By Tine Roycroft

Valentine’s Day ~ the holiday that just can’t win. If we’re single, we hate it because it reminds us that we’re standing alone, eating a Lean Cuisine over the sink in our studio apartment. If we’re in a relationship, we hate it because it forces us to buy armfuls of useless items at our local drugstore in the name of love.

Local author Stephanie Monahan has taken Valentine’s Day, for better and for worse, and has used it as the stage of her terrific new novel, 33 Valentines, available from Entangled Publishing.

“33 Valentines originally started as a novella,” Monahan, 34, said. “I was on Entangled Publishing’s Twitter page one day in November, 2011, and saw they had a call for submissions for a Valentine’s-themed anthology. I thought about the theme, and then, all of a sudden, the main character started talking to me.”

The novella took her about two weeks to write, and Monahan said it was one of the easiest and most fulfilling experiences of her life. A month after submitting the piece, Monahan got a call from the editor saying that the story wasn’t appropriate for the anthology, but the company wanted to see it expanded into a novel.

The book is a fun-paced and delightful read, focusing on protagonist Sophie’s determination to make this February a positive experience filled with love, instead of the unlucky month of disaster that it’s proven itself to be in the past. But February seems to have a different idea in mind. The object of Sophie’s affection is already going on a date with his dream girl, Sophie ends up in the hospital, and her family presents myriad emotional challenges for her to muddle through. Despite this downpour of negativity, Sophie tries to somehow find the courage to stand up and fight for her V-Day.

The writing is crisp, clear and engaging, allowing readers to experience real sympathy (or empathy) for Sophie. You might never suppose that Monahan’s best first date ever occurred on Valentine’s Day with the man she would go onto marry. The two met at a creative writing workshop at Binghamton University, where Monahan earned her degree in English literature and rhetoric. They now live in Auburn with their beloved dog.

Monahan has a day job and adheres to a very disciplined writing schedule, but she’s always happy to help others, especially young writers. Recently, Monahan participated in the Betty Curtis Worcester County Young Writers’ Conference at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, where she acted as a writing mentor for the children in grades 7-12 and helped them proofread and workshop their own stories.

At this time, Monahan is hard at work on another women’s fiction book, in which a former mean-girl’s past comes back to haunt her in the form of a Top 40 hit song. Monahan said that this book promises to have a little more of an edge than 33 Valentines and she’s having a great time writing it.

No doubt we’ll have a great time reading it.

To purchase 33 Valentines, or to find out more about Stephanie Monahan, visit stephmonahanwrites.wordpress.com.