The first time I went to a local writers’ group meeting, someone mentioned a writing contest, with an entry deadline in two weeks. It was a week before Thanksgiving, and I had no idea what to write about, but decided to come up with something. Holidays seem fraught with emotion—good for most families, and downright awful in others. And since writing a short story presented a challenge for me (my ongoing 1st novel at that point had already capped out around 189k words), I opted for a story that would leave readers to decide the ending for themselves. The premise was this: a woman out for a walk on Thanksgiving, after in-laws had gone home, facing a decision about her marriage after she’d caught her husband fooling around the night before at a party. While she’s out walking, she meets a man (and they have instant chemistry), who shows obvious interest in her, going so far as to confess he watches her out walking every day. Which is a little creepy and makes his character a little iffy… During this meeting, she feels drawn to him regardless, and ends up spilling her troubles to him. He asks her what she’s going to do about her marriage, but she doesn’t know yet, and leaves him wondering, along with the reader.
I won 3rd place in the writing contest.
But then…
Even though I loved leaving my readers hanging, I’d kind of gotten attached to my main character Mandy. I liked her pithy, smart-ass way of seeing things, and really wanted to see if she’d take her wayward husband back, or go for the new guy. And, being a pantser, I honestly had no idea how it’d turn out. I did know her husband wasn’t all bad, and she wasn’t perfect, and Adam (aka New Guy) wouldn’t be 100% good—because I was tired of stories with perfect lead characters and totally evil bad guys.
The result turned out to be something like this (here’s the book trailer link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NJUIDdanyg ):
One good heartbreak deserves another.
Mandy plans to leave her husband the minute their month of counseling is over. How can she forgive his outrageous affair? It would almost be funny if the consequences weren't so harsh. They've got kids, and families with strong–and warped–opinions on marriage.
Her aunt thinks she should take a page from the black widow spider. Her brother's begging to avenge her broken heart, and their marriage counselor offers to play the willing victim in some payback sex.
While her clueless husband launches a campaign to win her back, Mandy meets Adam, the perfect shoulder to cry on. Will perfect justice prove just how sweet revenge can be when you wait for it?
Content Warning: Real people aren't all good or all bad. Neither are the characters in this story. The shade of right or wrong you see may depend upon whose glasses you are looking through.
Waiting for Revenge is available wherever ebooks are sold, for $0.99.
Autumn Piper
Got romance?
http://piperpatter.blogspot.com/
www.autumnpiper.com
