What is it about friendships?
Some time ago, a woman who has read all my books, romances and women’s fiction alike, commented that she was drawn to my stories because the characters, especially the women, have such lovely (her exact word) friendships. She wondered why I made them such a standout element in many of my books.
What an easy question! I’ll speak for myself and paraphrase the line of a popular song, “God only knows where I’d be without my friends.” It’s a fact—rich friendships define a significant part of my life. I’ve lived in many locales, and I’ve left behind friends with every move to a new state. I make new friends, but the old friendships remain. It’s addition, not subtraction.
Friends add color and texture to our lives in a way no one else can. They give us a certain kind of companionship and we confide in them because they occupy a “judgment-free zone. In Amber Light, when Sarah Whitmore, a quiet and troubled pregnant girl, meets Sue, they may be as different as night and day, but they share a bond that helps them through their struggles as teenage moms. (Sue has been nagging at me for years to tell her story.)
In The Jacks of Her Heart, Lorna, a widow in her fifties, wakes up to the reality she’s impulsively married Jack on a tropical cruise. Back home now, she’s appalled by her own out-of-character behavior. What should she do? Of course, dash off to find her best friend June and “confess.” Friends sometimes surprise us. Hmm…June has a different take. What makes Lorna so sure the spur-of-the-moment wedding to very appealing Jack was a blunder? Hey, think it over before rushing to end it.
In The Rancher’s Wyoming Twins, Heather comes back to Adelaide Creek only to keep the promise she and Bethany made to be each other’s maid-of-honor. Whether it’s Lark revealing her deepest secret to Dawn in Girl in The Spotlight, or, Ruby agreeing to return to Bluestone River because Emma needs her, in A Family For Jason, friends often help protagonists through the toughest times. They also get to hang around to celebrate when the good news comes. At the moment, I’m writing novel about four women friends and the unexpected twists and turns during one of their most memorable annual reunions.
Speaking of friends, some of my women fiction author friends and I started a reader community on Facebook. We talk about everything from books to holiday to recipes to life. Join Our Book Buddies and share the fun!
