Erica live!

Oh boy, what a wild ride 2020 has been!

The craziness of Covid has taught the whole world some lessons in resilience, tolerance and determination. I’ll admit, it’s a little terrifying to think that there might not be a paycheck at the end of each month. Having said this, I think it’s been a great motivator for many.

In the past six months, I’ve gone from stay-at-home mom (though I prefer the term ‘trophy wife’) to published author. Exploring the realm of self-publishing has been a terrific experience. So much to learn…I think my brain might burst at the seams some days! But that’s the cure for dementia, I’ve heard. At this rate, my mental health should be assured for decades. Although I suspect my darling husband might disagree.

So what led me to start writing? Well, I’ve always been a writer. Just never for myself. As a freelance writer, I spent years on assignments for clients. It was almost always exciting. Sometimes, not so much. But I longed for the day that I could simply sit down at my keyboard and let my imagination run wild. Which is what I’m doing now.

And where has my imagination taken me? To the beach, of course! To ocean cruises. To fantastic flights of fancy. To overwhelming love, and men who would go to the ends of the earth for the women they adore.

After all, a book should take us places we might not be able to go right now. Lockdown might have taught us about restrictions, but it could never restrain our imaginations!

With love…

Erica B.

So I launched Falling for Carrick today, and what a rush it was! I’ve always been told that I write emotively, but when you’re drafting press releases for trucking systems, or producing feature articles of plumbing, it’s pretty hard to feel moved. With this book, I tried to bring in some real emotions, and I hope that it shows.

I LOVED Carrick. Honestly, I know it probably sounds naff, but I just couldn’t get enough of him. And the crazy thing is, when I started this book, I wasn’t going to include his Point of View. But as the story progressed, I could see there was a gaping hole in it. A Carrick-shaped hole. When I went back to re-read what I’d written, with his perspective included, it also made me realize how much Kelly needed to develop in order to support his strong role. She couldn’t just be a snooty girl who didn’t like working class guys. She had to have a real reason for treating him the way she did – I would have been angry with him, because he’d become my favorite. She had to have more depth. 

I guess it’s because Carrick has depth. He’s not perfect…but he’s perfectly flawed. Just the right amount of confidence and insecurity to make him seem real to me. So yeah, he’s a self-made billionaire, as unrealistic as that might seem. But he didn’t get there the easy way, even though he could have taken a short cut if he’d toed the line with his family. He’s not a man who toes the line, especially when his values are compromised.

But then, you might ask why he’d string poor Kelly along for so long. Well, he has reasons for that too – as flawed as they may be. But I’m not giving away all of his secrets. You’ll have to read the book for that!

With love…

Erica B.