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A Second Chance
Lunch Tales: Teagan follows a woman grieving the loss of her husband and adapting to being a single parent who, through this crisis, is reunited with her first love, and dares to think she could find love again. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the setup of Lunch Tales: Teagan started with her best friend Suellen’s book, where we first meet Teagan. The inability to have children and the financial burden of fertility treatments were causing problems in Teagan’s marriage. She didn’t think she could ever get over not being able to have a child, while her husband Mike, said that she was enough for him, and thus began a clash in their marital partnership. Eventually, Mike gets on board with Teagan’s wish to adopt, and just as their threesome has blossomed in the best way, Mike is killed in a car accident, and Teagan finds herself a single parent at the start of her story. Since I write realistic fiction, many of my themes come from real-life stories. Teagan’s story is a blend of several occurrences I pondered, and I wanted to give it the respect I would give anyone in a similar scenario. The purpose of my stories is to inspire and instill hope.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
I had a head start because Suellen’s book included Teagan’s work friends, which gave me a basis to build upon. As for Teagan’s family, I have Irish friends who helped me with the particular traits of an Irish family. Our closeness, coupled with several interviews, gave me confidence that I would get it right.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Teagan’s experience highlights the strength found in the backing of friends and family, while I also explored adoption as a positive option. The most uplifting and charming theme is a romance that offers a second chance.
Will there be a third book in the Lunch Tales series? If so, who will the story focus on?
The third installment of the Lunch Tales series will feature Carol and is currently in early development.
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Pushing her son’s stroller on a summer day, thirty-six-year-old Teagan Quinn has no reason to think a big change is looming-the kind that happens in a mind-blowing instant. Nothing could prepare her for a shocking heartbreak.
Gripped by the trauma and grief of suddenly becoming a single parent, Teagan leans heavily on her lunch friends and lively Irish family for support. But when something ends, something usually begins-and Officer Luke Pisani walks back into Teagan’s life. Not just any old friend, he was her idealistic first. The man who got away.
As the grieving months go by, Luke is there at every turn, and gradually, old attraction reignites. But as ambivalent feelings challenge Teagan’s new beginning, a series of hurtful anonymous notes arrive, each angrier than the one before it.
With grit and urgency, Teagan must summon her inner sleuth before the letters poison one of the best things that could happen to her-learning to love again.
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