Throwback: Sure Shot
Things you may not know about Sure Shot:
Bess had already appeared in Bountiful, so I knew I wanted to write a book for her! And given her reaction to her brother’s child, I knew that motherhood had to figure into it.
It was really refreshing to write a book about older characters for this series—people who had lived their lives and made mistakes.
There is an infertility story in this book, and I’m glad I did a good job with the research, because I got a lot of reader mail afterwards. People were moved by this book in a way that I hadn’t fully anticipated. We talk a lot about how much representation matters in books, but usually with regard to race, or sexuality, or even body image. But here was a moment of representation that mattered to readers that I hadn’t anticipated. It was humbling.
I got to play with Brooklyn’s rivalry with Dallas in this book. Recall that in Brooklynaire, they lose the cup to Dallas. Well, guess where Tank is from? 😊
I always say that I hate to write weddings. And it’s mostly true. But there is a wedding in this book, and I really enjoyed writing it! Especially this lovely thing that is said to the bride as she is “given away” in the aisle. I still tear up when I think of it. Basically, if you can make yourself cry while writing a scene, it’s probably a good scene.
The audio recording for this book, with Jacob Morgan and Emma Wilder, was poised to happen just as the whole world was shutting down in the spring of 2020. All the audio studios where Jacob Morgan works were shuttered. Emma, who was the book’s producer, told me not to panic. And she was right! I think this book was the very first one that Jacob Morgan recorded in his home studio. And it was on time.