by Bethany Turner, @SeeBethanyWrite
I am blessed to have an incredibly supportive family. Sure, my sister has never read a single thing I’ve written. And yes, my sons look for every opportunity to tease my inner sappy romantic who cries when talking about the characters I’ve written and the difficult things they’ve survived on the path to love. But they love me. They support me. They are right there, every step of the way, cheering me on.
That goes for my parents, too. My dad is most definitely not a rom-com guy, but he has still proudly read every romantic comedy I’ve written. After each one he has complimented me, and I take each compliment with a grain of salt. (Yes, he’s a prolific reader…but he’s also my biased dad.)
In addition to praise that may or may not have been earned, there is one other review I can always count on receiving from my dad. After every book. Each and every time, without fail. It may be phrased in different ways, but the gist is always this:
“The only thing that would have made it better is a dog.”
And when I start writing a new book, the first question has always been (you guessed it): “Is this one going to have a dog in it?” It’s become a family joke. My dad has insisted that if I were ever to take his advice and put a dog in one of my books, the novel would be an instant New York Times bestseller, and obviously major Hollywood producers would be lining up outside my door to obtain the rights. And I’m just obstinate enough to decide I would probably never write a dog into my stories, because if his predictions came true, I would have to eat a tremendous amount of crow.
But then I gave in. When I began writing my next book, Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other (releasing in September 2023), I committed to adding a dog. For my dad. I wasn’t sure how the dog was going to fit in the story and trying to figure it out felt like a huge burden. Until…
Until I started writing my hero’s scenes alone with Murrow, an adorable Havanese psychiatric service dog who has helped Sebastian in his recovery from PTSD. A miraculous thing happened whenever I was writing Sebastian and Murrow alone in a room together.
Sincerity. Authenticity. Vulnerability. The simplicity of love and acceptance in a complicated world.
I really don’t think my dad’s predictions about instant superstardom, all because of the dog, will come true. (Although doggone it if Murrow didn’t make the cover, like the superstar he is…) But I’m grateful that I finally gave in. I had thought it would be difficult to work an animal in and to add the layer of human/pet affection, but in reality, Murrow served as a great tool to help me (and readers) get to know Sebastian. It’s been said we should be the person our dogs think we are. I love that. But I also think it’s true that who we are with our dogs is who we truly are as humans…whether or not we ever let other humans see that side of us. So, use that, as a writer. The next time you have difficulty getting to the heart of a character, just ask yourself: “What would Bethany Turner’s dad say this book is missing?” (If it does, indeed, happen to be a dog, let’s not tell him. His head may actually explode.)
Sometimes dreams come true. Other times, the best outcome begins with an epic fail.
Career-driven McKenna Keaton has devoted her life to attaining the senior partnership at her law firm. So asking a man on a date should be nothing. But the past four days have been the worst of her life and have called everything she thought she knew about herself into question. Besides, she can’t remember her last real date—one that didn’t involve using a blind date as an opportunity to get a stranger’s perspective on effective cross-examination techniques. (It’s like sharing fondue with a jury!)
But a real date? And with shy, nerdy Henry Blumenthal—McKenna’s high school rival for valedictorian who once took three hours to beat her at chess? Scratch that. He’s Hank Blume now, the famed documentarian, Durham’s darling son, who has attained all his dreams and more. He also happens to look like he stepped out of an Eddie Bauer catalog.
Whereas McKenna is a disgraced workaholic from New York on unpaid leave, accused of a white-collar crime she would never commit, succumbing to panic attacks, watching her dreams unravel. At age thirty-eight—and destined by the family curse to die before she turns forty, it appears—it’s absolutely the wrong time to have a major crush on a man. Especially one who treasures his memories of McKenna as the girl Most Likely to Succeed.
“Pitch-perfect comedic timing, a relatable heroine, and a refreshing sweetness elevate this novel above the sea of modern rom-coms. The rare author who can make me laugh-out-loud, The Do-Over is Bethany Turner at her best.” —Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author
“Bethany Turner has crafted a delightful, witty story with zippy dialogue, warmly relatable characters, and hilariously apt pop culture references. I found myself sneaking off to read just one more chapter. I’m still smiling thinking about this book. Reading it felt like eating a big bowl of Lucky Charms mixed with Fruity Pebbles. A colorful explosion of happy.” —Rachel Linden, bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees
Bethany Turner writes romantic comedies for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. Her titles include The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, Wooing Cadie McCaffrey, Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish, Plot Twist, and The Do-Over. A former bank vice-president and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned 35), Bethany now serves on the leadership staff of a church in Southwest Colorado, where she lives with her husband and their two teenaged sons. For her romantic comedy novels, Bethany has been awarded multiple Selah Awards, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, been repeatedly named to Family Fiction’s annual list of 40 Essential Romance Authors, and been a finalist for the Vivian Award and the Christy Award. But she’s also received some of the most fabulous one-star reviews ever written! (Seriously…there are some absolute gems in there.) Hang out with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com or @seebethanywrite across social media platforms, where she’s likely to be found celebrating those one-star reviews and obsessing over Colin Firth. Text her anytime at (970) 387-7811.