Where Story Begins

 by guest blogger and multi-published author Louise Gouge.

People often ask authors how they got started writing and where they get their story ideas. I love to answer both questions because for me they go hand-in-hand.

 Since early childhood, I have seen a story in just about every situation. It’s never taken much to stir my imagination. So one day as I was contemplating my soon-to-be empty nest (I was a stay-at-home mom), I looked out my window and saw a young boy tossing a football with a young man. They were obviously having a great time. As always, the “what if” questions came to mind. What if they are father and son? What if the boy doesn’t know the man is his father? Why doesn’t he know? Who’s the mother? What does the father do for a living? The mother? How does she support her son?

 As with most of my imaginings, this one simmered in my brain for several days until a friend, also a soon-to-be empty nester, and I sat down over lunch to chat about what we would do with all our time after the children left home. I told her about my latest imaginings. She told me to go home and write that story right away. So I did!

 Characters and conflict seemed to flow from my fingers onto…wait for it…an electrictypewriter. Always a poor typist, I threw away a lot of paper, Xed out many lines, and generally made a mess of the manuscript. Did I mention this was in 1985? I hadn’t even heard of word processing computers. Were they a thing back then? Despite my typing struggles, I kept on writing.

 I decided the father was an NFL quarterback, the mother a waitress in a diner. The boy was a twelve-year-old who idolized the man he didn’t know was his father. How would he react when he found out?

 Moving toward finishing the book, I asked all sorts of people for help. A football expert. My doctor. A busy waitress. And always my loving husband, David. Finally the book was finished.

 To make a long story short, I decided to go back to college to make sure I’d done a good job of writing my all-American story. After graduation, I edited the book with what I’d learned and then found a publisher. In 1994, my first novel, Once There Was a Way Back Home, was published by Crossway Books. In 1998, the sequel, The Homecoming, was published by the same company. Over the subsequent years, I have been blessed to have 25 novels published. (Click here to see my booklist.)

 Fast forward to 2017. My beloved David, who supported me all those years, encouraged me to revisit those first two books. He loved the story as much as I do. Because the publisher had long ago reverted the copyrights to me, so I could do as I pleased with them. I dug in and brought them into the twenty-first century. Computers. Cell phones. Digital TV. Alexa! So many things we didn’t have in 1895, all had to be incorporated into the books. What fun!

 So much fun, in fact, that I decided to change the characters’ names and tweak a few of the plot elements. The result? Winning Amber. My amazing daughter-in-law designed a cover, and we were set to go. Winning Amber is now available on Kindle and in print.

 Now you know how I got started writing, and you’ve heard about just one of my inspirations. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll write about the wife of Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab. Oh, wait. I already did that in Ahab’s Bride. Maybe a Jane Austen-inspired series about ladies’ companions? Been there, done that in my Regency Companions series. Maybe a series of westerns about where I used to live in Colorado. Done! Four Stones Ranch! So many inspirations. So many stories to write!

 Oh, and that typewriter? If I had to write my books on it, I think I would have given up a long time ago. I’m still a terrible typist. What would I do without my computer and…wait for it…backspacing and “delete”? Maybe you can relate to that.

 

Winning Amber

Winning is all important to him, in the game…and in love.

 Single mother Amber works hard to raise her son, Noah, on her wages and tips at a small Colorado diner. With medical bills to pay, they both wear secondhand clothes and do without the modern technology Noah’s classmates have. The last thing Amber ever expected was for Noah’s father to show up and preach at her about his newfound religion, especially since Drew didn’t even know Noah existed. Now will the rich and famous NFL quarterback try to take her son away from her? With no one to defend her, is it time for her to run away…again?

 Drew Buxton has always gotten what he wants. Money, girls, a successful career as the NFL’s most popular quarterback, he’s had it all…until a family betrayal and tragedy caused him to rethink his entire life and turn to God. Now he seeks to make amends to the people he’s harmed on his road to success, including the high school classmate who tutored him through his toughest classes. He doesn’t expect her to welcome his visit, nor does he expect the shock of learning he has a son. This changes everything. Now there isn’t anything he won’t do to improve his son’s life, no matter how much Amber resists.

LINK TO FINDING "WINNING AMBER" ON AMAZON: Buy It Here! 

Florida author Louise M. Gouge writes contemporary and historical romance fiction, winning the prestigious IRCA for Hannah Rose (2005) and placing as a finalist four times, and placing the 2012 Laurel Wreath