Fictional Father Issues...

Interesting conversation the other day - my father was visiting with my sister for Easter.  He lives in Florida and she's here in NC with me but three hours away.  So he got serious with her and asked her if she noticed that all the fathers in my books are really bad people.

Seriously??

So she comes for lunch the other day and tells me this and I burst out laughing.  Why?  Because I know he's read a LOT of my books and I know that I have written some pretty bad/unloving parents, but not in all of my books!!  So I decided to make this post about the fictional fathers and see how it really plays out.  Are you ready?  Here are the books - in order - and let's figure out this mystery together!

1.  Jordan's Return:  Jordan's ex-husband is an abusive man (which is why she's no longer married to him) and he does opt to give up custody of his children.  Score 1 for bad dad.

2.  The Christmas Cottage:  Every father in the book is loving and supportive and really quite secondary to the overall story.

3.  Ever After:  Not a whole lot of mention of fathers in this one except in the same capacity as the Christmas Cottage.

4.  Catering to the CEO:  Supportive dad to Cassie and her siblings.  Adam's father was absentee and kind of a jerk but he got maybe one paragraph of storyline so I'm not counting him.  BUT...I'll be fair and give the point.  Score 2 for bad dad.

5. Eye of the Storm:  Another absentee dad who walked out on his family and again, only a paragraph or two of storyline.  Okay...maybe I'm seeing a pattern.  Score 3 for bad dad.

6.  Wait for Me:  William Montgomery is the best father EVER.  No points on this one, dad!

7.  Trust in Me:  William Montgomery is back and STILL awesome.  No points.

8.  Stay With Me:  William Montgomery for the triple play.  And Gina's father - though absentee - loved his daughter and stayed away to make her life better and in the end they had a great reconciliation.  No bad dad points here either!

9.  A Touch of Heaven:  One father had passed away and no bad storyline to go with it and the other dad was funny and charming.  No bad points again!

10.  The Snowflake Inn:  Both fathers had passed away and no history to them.  No bad dad anywhere in the story!

11.  Mistletoe Between Friends:  Both families were friends and loving and supportive.  No points this round!

12.  More of Me:  The Montgomerys again.  Nothing happening in the bad dad category here.

13.  The Baby Arrangement:  The baby's biological father was a player who didn't know he had fathered a child and he opted to walk away.  Okay, bad dad.  Score 4.

14.  Baby, I'm Yours:  All the dad's here were good.  Even Josh, who didn't know he was a dad until his daughter was 3, once he knew he was the best.  No points happening here!

15.  Baby, Be Mine:  Um...father to twin newborns.  Steps up to the plate.  That's a good dad!

16.  Exclusive:  I know Taylor's mom is a single mom but I don't even remember giving her father a history.  Just that he's not there.  So nothing bad to report.

17.  Moonlight in Winter Park:  Both sets of parents were gone so really, no issues.  No points.

18.  Return to You:  Yes.  I will give him this one.  Selena's dad was the WORST.  Score 5 for the bad dad theory.

19.  Meant for You:  Sort of.  Robert Montgomery is not as nice as his brother William and he's a little overbearing.  I'm not going to say that he's the worst but I'll be generous and give the point.  Score 6.

20.  Duty Bound:  Harper's dad was a good guy and so was Levi's.  No points.

21.  Honor Bound:  Sebastian's dad was a manipulative control freak and Ali's dad was weak. So okay, bad.  Score 7.

22.  Forever Bound:  No bad parents in the bunch.  We don't discuss them much.  So no points there.

23.  Home Bound:  Yes, Cole's dad was a jerk who deserved the bad things that happened to him.  Fine!  Score 8.

So let's say about 30% of the books have a bad dad somewhere in the plot.  That's not completely horrible, is it?  And really, their badness is never a major plot-point or contributing factor.

It's just funny how different people look at the books and see different things or will focus on different things.  Odd...

I'm Coming Back...Honestly

I know, I know, I know...I disappeared again.

With good reason. 

Number one:  Construction in my house.  They are having to re-do all of the ceilings in my home.  We knew this day would come - had actually argued with the builder before we closed on the house a year ago, but they wouldn't budge.  Luckily, the new supervisor who came to do our one-year walk-through noticed how wavy and unfinished they all were and said that he'd get it taken care of for us. 

That was all fine and well and my hubby was thrilled but the truth is, it's a big job.  A big messy job.  There are easily four contractors in my house from eight in the morning until about five in the afternoon and it's loud and dusty and so not what I like!!  I miss my peace and quiet.  I miss having the place to myself.  I miss having a door on my office!!

The other day, I got taped and plastic-walled into a room.  I felt like those people who get stranded on broken down cruise ships.  I was ready to ask someone to airlift me some food - and a potty! 

TMI.  Sorry. 

Number two:  I was away in Myrtle Beach for Authors in the City.  Great event.  Lots of fun.  Super cool fans.  But it was four days away and one day of packing and prepping and one day to recover.  I'm finally getting back into the swing of things.  Kind of.  Sort of.  There's still stuff everywhere. 

Number three:  The writing cave.  I am more than halfway done with the next book in the Shaughnessy series that will debut in August 2015.  I can't say any more than that but I think you're really going to love it!!

So all that being said, I'm back.  Again.  I swear.  Have you gotten your copy of "Return to You" yet?  Or have you started the series all the way back at the beginning with the "Wait for Me/Trust in Me" duo???  You should totally be doing that! 

Just Because...

Because I'm on vacation, I thought I'd leave you with a little eye candy.  You see, in my mind, to help me write, I come up with my fantasy cast should the book be made into a movie.  Don't judge, it helps!  Lol! 

So for your viewing pleasure, I give you my dream cast of Montgomery men.  

You're welcome.