Letter D The April A to Z Blogging Challenge #AtoZChallenge

April Author Spotlight 2015

Letter ‘D’ is for David Burnett author of To Fall In Love Again

Why do I recommend To Fall In Love Again?

I loved this very different love story featuring two widowed young grandparents, who are well into their fifties when they accidentally meet and fall in love. Conflict ensues as various generations have to adjust to their unexpected relationship. I appreciated the way all the characters learnt to trust each other, cope with deceit, misunderstandings, meddling gossips, and social prejudice, and I was finally relieved that they were offered yet another chance of happiness thanks to love, forgiveness, friendship and trust. If you enjoy stories with authentic characters who are offered a second chance of happiness, you will enjoy this well written, pleasant and satisfying, cosy read.

What’s your novel about, David?

To Fall in Love Again is a story of romance, set in a beautiful city. Drew and Amy meet on a flight as they return from vacation, and they fall in love. Pretty typical, right?

Drew and Amy both are in their fifties, not their early twenties, as you might expect. Both are widowed. Both have grandchildren. Not typical at all.

Instead of coping with their parents’ reactions when they fall in love, they must cope with the feelings of their children, and children can be very protective. Instead of carting around baggage from former boyfriends or girlfriends, they have memories – some good, some very painful – of long-time spouses. Instead of looking ahead sixty years, they can look, perhaps, thirty years into the future.

The problems confronted by Drew and Amy – their families, their pasts, the future – are faced by any couple in love. Older readers will identify with them. Younger readers will view their own issues in a different light.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just completed a new novel, Those Children Are Ours.

Jennie Bateman screamed at her daughters, cursed at her husband, packed a bag, and walked away. Twelve years later, she petitions the family court for visitation with her daughters.

Her situation is hardly ordinary. Jennie suffered from a bipolar disorder when she began to drink heavily, abandoned her family, and moved in with another man. True, she has turned her life around: leaving her boyfriend, returning to school, entering therapy, taking medication, finding a job, and joining a church. But she pressed no claim for her children when her husband divorced her, and she has made no attempt to contact them in any way. Neither child wants anything to do with her.

While my three previous novels are all romances, this story focuses on Jennie’s attempt to establish a relationship with her children. One finds very little romance in the story, certainly not for Jennie. Of course, I’ve begun a sequel…

What would you like readers to know about you?

My background, education, and work experience aren’t what you might expect of a novelist. I went to school pretty much forever, studying psychology, theology, and statistics.

And I write about romance! My colleagues at our state’s department of education, where I spent a decade as director of research would be shocked! They believed me to be detail-oriented, analytical, and interested only in “the facts.”

I’m proof that anyone can have a creative side.

How can we find out more or contact you?

Amazon

Amazon UK

 Createspace Store

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Amazon Author Page

 

Please take some time to check out some of the other blogs on the A-Z Challenge. There are plenty of interesting and varied topics.