Scots romance writer Jenny Colgan says she was banned from killing off a character because it would deny millions of fans the happy ending they expect from her books.
The bestselling novelist, who is based between Edinburgh and Aberdour in Fife, has penned more than 30 feel-good comedies.
She has sold over ten million books to fans around the world thanks to her uplifting storylines and romantic endings.
But she revealed one plot was never published – and her agent threatened to burn all evidence of it – after she planned to bump off a main male character.
Colgan, 54, told the A Kick Up the Arts podcast: “I wrote one, I really liked it, about two people that were separated and didn’t meet until the end.
“I was going to kill him off just before they got the chance to meet.
“My agent was like ‘no, I’m going to burn this and no one must ever hear of it’, and that was the end of that.
“At the time I was like ‘ohh’, but I see her point. If you’re going to pick up one of my books you should feel jollier afterwards than you did before.
“I think that’s a fair trait.”
Colgan, who was raised in Prestwick, Ayrshire, has previously spoken of the importance of feel-good fiction.
She said of her work: “We all need to feel good, otherwise we’re all going to go mad.
“I write about nice places I want to go to and the kind of people that I like – funny people and nice guys. There will be trials and tribulations but everything will end up well.”
Her latest novel, The Secret Christmas Library, follows accidental antique book detective Mirren and Jamie, who is desperately trying to save his family’s crumbling estate in the Highlands.
