I am so happy to welcome debut author Caren Crane to The Romance Dish today! Caren is no stranger to the Dishes. I have had the pleasure of reading Caren's regular posts at the Romance Bandits blog for the past several years as well as experiencing her sassy wit and humor in person at various romance conferences. I've been waiting a long time to read a romance written by Caren and am so excited that her book, KICK START, is finally out there for everyone to enjoy. I read it last weekend and had such a good time in Caren's fictional town of Cross Springs that I'm ready to return for another visit. Fortunately, Caren plans to take us back there in her second book, CROSS TALK.
You can learn more about Caren by visiting her website and can connect with her at Facebook and Twitter.
Welcome, Caren!
My Love Affair with Do-Overs
I don't know when I first heard the term
"do-over," but I know that I grasped the concept with both hands. The
chance to try again, to fix mistakes, to possibly change your luck, your path,
your very future? I was all in!
The trouble is, Life doesn't often give you chances for
do-overs. Words cannot be unspoken, actions cannot be undone (or done if they
were neglected), no matter how much we might want them to be. We're all sort of
stuck with the messes we make. I have children who are 18, 20 and 27. As you
can imagine, I have had countless
opportunities for "teaching moments" about handling the consequences
of one's words and actions. In the interest of full disclosure, I had lots of
practice with this myself long before
I was a mother. J
So I know how rare the do-over really is.
About 12 years ago, I began writing fiction. It was the most
exciting thing I had ever done. I quickly realized I knew nothing at all, but
then set out to fix that minor problem. After I got the basics under my belt, I
figured out the secret of fiction—there
are NO RULES. There are tropes and reader expectations but there are no
hard and fast rules about what the writer can or cannot make happen. You can't
imagine how very exciting this was to me! I—the mostly rule-following good
girl—found this freedom a little scary. Okay, kind of terrifying, really. But
my characters didn't have to be as
scared of this as I was. They could
do anything!
When I hit on the concept for my debut novel, Kick
Start, I was worried. Not for me, but for Linda, my
Linda got a do-over.
Honestly, I was worried for her. Her do-over sort of scared
us both. It took her kick-ass best friend to force both of us into action. Her
best friend issues a challenge that Linda's long-buried rebellious streak can't
resist. She decides to go back to college (something that makes my brain hurt
to consider) and, in short order, begins to consider dating a younger man. Her
inner approval-seeker is strong, plus she has impressionable children at home.
She feels certain no one will approve...but... But. There's that do-over I forced on her. Her younger man, Jack,
is exactly her type of man. The kind
she dated early and often before she met the man she married. Her ex was not
really her type, but an unexpected pregnancy forced Linda to accept him as
"the one" for the baby's sake.
Nineteen years later, she has a chance to start again. To
consider a new life with a new man. If
she can give herself permission. The objections of her community are not all in
her head, after all. She gets plenty of unsolicited advice and knows, without a
doubt, that giving Jack a chance means life has no chance of ever going back to
any semblance of what it was. Life will never be the same. I was terrified for
her!
It was hard for me, as a mother and a wife, to think about
all the implications such a move would have. If I had to start over, I think I might experience a little of what Linda goes through. I'm
not a huge approval seeker, but I want people to think well of me. I think most
of us do. To defy the expectations of people you know and love is scary, so
seizing the chance for a do-over at love was a Huge Dilemma for my heroine! I
really do have a love affair with do-overs, though, and cannot resist giving
them to all my (poor, beleaguered) heroines. Watching how each one responds to
the challenges the do-over presents is the most exciting part of writing for
me.
What about you? Would
you seize the chance for a do-over? If so, what would you do again or do
differently? I would probably go to medical school, but I have a feeling I
would still want to write. Let me know about your do-over dreams!
PJ here. I'm giving away two digital copies (Kindle or Nook) of Caren's debut book, KICK START today so let's hear about those do-over dreams!
PJ here. I'm giving away two digital copies (Kindle or Nook) of Caren's debut book, KICK START today so let's hear about those do-over dreams!
