Beyond the Book: Which One?

If you could be remembered (as an author) for only ONE of your books… which book would you choose? Why that one?”

Okay, I have several possibilities here. I could pick Rest Thy Head. According to the reviews and reader feedback this book best exemplifies the type of romance I write. It’s sweet, clean, and has a heroine who doesn’t have many faults. It isn’t the one I’d pick, though.

I could also choose Turnaround Farm. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I based my hero on my husband. If you’ve read the book you know a lot about my husband’s personality. This isn’t the one I’d pick either.

But when I think about Return Engagement I’d have to pause and consider this book. I spent a long time planning and thinking about it long before I actually started it. The plot was fleshed out, the characters developed, and I had multiple scenes already written in my head. It’s funny, though, that when I finally sat down to write the book I couldn’t decide how to begin it. I agonized for twenty minutes before I realized that I did have a delete key on my computer. I could always redo it if I wanted to. I put everything I had into Return Engagement, and I was and am proud of it. In fact, this was the one I intended to pick, but when I thought a little more about it I knew that there was one more that could beat it.

So which one would I pick? Blue 52. Blue 52 is the sequel to Return Engagement, and I love it above anything else I’ve ever written. My hero in Return Engagement was Richard Lovinggood, an alpha hero if there ever was one. Blue 52 focuses on his son Hank who turned out to be a beta hero. I believe that gave me more scope to develop the character. Don’t get me wrong, though. Hank can do anything he needs to do. He didn’t know that at the beginning of the book, but he did by the end. His character grew and developed a great deal as the story progressed. He had the courage to do exceptional things, a courage that my heroine Kathryn Sinclair helped him to find. Hank also suffered some personal tragedies in his life that didn’t happen to Richard in Return Engagement.

So, why’d I pick it? Because I love it. I gave myself freedom to write some things I’d never written before and scope to develop my characters fully. The book is a romance, but it’s also a mystery and has elements of a thriller. I think it’s some of the best work I’ve ever done. It was a recommended read at several reviewers’ blogs, and the reviews on Amazon are all very positive. Who wouldn’t like to leave such a legacy? Blue 52 is available at https://amzn.to/2tyWfr0