It would be fun to tell you the whole, sordid backstory of how I met Caren Crane (ages ago at a writer’s beach retreat), how we bonded (over cosmopolitans and chimichanga prep), and how we became critique partners (complete with the coolest nicknames in the history of the sport).
But all of those details might detract from my goal with this post, which is to share with you one of the best contemporary novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading. (In either draft or published form).
I fell in love with Kick Start from the moment Caren shared the premise with me and once she put the characters on the page in her delightful fictitious town of Cross Springs, I was hooked. You will be too!
Caren has delivered a novel full of humor, a story that makes you think, and a woman ready to reclaim control of her life. From the back cover:
Sometimes when life stalls right in the middle of the journey, all it needs is a Kick Start…
Linda Dowling is ready to shake the dust of her bitter divorce off her boots and Kick Start her life into action. She level sets her children, goes back to college, meets a younger man and life starts rolling down the post-marriage highway. Until her old life freezes her new one in mid-cruise. Friends and neighbors in Linda’s suburban paradise do not approve of any divorce, much less one in their midst. They certainly don’t approve of Linda’s new love interest.
Linda does not want to care, but she spent the last 20 years trying to fit in. It would be crazy to turn her back on the life she so painstakingly built–and her ex so abruptly knocked down–for an untried start-up relationship. Or would it? Linda reroutes her journey and decides to make a detour–including side trips to see her hairdresser, her mother, the homicidal Courtroom Barbie who wrecked her marriage and her suddenly psycho ex-husband–and see where else life might take her. All she needs is courage and a good old-fashioned Kick Start.
Join the readers who are raving about this wonderful novel and pick up your copy of Kick Start today!
Live the adventure!
Thanks for the recommendation, Regan! I am lucky to have you as a friend and supporter (not to mention an awesome critiquer!). Kick Start was extra fun to write, so I hope everyone has fun reading it. 🙂
It’s a real pleasure to spread the word about your book, Caren! I love Kick Start! 🙂