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A Mother’s Relentless Drive
Conditional Love follows a woman suffering guilt and regret from the trauma and poor choices she made raising her children, who tries to stop them from repeating her mistakes. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The spark for Conditional Love came from a chat with my husband about what we’d do if we won the lottery. When I half-jokingly said I’d put “conditions” on giving money to one of my siblings, it kicked off a deep, juicy conversation that became the heart of the story. I started thinking about a bold, flawed mom who’s desperate to fix her family’s messy lives. It’s all about that universal question: If you had the power to push someone you love toward a better path, would you have the guts to do it? And what kind of blow-back might happen if you did? That idea fueled Conditional Love’s mix of family drama, tough love, and sardonic humor.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
The human condition is a treasure trove for fiction because it’s so gloriously messy. I’m fascinated by how people often choose paths that hold them back instead of ones that could lead to a fuller, richer life—like sticking with damaging habits or relationships that no longer serve them. In Conditional Love, I explore how past experiences shape the choices we make, often without us realizing it, and how those decisions ripple through families. It’s compelling because it’s so relatable. Everyone has that one choice they wish they could go back and change. Great fiction comes from digging into those choices and struggles, showing how characters wrestle with their flaws, and finding humor and hope in the chaos.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
In Conditional Love, I wanted to explore how a family can face a traumatic event together yet process it in their own unique ways, often unaware of its lasting impact on their behaviors. Another key theme is the constant tug-of-war of motherhood, with its doubts, regrets, and love that linger long after kids grow up, and a mother’s relentless drive to ensure her children are ok, no matter how old they get. These themes of awareness, healing, family dynamics, and love make Conditional Love a heartfelt, relatable journey for readers who’ve navigated their own family ups and downs.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I’m deep into writing Highly Leveraged, a women’s fiction romance that follows L.A. Wyatt, a fierce movie producer, as she navigates loss, empowerment, and an unexpected romance with Cole Grayson, a Clooney-esque Hollywood star. It’s a story of balancing love, motherhood, and ambition against the cutthroat world of Hollywood. It’s packed with high stakes, sharp wit, and plenty of swoon. I’m aiming to have it in your hands by late 2025. Fans can join my Inner Circle at LAarbuckle.com for exclusive sneak peeks, updates, and maybe a few behind-the-scenes tidbits about L.A. and Cole’s journey. Until then, grab Conditional Love for a wild, emotional ride!
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Sassy and unrelenting, she concocts a wild plan to coerce them into changes by issuing a deadline and dishing out the “mother” of all ultimatums.
Her children aren’t buying it. To them, her redemption scheme is a step too far, even for Neva. They push back, and a firestorm erupts that splinters their fragile truce: sparking tempers, opening wounds, and unraveling secrets long buried.
Conditional Love, L.A. Arbuckle’s debut, blends Midwest grit with witty, literary prose, earning “literary gold” praise (Women’s Insider). Likened to Big Little Lies and The Nest, this bittersweet drama explores family, trauma, and forgiveness with complex characters and a surprise ending. Conditional Love is a bold, bittersweet clash of family, love, and the conditions we place on them both. Grab your copy today!
Conditional Love
Conditional Love is a raw and unflinching novel that plunges readers into the life of Kris Stevenson-Walker, a woman scarred by childhood trauma, stifled by a manipulative marriage, and desperate for redemption and self-worth. The story kicks off with a gut-wrenching depiction of domestic violence that sets the emotional tone for the rest of the book. Through decades of dysfunction, the narrative follows Kris’s struggle to break free of her past, rebuild her identity, and protect her son, Trent, from the generational wreckage she’s been trying to outpace her whole life.
This book gripped me from the first page with its brutal honesty. The writing is vivid, sometimes painfully so. Arbuckle doesn’t ease you into the story. She throws you into the fire. It’s not just the violence or trauma that makes the writing so visceral, it’s how it’s paired with razor-sharp dialogue and quiet moments of inner struggle that feel devastatingly real. I could feel Kris’s heartbreak and desperation in my bones. She is a flawed and relatable character, and I couldn’t stop rooting for her even when she made choices that made me want to scream. Arbuckle nails the slow, aching pace of healing, the whiplash of old wounds reopening, and the way people cope, sometimes badly, with lives they never asked for.
What really stuck with me, though, was how the book handles generational trauma. The way Kris sacrifices her own dreams to keep her family from falling apart felt too real. And Carl? Arbuckle captures toxic manipulation without making it cartoonish. Carl’s subtle, insidious control tactics hit hard because they’re so believable. You want to shake Kris, but you also get it. And then there’s Neva, the firecracker of a mother who’s both hilarious and heartbreaking. I went from wanting to throttle her to crying over her. Every character is layered. Even the side characters had bite. And the emotional whiplash is exhausting, but in that “I stayed up all night reading and now I’m a mess” kind of way. The best kind of book hangover.
Conditional Love is a story about survival, grief, complicated love, and finding a voice after years of silence. If you’ve ever struggled with your past or felt stuck in a life that doesn’t feel like yours, this book will crawl under your skin. I’d recommend it for fans of gritty family dramas, stories of female resilience, and anyone who’s not afraid to sit with discomfort if it means finding something real.
Pages: 262 | ASIN : B0F31FT54K
LITERARY TITAN 