This is a banner day at The Second Half! Today we welcome our first guest blogger, Sandra Dailey! Sandy is a fellow Boomer and romance novelist who is here to celebrate the release of her second book, Twice the Trouble. Take it away, Sandy!
Romance –
The Imperfect Hero
How often
are our real life heroes perfect? We all know every man has his flaws. If we
say we love our man despite his imperfections, we fail. Eventually, when times
get tough, those imperfections magnify in our minds.
When we can
look past the scars to the core of the man and see him as perfect, we are in
love.
My new
release, Twice the Trouble is a light-hearted contemporary romance with plenty
of humor. The main characters are rekindling an old romance that went terribly
wrong. But, now they have two mischievous preteens to deal with, besides.
Over the
years the main characters were separated, life wasn’t easy for either of them. My heroine,
Lacey, and her children combine home life with hard work as they make their
living on a small farm.
My hero,
Alex, is a successful business man, living a life of luxury, but he hides
terrible scars from a long ago accident. Pity, rejection and scorn has caused
him to be self-conscious and insecure. In the scene below, Alex and Lacey are
discussing his scars for the first time.
“There’s more to it than
just my arm. It was pretty bad. Does it bother you?”
“I know it bothers you
for me to see it, but it shouldn’t. It’s just a part of you, a part of your
history.” Lacey began hammering again.
“You know, most people
are grossed out by it. You and your kids act like it’s no worse than a scratch.
I don’t get it.”
“Well, a lot of people
are idiots,” Lacey told him. “When you work in this business you can’t be squeamish.
We have animals attacking each other, having accidents, and being born
deformed. They’re often turned out by the others to fend for themselves or die.
Sometimes we get to them in time to help, sometimes not.”
“Well, that little story
really brightens my day,” Alex grumbled.
“The moral of the story
is: we’re not animals,” her voice lowered. “Although, you may not have guessed
by the way my children behave.”
Alex measured, cut and
placed another board before he spoke again. “You once said I was perfect. As
you can see, I’m not perfect anymore.”
Lacey’s eyes narrowed in
contemplation. “Oh, I get it. You thought I was referring to your looks. No, I
was talking about your batting stance. Yeah, definitely, you had a great
swing.”
Blurb:
Lacey Carlyle has worked
for years to create the perfect blend of home, business and family. Now she
risks losing everything when the land she farms is bought by the man who
abandoned her thirteen years ago.
Alex has never
understood why Lacey walked away from him. Now, he holds the deed to her farm
and intends to make her pay. The only problem – two kids weren’t part of the
plan.
Jenna and Jarrod may not
see eye-to-eye but they are both determined to find happiness for their mom and
keep their home safe.
Can Lacey and Alex put
their pasts behind them and embrace a future together?
My question is: As a reader, how do you feel about heroes with scars
and insecurities?
Twice the
Trouble is currently available exclusively on Amazon. The official release from
The Wild Rose Press will be on May 8, 2013. To pick up a copy now, go to: http://amzn.to/Wrxm6B
About the author:
Sandra Dailey is an avid reader
and lifelong story teller. She caught
the writing bug after winning a short story contest. The Chief’s Proposal was her first published
work and now she’s added Twice the Trouble, but she has many more stories to
tell.
Sandra currently lives with her
husband in north Florida.
To contact Sandra Dailey:
http://www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author
