Guest Post: Mags Hayward and Sweet as Candy

New author Mags Hayward is here today to talk about her new release, Sweet as Candy and let you read an excerpt. Welcome, Mags!

Hi Ally, thank you so much for inviting me over to your blog. It’s the first time I’ve been here and I’m very excited.

My name is Mags Hayward and I’m a new author writing lesbian romance and erotic romance for JMS Books LLC. I’m here today to talk about my fourth publication, Sweet as Candy, which was written for the JMS Books sweet or spice submission call and published on February 19^th.

Sweet as Candy is a gentle lesbian romance centred on Kate, a nineteen-year-old student who’s never found love. Kate’s lost faith that she’ll ever find the one and certainly doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Meeting Candy, however, is about to change all that.

The story unfolds over one day, from morning ’till late, with the action taking place at a Pride festival organised by Kate’s best friend, Danny.  It’s this festival I’d like to talk about.

Jubilee Park Pride is based on a Pride festival that took place in a town near my home in the UK Midlands in 2019. It was the first Pride event the town had staged and was a much anticipated event. I attended in the morning and did my favourite trick of wandering around, blending in invisibly, while people-watching and listening to chatter. I gathered that many of those attending had travelled miles to support the event, some obviously having never visited that town before. There were frequent where’s this, where can I find that questions being asked, all politely answered by the police and other emergency services workers who’d kindly volunteered to act as stewards for the event.

There were locals there too, of course, but I didn’t recognise as many faces as I’d expected. The weather may have been partially to blame. Unlike Jubilee Park Pride’s all-day blazing sunshine, the real 2019 event was plagued by heavy downpours of rain. It didn’t spoil the fun, and I remember everyone smiling and having a great time, but it may have reduced the number of last-minute attendees. Who knows? Anyway, for the purposes of my feel-good short story, I decided to let the sun shine all day.

The decorated shop fronts, outlandish costumes and live events such as the bands in the park and the pub drag night are all based on the real-life Pride festival. It was quite a party – a bright, colourful, rainbow party. Sadly, the 2020 repeat celebration, which was scheduled to be bigger and feature a carnival-style street parade, was cancelled thanks to Covid. The 2021 event was also cancelled. Again, I chose not to reflect this in my story. Jubilee Park got its second Pride festival as, I hope, the town that inspired it will in 2022.

As I said, Sweet as Candy is my fourth publication with JMS Books LLC. My first book, Sydney, One Way, is a lesbian erotic romance flash fiction published the same month as Leap of Faith, a longer sweet lesbian romance. My third book is also a ‘Hot Flash’ – lesbian paranormal romance this time. My next project is another short paranormal romance.

Thank you for reading. Best wishes, Mags x

Read an Excerpt

Crossing the road, Kate ran ahead, eager to explore. Like the theatre, Jubilee Park was bigger than she’d expected, and the town’s first ever Pride—Danny’s debut as an event organiser—was buzzing. Bunting fluttered from anything tall enough to tie it to; stallholders lined the paths, selling everything you’d expect at a festival from handmade, tie-dyed clothing, to local honey, and sizzling ‘healthy alternatives’ fast food. 
The park sloped downhill, and the lower area was filled with giant inflatable slides, bouncy castles, and kiddies’ roundabouts. Children’s shrieks and laughter cut through the pounding music pumping through speakers strapped to the trees. The park was alive with colour, music, delicious smells, and an atmosphere so joyous it brought a tear to Kate’s eye. 
“Danny”—Kate flung her arms around Danny’s neck—“I’m so proud of you.”
“Aw, babes… Now get off me and take a proper look. The bands will be performing on the bandstand over there.”
“Where?”
“Step to your right. See it?” 
Kate spotted a hexagonal structure in the centre of the park, partially hidden behind an ancient oak. She walked a few steps further to get a better view. With ornate pillars and intricate trellises around its conical roof, the bandstand was an impressive relic of Victoriana. The raised stage was piled high with speakers, drum kit, and keyboards, while a DJ had squeezed his equipment onto the top step. Wearing oversized headphones, he waved his arms to the beat, rallying the crowd. 
Kate eyed the multitude already gathered around the bandstand and gasped, heart leaping into her mouth—the girl with the multi-coloured hair was right there. She was talking to the blond girl and three others, hands moving animatedly as she chatted. The girl suddenly threw back her head, coloured locks flying, then she swayed to the music, arms above her head, dancing like no one could see.