As I continue my blog series about the story behind the story of my books, I’m especially happy to write about Can’t Help Falling in Love, a novella contained in the two-volume book you see pictured above.
Mantle Rock Publishing owner Kathy Cretsinger, who also writes as Katt Anderson, approached me with the idea of writing a novella with my main character being her main character’s best friend. The history of the two young women is that they were friends while growing up in Knoxville and during college but went their separate ways after college graduation. Her main character ended up in an important position in the music industry in Nashville. My character? “Your character is a vet who treats the horses at Graceland,” she said.
That was the only guideline given, and my imagination immediately started working. How could a young woman who grew up in Knoxville, almost four hundred miles from Graceland, end up in the Memphis area? What kind of romance could I write that would be realistic, believable?
I don’t like writing romances. I know most women like to read them, but they’re not my cup of tea. I am more likely to enjoy a John Grisham book than a romance, so this was a challenge for me.
But I was ready to accept the challenge. I have been to Olive Branch, Mississippi, several times while visiting my husband’s cousin and his family, so I decided Olive Branch was an ideal location for my character, Kyla Porter, to live. It is close enough to Graceland (which is very near the Mississippi state line) to make it credible for a vet from that area to treat the rescue horses housed at Graceland.
I had to do a little research. I am friends with Mrs. Marian Cocke, Elvis’s nurse and close family friend to the Presleys, and she put me in contact with the woman who is in charge of the horses and stable at Graceland. Then I thought about my characters, and holding to my belief in writing about what I know, I came up with the story. What do I know? Teaching, University of Tennessee football, Graceland, even a little bit about horses. Very little.
A brief summary:
Kyla Porter is a beginning veterinarian who has found a position in Olive Branch. Raised in wealth and oppressed by a socialite, “old money” mother in Knoxville, she chooses to leave all that is familiar to escape the social expectations of her family. While making a routine visit to Graceland to check on a horse, she meets Colt Weathers, a math teacher and baseball coach at the Olive Branch high school, who is at Graceland with his team for an outing.
The attraction, of course, is instant, but they have no idea they will encounter each other again. When they do, Colt is determined to get to know the woman who captured his attention the moment he laid eyes on her, and the relationship blossoms. The drawbacks? She comes from wealth. He doesn’t. Her mother doesn’t approve. Kyla still struggles with the death of her former fiancé, not because she still cares for him but because he was not the person she believed him to be.
Oh, my, what will they do? How will they overcome these obstacles?
Excuse the drama there. The conflicts may sound cliché, but I think if you read the book, you might be surprised. While you’re at it, read Katt’s book, Keeper of the Stars, and in the last chapter of the book, find out how the two girls manage to pull off their weddings the same weekend. Yes, that was a spoiler alert. Kyla and Colt will get married.
Here’s the link to the trailer for the book:
The weddings take place at Christmas time, so maybe someone on your shopping list will enjoy the ebook or paperback. Available on Amazon.
Tomorrow I will blog about my novella Surf Song that is part of Coastal Promises. I will also be sharing an excerpt from my work in progress. It is unlike anything I’ve written to date.
Life As I know it 