I have a funny story about writing the book Family Unit. Originally, I wanted to tell the story of mature men. I enjoy writing about teens, or college age students, I love describing firm six pack abs and the desperation of youth. But for once I wanted to give a shout out to mature singles, men who might be seen by the modern dating market as a little past their prime.
I talked to one of my best friends about it and we compared notes on the minute changes we'd noticed in our bodies -- the ones we could chalk up to aging. My hair was greying, I needed reading glasses. When my friend (who is five years younger than I am) and I are in the yarn store, I have to hold a skein more than an arm's length away from her so she can read the dye lot. My skin is changing. I noticed I had pigmented and unpigmented spots on my hands. I don't consider myself old, or rather I do, but I don't think of myself as decrepit. I created the characters in this book and gave them all my age-related characteristics. I described those changes in what I thought was humorous detail and the number one response I got from readers was Wow! These guys are so OLD. It isn't something I feel like I should respond to or anything, but I don't see myself as all that old! The fact that I've had four kids may have fast-forwarded my aging clock a little, but anyway, this is a romance for the rest of us -- those of us who aren't in the first blush of youth, because as I said in the dedication to my dear friend Mark C:
Let's just say I believe no heart is safe from Cupid's arrows as long as it's still beating.
Family Unit
A retired marine, Logan is methodical and conservative. Richard is a liberal pacifist who is pathologically afraid of guns. Yet the minute Logan sets eyes on Richard, his heart turns over like an old car engine and it isn't long before his motor is revved and Richard is in the driver's seat—even if it seems like each man is driving a different car.
Richard Hunter is parenting his grandson, and the kid— Nick—has had it rough. Richard vows nothing will stop him from creating a loving and stable home. Not even a tempting, red-hot relationship with a very attractive man. However, when Richard looks into Logan’s blue eyes it’s tough to stay focused. It’s never easy to become a family, what with a temperamental eight-year-old, disapproving outsiders, and outright extortion attempts.
But when push comes to shove, both Logan and Richard are committed family men who want to make a loving home for a little boy who needs them. Together, they're planning to form a Family Unit, and they won’t let anything stand in their way.
~*~
Family Unit is now out as a slightly revised e-book. You won't find it's very different from the original version, but I cleaned up some language and got a new cover from my pal Lex Valentine. I'm even going to release it for the first time in print as soon as possible, so stay tuned.
You can purchase it right now, at Amazon HERE.
OH, love the new cover! I will admit the other one turned me off a bit. But this one is very fresh looking and still makes it clear we aren't talking about 20 year olds. Very pretty! And congratulations on the new release.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like it. The guy in the leather jacket looks like Mandy Patinkin to me... I keep thinking he's going to sing...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad FU is back on the active list, now I just need to get working on The Long Way Home...