the books in this series will focus on the entire group of friends and their romantic and sexual antics, as well as their overall friendships.
