Unexpected

My latest novel, Unexpected, is now available! 

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Eleven years ago, Ross McConnell was devastated by the betrayal of the woman of his dreams. Time does not heal all wounds, and after more than a decade, Ross is no closer to finding love. When his well-meaning family attempts to play match maker, he concedes by creating an unrealistic list detailing his perfect mate. Perhaps he'll give love another try, if such perfection exists. . . 

Natalie Forrester is no stranger to heartache. After two failed marriages, the single mother of three is determined to make it on her own. Without a college degree, she starts at the bottom: working as a housekeeper may not be glamorous, but it's her first big step toward independence. And Natalie's most recent cleaning job is ideal--the guy is always out of town, and the pay will go a long way toward supporting her missionary son. 

And then Ross and Natalie meet . . . and meet again. And following a series of awkward encounters, Ross is shocked by his growing attraction for this woman. Natalie couldn't be further from his ideal woman, and she is firm in her determination to keep her heart closed to love. But as their tenuous friendship develops and deepens, will the unlikely pair have the courage to set aside the disappointments of the past to catch hold of a bright new future?

Writing Unexpected was a lot of fun. I asked my cute, artistic sister-in-law if I could loosely base my main female character after her, and she replied, "Why not? My life is stranger than fiction!" (Too true, that.)

I'll be posting another blog soon to describe what elements I borrowed from her, and what she is doing to help me launch Unexpected! In the meantime, you can find Unexpected at Deseret Book and Seagull Book, and Amazon, for starters. 

Happy reading! In the meantime, have some cookies and hot chocolate!

The Perfect Prom Payday

My daughter H was on the hunt for the perfect prom dress. And she found it. It fit her perfectly; the color—a purple iridescent taffeta—was perfectly unique.

The dress was perfect, she said. It was also strapless.

Before you think mean ol' Mom put her foot down with a big N-O as a result, you have to understand my H. She's a modest kid. A strapless dress was never an option in her mind. No, the big question she had for me was how willing I would be to try to find the matching fabric needed to make the dress pass her dad's and my (and her) standards.

Seriously, iridescent purple taffeta is not a big sale item at JoAnn's Fabrics these days. I was worried. But we bought the dress. Because it was perfect.

Without going into a lot of boring details, but with some organza in both purple and pink, we got a close match. H was thrilled. I was still unsure. I asked my uber-costumer friend Paula for her opinion. She gave me the thumbs up. Well, if Paula thought it was okay, I guessed I was okay, too. Yours Truly spent a few nights hand sewing slippery fabric onto the perfect prom dress—and that's pretty tricky to do when you've got your fingers crossed the entire time.

In the end, it turned out okay. I was relieved. H was happy, and she looked beautiful on the day of the prom.

So you can imagine how we felt when she told us what happened at the restaurant before the dance. The place was full of prom-goers, teens looking their best and ready to have a great evening. While H was eating dinner with her date and their group, a mother with a 4-yr old girl came up to her and whispered that her daughter liked H's dress the best of all the prom dresses there.

Well, that was cool! H was flattered. (It is kinda hard to top iridescent purple taffeta, I suppose . . .)

But then later, before leaving the restaurant, H and the girls in her prom group headed to the ladies' room. Once again they encountered the mom and little girl. The woman, fighting tears, told them that her daughter had said that when she grows up she wants to wear a modest pretty dress like those girls. The mom thanked H and her friends for choosing to wear beautiful, modest prom dresses, and for setting a good example for her daughter.

What a perfect payday for some wonderful teens who were making good choices and were examples for good as a result, and for the moms who helped those girls look and feel elegant and special, despite what's frequently available to them on the store racks.

Shopping with the "Girls"

Meet Abbie Lincoln and her twin friends, Andrea and Drusilla Jackson:

Let me begin by stating that I dread the approach of Mother's Day every year. Every year. It's one of those holidays where I sit in church and listen to stories about mothers who should be awarded sainthood, and catalog all of my glaring defects.

And then I start wondering how hard Stephen had to twist his kids' arms to go out and buy the obligatory Mother's Day present.

I'll admit I didn't make my kids five-course breakfasts before sending them off to school. I did teach them how to pour milk on cereal. I am pretty sure they will not be able to give one of those aforementioned talks in church and say that they never heard their mom raise her voice. And in my house the running gag is that my kids have an imaginary censor button at the ready when Mom begins speaking. Not that I would ever fall into the category of George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." Not even close. But my occasionally unguarded wit had earned me some rolled eyes and "Mom!" comments. *sigh* And well-mimed censor button pushing.

So, with dread lurking and needing to be faced, I made a conscious decision to think about my mom (love you, Mom), who has been gone a couple years now, and spend time with my wonderful mother-in-law (love you, Grandma Audrey). I chose to be the kid and not the mom this time around, and focus on the mothers in my life.

As a result, I had a terrific Mother's Day.

And amazingly, because I had no expectations about what my kids would or wouldn't do, an already terrific day got even better. I got a great, gushy note from each of them (we moms like to hear that stuff from our kids) and they gave me a shopping spree--very creatively.

Now the challenge is this: I don't want to spend the shopping spree money! I don't want to go shopping with the "girls," I want to keep them!

Here's to all you mothers and mothers to be.