Ever wondered about the “behind the scenes” on A Bargain to Keep? Spoiler alert: my original idea was nothing like how the book actually turned out.
My ideas for books usually start out in an effort to answer the question “What if?” I’ll get a little picture in my mind or a great line of dialogue. Probing at that image to see what my mind will come up with is one of the most fun parts of being an author.
Of course, the story often goes through major upheavals before I sit down to write it. For my latest release, A Bargain to Keep, the first scene had to do with Sheriff Ethan Becker bursting into the bakery where his childhood friend Jeanne was making cinnamon rolls. She took one look at him and asked if something was wrong.
He leaned against the counter and replied, “Yes, something’s wrong! I just found an abandoned baby girl, and I have no clue how to change her diaper!”
If you’ve read the book, you know that the circumstances don’t line up with that idea. Ethan and Jeanne are not friends, Jeanne doesn’t work in a bakery, and Ethan doesn’t rescue an abandoned baby girl.
But other elements are strikingly similar. Ethan still needs help in dealing with a baby girl (only now he isn’t admitting it). Jeanne is still the one who can help him (but she’s reluctant about it). And there are still plenty of cinnamon rolls sprinkled throughout the story.
