Traditional literature has certain typecasts for characters: Villain, evil. Hero, good. Staying inside these boundaries helps an author ensure her readers will dislike the bad guy and like her good guy/girl.
My characters tend to misbehave, though. In Trouble Won’t Wait, hating Mandy’s husband Mike from the start is easy—after all, he broke a sacred vow of marriage. And yet, as the story goes on, he’s not quite so hate-able. At times, it’s even easy to feel bad for the guy who did something really rotten, and still has a few bonehead moments, but underneath it all is a good man. Staying angry with him is also difficult for Mandy, which complicates her plight. And I have to confess, having a not-all-bad “bad guy” flustered some of the ladies in my romance critique group. But life isn’t always all straight lines and clean cuts, is it?
Giveaways!
Have you ever empathized with a villain? If you leave a comment and share who, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a digital copy (PDF, EPUB or Kindle) of Trouble Won’t Wait. An Amazon gift card of $15 will be awarded to one lucky commenter from Buy The Book Tours Media Page at the end of the 8 week book tour.
Have a great day.
Trouble Won’t Wait - Book Blurb
Good things may come to those who wait, but trouble waits for no one…
Cheating is a dealbreaker...or so Mandy’s always thought. But when she catches her husband getting some “strange,” she realizes how hard it is to cut and run, or even file papers. She agrees to a month of counseling, which will give her time to grieve the loss of her marriage before she has to tell the world—and the kids. Then she meets Adam, who gives her a hunky--if mysterious--shoulder to cry on, and that thirty-day waiting period seems like an eternity.
Adam has no problem confessing that he’s watched Mandy from his window for months as she runs by his house. If he told her why, though, she’d freak out for sure. He knows they’ve got a future together, if he can think of a way to explain his past. And he’s sure the rat-bastard who cheated on her is putting the moves on her again, but he won’t be the revenge guy. The month-long cooling off period she agreed to is lasting forever, and might just be indefinite, if trouble keeps getting in their way.
WARNING: Eccentric old lady pushing salt-of-the-earth advice, bossy big brother, kooky counselor, super-secretive hunk, and perfect justice served amidst adult situations and language.
Excerpt: Mandy’s individual session with the unconventional marriage counselor
I doubt Baldwin understands my resolve, so I explain. “I’m only here because I’m stalling Mike until after the holidays to separate.” Or was Mike stalling me? I’m not sure anymore. “I have no intention of ever sleeping with him again, and I want a divorce.” That should be clear enough.His bushy brows shoot up. I’ve piqued the wanta-be therapist’s interest. “Why do you feel that way?”God, could it be more simple? “He had sex with a woman we know, while I was in the same house! Anybody, even one of the kids, could have walked in on it! It makes me sick to think of him touching me.”“Do you still love him?”Jesus, did Mike put him up to asking that?“It doesn’t matter. I can’t forgive him for what he did. I’ll never forget what I saw, it comes to me at all hours of the day and night.”“So you do still love him, but you’re angry, possibly jealous of his having another partner without your consent.”Without my consent. This guy probably advocates swapping and threesomes, all the fun and games, as long as both spouses consent. I snap my gawping mouth shut.Good ole Baldwin looks me straight in the eye. “What if you were to have an encounter with an outside partner, to even the score?”Is it the smoke from the candles or his suggestion making me choke?“You mean like a revenge affair?” Stampeding thoughts of Adam shred my calm like buffalo through prairie turf. I feel flushed.* * * *
Maria Grazia's review
She thought they had a satisfying relationship, she was sure of that and loved Mike dearly. And even after her husband betrayed her, ignored her efforts to keep fit and attractive after having their two children, didn’t even realized she wrote books in her spare time and never read what she wrote, she accepted a month’s counseling to try to save her marriage. She can’t love Mike any longer but her sense of duty is strong enough to let her promise him she will meet the bizarre marriage counselor he chose.
She is so angry with Mike, who goes on cheating on her even during the counseling, but she tries to bear his presence in her life and in the same house for 4 weeks more. Where does she find the strength? In the newly acquired friendly bond with a mysterious, fascinating neighbour, Adam.
She is so angry with Mike, who goes on cheating on her even during the counseling, but she tries to bear his presence in her life and in the same house for 4 weeks more. Where does she find the strength? In the newly acquired friendly bond with a mysterious, fascinating neighbour, Adam.
Adam and Amanda are clearly attracted to one another, but she doesn’t want to give her husband any reason for blaming her for the failure of their marriage, so she decides she can’t have an affair before her marriage is officially over.
Will she be strong enough to resist temptation? Then, what does mysterious Adam hide in his top-secret past? Why has he been watching her from a distance in the last months and knows so much about her?
Autumn Piper’s prose is vivacious and her narration involving, she brings to life realistic characters with whom you’ll find easy to relate, especially Amanda. The experiences she includes in her novel are ordinary but made special by romance and irony and will give the reader an occasion to reflect on love, temptation, trust and loyalty.
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