Not everyone can pinpoint an exact date, time, and comment that saved their life. I can.
One cold, wet, February day in 2020, I drove myself to the ER with a sharp, hot, pain in my chest. A septal infarct survivor, I didn’t mess around with chest pain. The good news was that it wasn’t another heart attack. The bad news was that they didn’t know what it was. The doctor wrote me a prescription for muscle relaxers, patted me on the head, and showed me the door.
As I pulled on my coat to leave and had one foot out the door, a nurse stopped me and said, “If I were you, I’d go get a mammogram.”
Sometimes life is random. You never know when a moment will affect the rest of your life. I’d just had that moment. The look on her face, the tone of her voice—I knew that nurse was deadly serious. What if I had already left? What if she hadn’t been walking by? What if?
Triple Negative Breast Cancer is aggressive cancer. Because of that nurse, mine was found early in a mammogram. Pain is an atypical symptom, but not unheard of. One random comment from a nurse changed my life.
When you’re an author every experience, good or bad, is filed away to be somehow incorporated into a plot. Funnily, my favorite romance trope has always been a random meeting between main characters and then making them fall in love.
A lot of writing is constantly asking yourself “What if.” What if two strangers so obviously wrong for each other just happened to be in the right place at the right time to meet? What if enemies were forced to spend time with each other? What if one of them caught feelings for the other? What if their lives were in danger?
Finding a HEA for two people who almost didn’t meet at all is my challenge for each book in my What Happens in the Ballroom Series.
In The Last Lord Standing, the randomness of a spilled glass of punch sets Libby and Kerrigen on their path to happily ever after. A liar with a secret meets a Lady with a plan and all bets are off in this last book of the series. Fun fact, I put a dragon in the story because my chemo medicine was called the red dragon.
Be mindful of small moments, get your mammograms, and read what makes you happy. For me, that will always be historical romance. Also, PSA, it isn’t a great idea to drive yourself to the ER if you think you’re having a heart attack because what if?
What if I did a giveaway? I’ll be giving away ebook copies of ALL THREE books in my series to one lucky winner (US only).
There were times I wished I had paid attention to signs or something that was said… I have looked back and questioned myself. Wondering if things could have truly turned out differently.
Colleen – you’re the lucky winner. Please forgive my tardiness in announcing it. I’ve been hiding in my writing cave trying to finish two more books. Please contact me via FB messaging or via my website so that I can get your prize to you. Thanks for your comment and your patience.
interesting topic
You’re one lucky lady and I hope you’re doing well 🤗