As some of you know, I’m delighted to be writing three more Jen Gilroy sweet contemporary romances for Harlequin Heartwarming.

At my Harlequin editor’s request, these stories continue my small-town Strawberry Pond series and follow The Hero Next Door, A Surprise for the Single Dad and my new release, A Small Town Family Christmas.

Nestled in New Hampshire’s beautiful White Mountains, “The Pond” as locals call it, is a close-knit and caring community where strangers are friends you haven’t met yet.

The first three Strawberry Pond books centre around three female friends involved in farming or another aspect of agricultural life.

With men who value them for who they are, they don’t only find happily-ever-after, but also learn and grow to become the women they were meant to be in all parts of their lives.

In the next three stories, the focus shifts to three cousins, girlhood best friends, who reunite as adults, beginning with Her Hometown Hockey Hero out May 25, 2027.

Will she dance…Into a future with him?

When a New York City ballerina comes to Strawberry Pond to spend the summer with her great-aunt, she ends up teaching summer dance classes, including one for teenage (ice) hockey players…And unexpectedly falls for the team’s coach, a widowed former pro with an adorable young daughter.

Opposites attract, second chances and small-town charm…Could ballet and hockey, two of my own favourite things, be a perfect partnership?

As a romance reader myself, I like getting glimpses of “life after the happily-ever-after” so couples from the first three books reappear as the Strawberry Pond series continues.

And if you remember Clarabelle, the escape artist cow in The Hero Next Door, and Buttons the mischievous basenji dog in A Surprise for the Single Dad, they make cameo appearances in these new books, too.

As both reader and writer, small-town romance gives me a sense of community, connection and comfort that often feels lacking in our twenty-first century world.

In my Strawberry Pond series, the town is almost a character in its own right—like a hug from a friend and cozy escape from life’s stresses.

If you’re already reading the series, I hope you’ll enjoy these new books.

And for all readers, from the retro Strawberry Spot diner with its juke box and hearty home cooking, to the traditional New England town green and more, when I say, “Welcome to Strawberry Pond,” I also mean “welcome home.”