I wanted to write a short piece about a
woman at a low point in her life. Death is too somber a topic for lighthearted romance,
so I picked divorce.
Maddie Livingston has been dumped by her
husband. She is unable to have kids. The builder working on her house has
walked off with her money. She is reduced to living in a heap of rubble with a hole
in the roof and can barely afford to pay the bills.
The story kicks off when Maddie goes into
nightclub to drown her sorrows on the day her divorce becomes final. In the
bar, she spots the builder who cheated her. She lets him hear what she thinks
of him. She’s got it all wrong—the builder is a nice guy. He takes pity on her
and tries to get her back on her feet, not only by fixing her house, but by
boosting her confidence as a woman.
A blue-collar man and an upper class woman
with discerning tastes.
How will they get on?
If they are good in bed, is it enough
foundation for lasting love?
What about their friends and families? How
will they react?
It took me a few drafts to get everything
to my liking. Initially, I wanted some element of class prejudice but nothing
too heavy—just enough for it to be feasible in the modern world. I also struggled
to get Maddie’s character right. Despite being at a low point in her life, I
didn’t want her to come across spineless or full of self pity.
I wanted an underlying layer of optimism,
which I hope I’ve achieved.
Trading Favors didn’t require a much
research. A bit on construction, a bit on fertility treatments, a bit on
antiques. While I was revising, I realized I hadn’t given a specific location.
The story could have been anywhere in the US. It was winter, and there was no
snow, so I settled on North Carolina where I used to spend time in the
Raleigh/Durham area. I added a fleeting reference to the location, although it
could really have been anywhere.
In the early drafts, the opening and
closing scenes showed the heroine reminiscing after the hero’s death. One of my
critique partners hated the idea. For her to know that the hero dies, even if
it might be twenty years later, ruined the story.
So, I changed it. The heroine is still
reminiscing about the past, but in the closing scene the hero comes home and
reveals a something about their first romantic encounter that he had never
shared with her before.
I’m glad I made the change. I love the new
ending. It leaves me with a warm glow about not just falling in love, but that
the right kind of love will endure.
