After 20 years, the publishing career of romance author Sean D. Young is in full bloom. She’s celebrating the milestone by rebranding one of her popular series.
Tell me about your latest books.
Bloom and Surrender, books one and two in my newly rebranded Happily Ever After series. These stories follow the lives of the Hart sisters, Ivy, Rose, Lili, and Violet, four women who inherited a historic mansion and transformed it into Hearts & Flowers, one of the most sought-after wedding venues in the Midwest.
Bloom (previously With This Ring) is Rose Hart’s story. It’s a story about second chances, trust, and learning to believe in love again. Rose is a premier floral designer who’s built her life around making fairy tales come true for her clients. What starts as a professional partnership soon turns into something far more tender and complicated. Rose sees in Marc Damon the kind of man who doesn’t just admire her strength, he cherishes the woman beneath it. But when ambition, secrets, and an old enemy threaten the foundation they’ve started to build, Rose must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart again…and whether love can truly take root where there’s been so much pain. Bloom is about what happens when a woman finally chooses herself, her desires, her voice, her future, and finds that the right love not only honors her but helps her grow.
Surrender (previously From This Moment) tells Ivy Hart’s story. Ivy is a wedding planner who prides herself on control and perfection, but an impulsive Vegas wedding to Jonathan Damon, Marc’s brother, throws her life completely off balance. What begins as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes a powerful journey of vulnerability, healing, and the kind of love that asks us to risk everything, including the walls we’ve built to protect ourselves.
These books are layered with themes of romance, forgiveness, emotional growth, and family. Surrender especially leans into women’s fiction, giving space to Ivy’s healing after a painful past. And together, Bloom and Surrender set the stage for a deeply romantic series about love blooming in unexpected ways.
Why did you decide to write it?
To commemorate my 20th anniversary as a published author, I wanted to retell the Hart sisters’ stories in a new and refreshing way. The Hart sisters were introduced in Total Bliss, my first traditionally published novel, in 2005. I then decided to publish the Hearts & Flowers series; With This Ring, From This Moment, and Straight From The Heart. With the Happily Ever After Series, I will finally tell Violet Hart’s story. I’m excited to reintroduce these talented ladies to the readers.
What do you want readers to learn from the story?
More than anything, I want readers to walk away with the reminder that love doesn’t have to be perfect to be real. In Bloom, Rose has to confront her fear of vulnerability and learn that second chances don’t mean settling; they mean growing. Love isn’t always about grand gestures; sometimes it’s about having the courage to trust again after you’ve been broken.
With Surrender, Ivy’s journey is a deeply personal one. She’s spent years hiding behind control and perfectionism as a way to protect herself from past trauma. I wanted readers to see that you can bounce back from this with the right person to love you. Trust is one of the most important components in any relationship.
These women are layered, complicated, and resilient. They’re learning, stumbling, and standing up again. And through it all, love is not their reward, it’s the place they grow into, not away from. If a reader finishes these books feeling seen, hopeful, or simply reminded that they’re worthy of love exactly as they are, that’s all I could ask for.
When did you fall in love with the written word?
I was very young when I fell in love with the written word. I joined my first book club at the age of seven.
If you could pick another profession, what would it be and why?
I love graphic and web design. There’s something about bringing a vision to life that makes me feel good. I’m able to use my creativity in a different way and bring a visual to my stories. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to learn and do more with this profession alongside writing my stories.
What’s the best part of being an author?
The best part about being an author is telling the stories of my heart—stories that center African American voices, our families, our love, our joy and our happily ever afters.
What’s the worst part of being an author?
Writing is only part of the job, and that can be very lonely. The rest—marketing, deadlines, social media, constant edits—can be overwhelming. Sometimes the business side of publishing threatens to drain the joy from the creative process. Staying connected to the love of storytelling takes intention and heart.
What books have you read lately and loved?
I’m an audiobook girlie, and with my commute to work, I have quite a bit of time to listen. In the last month or so, I’ve read Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan, Reel by Kennedy Ryan, Spilling the Tea by Brenda Jackson, Bent But Not Broken by Mary Monroe, Twins for the Holidays by Jacquelin Thomas, A New Foundation, Sweet Deception by Rochelle Alers.
What’s next for you?
Serenade and Forever in the Happily Ever After Series are up next. Serenade was previously published as Straight From the Heart. It is Lili Hart and Dominic Ballard’s love story. Forever is Violet Hart’s story—one that I’m anxious to tell since I didn’t get to write hers earlier in my career. I’m excited to retell Lili’s story and for Violet Hart to finally find her happily ever after.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
I just want to say how deeply grateful I am to be a writer. Every story I tell is a gift that I don’t take for granted. Thank you, Black Fiction Addiction, for always creating space for authors like me. Your support over the years has meant the world.
Use the Black Fiction Addiction link to purchase your copy of Bloom and Surrender by romance author Sean D. Young.
To learn more about romance author Sean D. Young, visit her website: www.seandyoung.com