The first book I ever wrote was Designing Samantha’s Love. That was the book that had rolled around in my head for years, literally. I didn’t realize it was a book, it was simply characters talking to each other and going through life things that I imagined when I had time to myself. Usually, that time was on the motorcycle on a trip. On the bike, even though with other people, I was still alone, in the wind and weather and sunshine (mostly. During the rainy times I was bitching to myself about the weather, but that’s a different story.) When I finally decided to try my hand at writing, I wrote about these characters who had been talking to me these past years. I was happy when I finished. I felt accomplished and free to write more stories. But, I didn’t feel I’d found a groove, or my groove.
After Designing Samantha’s Love published, Gene and I had signed up to ride with a group of friends on a charity ride. Sign up was at a local bar, and we were waiting for it to begin. I stood on the deck of the bar and looked at the parking lot full of friends there to ride with us that day. So many of them I knew, but there were many I didn’t, which is always the case. Then I spotted my best friend walking toward me with her husband. I recalled that they’d married and divorced and remarried each other again. Their story is like many people’s. Love. Loss. Love again. Second chances. Then I spotted another couple of our friends who had somewhat the same story – married. Divorced. Remarried each other. I remember thinking, wow, what are the odds.
That day, the odds were that Gene and I have four couples friends who have had the same scenario in their lives. Then there are the countless others who have either lost a love through divorce or death and have found love again. But at that moment in time, standing on the deck watching them all, the common thread was love. We were all gathered to spend a beautiful day riding, raising money for a charity, and celebrate life.
Gene walked up to me and asked what I was doing. I said, “I’m going to write a series about mature bikers who are trying to find love again.”
He laughed, “Now you’ve got it.”
While riding that day, Jeremiah and Joci were the new characters in my head and the following day their story started, which is now Moving to Love. The rest of the series is about their grown children finding love and the veteran’s they support through their Rolling Thunder Veteran’s Ride. And even though it wasn’t the first book I ever wrote, my career started in earnest there, because, that’s my groove.