SUMMARY OF IN FIREFLY ALLEY
She’s lost her dream job—but has she found the man of her dreams?
Devastated by a downsizing, Marisa St. George has no choice
but to return to the small Texas town where she grew up. Though it means a
giant step backward, she accepts a position as business manager at the
struggling Rainbow’s End resort. The only silver lining: Blake Kendall, a new
guest who might make her believe in love at first sight. But will Marisa’s
dreams of happily-ever-after be turned upside down when she discovers Blake’s
real identity?
This warm and witty story of dreams deferred and mistaken identity
will have you believing in second chances.
Amanda Cabot is
the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy,
the Westward Winds series, and Christmas
Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written
everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries
for teenagers and romances for all ages.
Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances,
living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.
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The Challenge of
Writing Contemporary Fiction
By Amanda Cabot
When aspiring authors tell me they’re writing contemporaries
because it’s easier, I do my best not to laugh.
The reality is, a contemporary is just as difficult as an historical,
although the challenges are different.
Let’s talk about a few.
Challenge #1: Location – Are you planning to use a real or a fictional location? There are advantages and disadvantages to
both. Real locations engage readers
immediately, but if you choose one, be certain you’ve got all the details
right. The last thing you need is a
reader telling you there’s no bakery at the corner of Fifth and Main. (While real locations in historicals face
this same challenge, there are fewer people who can say with certainty whether
or not that bakery existed at the time you set your book.) Fictional locations give you more
flexibility. You decide what building is
on which corner. The downside is that
you have to do more work to create a fictional location. If you a choose a fictional location, I
strongly recommend creating a map of it.
Challenge #2: Date – Will
your story be set in a specific year or in what is sometimes called the
‘timeless present’? The advantage to
using a specific timeframe is similar to that or choosing a real location –
reader identification. The disadvantage
is that, depending on how many details you include that are date-specific, your
book may feel outdated within a couple years.
Challenge #3: Technology – How much technology will you include? This is a corollary to the second
challenge. If you’ve chosen a specific
date for your story, there is no reason not to include references to all the
current technology.
Challenge #4: Research – Do you think contemporaries require less research than historicals? Repeat after me: all writing requires
research. It’s true that research for
contemporaries is different from historicals, but it’s still essential that
your details are correct. If anything,
readers are more critical of contemporary authors who get their facts wrong
because it’s so easy to get them right.
Do you have a scene involving a fire investigation? Interview a fire chief to make sure you’ve
used the correct terminology and have properly described the procedures the
investigators use. Is your story set in
a real location you’ve never visited?
Besides studying the related web sites, you might call the Chamber of
Commerce to learn little known facts that will give your story added
authenticity. Research, research,
research. Yes, it takes time, but your
readers will thank you.
The bottom line is simple.
Writing is hard work, whether the story is set in contemporary or
historical times. The key is to ensure
that you’re writing the book of your heart, the one that wakes you in the
middle of the night. That’s the book
you’re meant to write.
