With No Regrets

Finley isn’t exactly sure when her life began to feel unfamiliar. She suspects the transformation started long before she caught her husband and fellow garden club member doing the white-trash-two-step on her new Bernhardt sofa. Now free from the shackles of a loveless marriage, and with her children off to college, she’s finally able to go searching for the missing pieces of her heart.

Finley’s best friend, Cathyanne, is already working hard to ensure that Finley finds true love this time around. But when Finley is unwittingly tossed into the arms of two men—their sexy trainer and her neighbor, a popular country star—Cathyanne fears finding the right guy will be more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

For Finley, building a new life feels as impossible as flying a paper airplane to the moon. But maybe, just maybe, with the right help, she will find her whole heart—even if it’s in the very last place she thinks to look.

I don’t really know where to begin with regards to talking about this story. The idea came to me from two places. First, once when I was out of town visiting with family, I was musing aloud about what type of book I should write next. My sister suggested that I write a story about a forty-something woman who’s in love with her much younger trainer. As you might imagine, that scenario was playing out in real life for said sister—wink, wink. Which was a good thing because she was able to help me create Josh’s strong, yet sympathetic character. The second dates back eight years to when I was recovering from chemotherapy. Coincidentally, that was also about the same time I started writing. When I told friends and family that I was writing a book, they all assumed it was cancer related. Ugh! Why would I want to relive that? But as I started outlining for this story, I thought, what if I weaved everything I learned from my experience with cancer into a work of fiction? You know, the whole two birds, one stone thing.

And Voila! With No Regrets was born.

The idea for the therapy group, Divorce Is Not An End But A New Beginning, came next, and how I could subtly incorporate life’s lessons into the recovery steps. Of course, because the story takes place in Nashville, I had to put in a sexy, recluse singer/songwriter, Quinton Townes, and then, just to make things interesting, toss Finley’s ex back into the mix. And don’t forget about Finley’s best friend, Cathyanne. People always want to know which character the author most sees in his or her self. Although Finley is a master gardener, and I have delusions of being one as well, Cathyanne is definitely the character most akin to myself. A lot like me, she’s introverted (mostly because she doesn’t feel like she fits anywhere), fiercely loyal, and maybe just a wee bit selfish too. I developed a band of quirky therapy group members to balance things out. Surprisingly, many of my early readers have already identified one member in particular they would like to see starring in her own spin-off novel. I hadn’t planned on writing any sequels, but now I’m thinking, I just might.

For now, I hope you enjoy, With No Regrets, and that Finley’s journey is able to touch your life in some small but significant way. Truly, I poured every ounce of my heart and soul into this one. Happy reading!!

Listing heavily toward the women’s fiction side of the romance genre, Ford deftly portrays 40-year-old Finley Harrison’s gradual recovery from the shock of divorce. After 20 years with her philandering husband, Roy, Finnie’s venture into solo life in present-day Nashville forces this picture of Southern womanhood (antebellum accent mandatory) to evolve into 21st-century personhood, but she’s fighting it tooth and nail. Married Finnie was so obsessed with appearances that the only thing worse than catching Roy in flagrante delicto with another woman was finding them thus engaged on her expensive sofa. Once the divorce is finalized, Finnie is pushed by longtime friend Cathyanne to leave her comfort zone—which means going on dates. Cathyanne sets her up with Josh, a 31-year-old hottie; Finnie is also drawn to next-door neighbor Quinton. Cathyanne doesn’t care which one Finnie chooses, so long as she sets aside her suffocating Southern-belle decorum and vows to live with no regrets. Readers who love stories of women finding their truths will enjoy Ford’s spot-on portrayal of midlife change, friendship, and romance. (BookLife)