When Rowan’s two-year marriage ends with a crash, she returns home to Peace Falls, VA, riding shotgun in her sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse. Everything about her is damaged: her heart, her pride, her bank account, and her spine—thanks to a tourist, a Segway, and finding her husband getting busy with her boss. But Rowan is determined to reclaim her career and city life as soon as she recuperates and lands a new job.Caleb “Cal” Cardoso didn’t notice wallflower Rowan in high school, but the former football star, and Peace Falls’s newest physical therapist, can’t take his eyes off the stunning redhead now. Too bad he’s sworn off relationships. After his last hookup purposely tanked his online reputation, Cal stands to lose his job if a single patient leaves his care. Which is why he can’t let Rowan switch to another practitioner, despite the friction between them, and why he definitely can’t act on his growing attraction.
Rowan agrees to remain Cal’s patient if he helps her younger brother train for football tryouts. Though Cal hasn’t touched a football since the accident that killed his best friend, he agrees, and as Cal helps heal Rowan’s body, she begins to heal his heart.
For You I’d Break is a small town romance with a hefty dash of spice, a HEA ending, and a cast of memorable characters, including a goth sculptor who secretly loves to decorate cakes, a fearsome-looking felon with a heart of gold, a hothead with a sweet side, a karma-devoted barista who collects damaged pets and first dates, and a lovable dog with more emotional sense than everyone put together.
For You I’d Break began as a dare, specifically a challenge to write a romance in one month. Though I’ve read and loved romances for years, I lacked the moxie to chain myself to my laptop and write one.
Many authors write full novels during National Novel Writing Month in November. I told myself that some year, I’d find the time. But let’s be honest, as a mother of school-age children, that time would never be November. My kids have an entire week off at the beginning of the month, not to mention Thanksgiving break, and the ramp up to the holiday season. It will be a good eight years, if ever, before I could dedicate that much time to writing in November.
During one of my weekly zoom meetings with two writer friends at the end of 2022, someone suggested we all try to draft a novel in January. Why January? I, for one, like to burrow into my house for the entire month, avoiding the cold while I recover from all the glittery holiday magic. I confessed to my friends that I’d always wanted to write a romance novel, a very different genre from my usual work. One of my friends had a partial draft of a paranormal romance she wanted to finish, so we dragged our third friend along for the ride.
Because of the short timeframe, I did something I’d never done before: Plotted. I always thought planning would stifle my creative process. I was such a dedicated “pantser” I put more effort into planning vacations than I did my MFA thesis. But the thought of attempting a full novel draft in one month without a plan made my anxiety spike. I ended up with a detailed slide deck of character profiles and chapter outlines (complete with pictures) as well as a foam board with sticky notes that listed the POV and plot points in each chapter. I kept the board beside my desk while I wrote and came up with some pretty interesting abbreviations for the spicy scenes since my kids like to do their homework in my office.
I expected to be very busy that January. I didn’t expect to love every minute of it. I fell in love with the characters, the story, and the thrill of writing something I couldn’t wait to read myself. In short, I was hooked. By the end of January, I had a full first draft and knew I’d finally found my place as a writer. And yes, I have become a dedicated plotter ever since.
Just over a year after accepting the dare, I had three books in the Peace Falls series in various stages and began my self-publishing journey. For You I’d Break launched on my 20th wedding anniversary because I’m cheesy like that.
This January, my little writing group issued the challenge again. I’ll be drafting the fourth book in the series, but I’ve given myself the grace to finish it in six weeks (which is what I did for the drafts of the second and third books). If the last couple of years have taught me anything, it’s to be open to changing and refining my writing process. Ultimately, I want to get the words down on the page while still enjoying the work, my friends and family, and, of course, all the spicy books on my Kindle.
Just then, the second door opened and out walked Caleb Cardoso in a pair of slate gray scrubs. Years of watching him swagger down school hallways and sprint across football fields did nothing to prepare me. He’d added more muscle to his lean frame, his broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. His dark, tousled hair looked styled to suggest he’d just climbed out of bed after an all-night sexfest. His jaw was sharper, his cheek bones more chiseled. When he looked at me with those rich chocolate eyes, all the air left my lungs.
“Mrs. Norris,” he said, glancing at the tablet in his hands.
The sound of my married name lifted the lust fog from my brain. “Please call me Rowan,” I said, relieved I’d finally managed to speak in his presence.
He studied my face, frowned, and looked back at his tablet. “Nice to meet you,” he said, studying my face again. “I’m Cal. Take a seat on the first table.”
Lauren would have politely told him that we were two years apart in school. Poppy would have flipped the embarrassment of being forgotten back onto Cal with a snide comment about his observation skills. Not that anyone ever forgot Poppy. I just turned my back to him and hoped he hadn’t seen my cheeks burn. People often didn’t remember me, but it still stung, especially when it was someone I’d spent so much time fantasizing about in my teens. As I crossed the room, I could feel him behind me, watching my every movement.
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Tall, chiseled, and covered in tattoos and piercings, Theo is exactly Poppy’s type. But unlike her bad-boy exes, only his exterior is spiky. He’s thoughtful, kind, and unbelievably talented. For over a year, she’s hinted she’d be down for more, but he’s kept her frozen in the friend zone. With her sister engaged to his best friend, avoiding him is impossible—even if she wanted to, but a woman has her limits, and Poppy has just about reached hers. 
Hannah Jordan grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but wound up in South Jersey after falling in love with her complete opposite. She's got all the degrees of a "serious" fiction writer but only smiles when she's writing romance.She lives with her husband and two daughters in a picturesque town outside of Philadelphia where she enjoys reading in all genres, especially the spicy ones, and confusing people with her half-Southern, half-Northern accent.
The first book in her Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series, For You I’d Break, launched July 17, 2024.
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Thank you so much for featuring FOR YOU I'D BREAK today.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me! For You I'd Mend is on sale today for $0.99. The third book in the series, For You I'd Bloom, launches tomorrow!! I'm happy to answer any questions about the series.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very interesting novel. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michael!
DeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita!
DeleteLooks like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherry!
DeleteSounds really good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcy!
DeleteLovely cover
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. I was very fortunate to find the cover designer.
DeleteWhat are your writing goals for 2025?
ReplyDeleteThe fourth book in the Peace Falls Series (Cammie and Wyatt's story) will be out July 7th. I'm also considering a Christmas novella for the late Fall!
DeleteHow exciting! Much success in 2025!
DeleteThank you!
DeleteThanks for the great synopsis. I can't wait to read this book. It sounds very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it! The full trilogy is out now (I know I like to be able to read through at once sometimes)
DeleteHappy new year everyone
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Nancy!
DeleteLoved the guest post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim!
Deletelooks like a fun one
ReplyDeleteThanks, Daniel!
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