A Novel Beginning by Susan X Meagher: Listing

08/01/2024 Brisk Press, Susan X Meagher 2 min read

What do you do when you’ve hit rock bottom? Misfortune has been raining down on Kirsten Holland for what seems like forever, but one good friend, along with one annoyingly supportive neighbor, have convinced her to take a stab at a new career. She’d never been motivated to write a novel, but maybe her love of reading will give her the impetus to start.

Through a writing program, she’s paired with Jonesy North, a significantly younger, significantly more experienced writer. Improbably, they hit it off from the first, but Kirsten’s writing prowess builds much more slowly than their friendship does.

Jonesy sees no reason not to extend that friendship into the bedroom, but Kirsten is reluctant on many fronts—the most important one their age-gap.

Both of them believe they’d be perfect for each other, but only Jonesy believes that with no qualifiers. Given they can’t change the years they were born, they’re at an impass—one that Kirsten holds the key to. Taking a young lover might help her get past some of her struggles, but it also might create new problems that she’s not sure she’ll be able to face.