Guest Authors,  Liz Flaherty,  Writer's moments

Author Spotlight: Liz Flaherty Has A Soft Place to Fall

June 21, 2023 /

You know what’s the best part of having another author for a bestie? I mean besides all the other great things about Liz Flaherty? When you need someone to fill a slot, you can say, “I have no one in the Author Spotlight this week. Want to dash off something?” And she does!

Liz Flaherty spends non-writing time sewing, quilting, and wanting to travel. The author of 20-some books and her husband Duane share an old farmhouse in North Central Indiana that they talk about leaving. However, that would require clearing baseball trophies from the attic and dusting the pictures of the Magnificent Seven, their grandchildren, so they’ll probably stay where they are.

Find Liz in all her social media places at https://linktr.ee/LizFlaherty She’ll be glad to hear from you!

So, mes amies, I give you my bestie… Liz, take it away (and thanks!)…

Early McGrath of A Soft Place to Fall is in the top three of my favorite heroines among the ones I’ve written. I’ve never thought all that much about why, but when Nan asked if I’d like to “dash off something” for one of my favorite blogs—hers—it opened that particular door.

As writers, we talk a lot about the arcs of our protagonists. About their growth from the starting point of the book—when something happens—to its culmination—when they reach their happily ever after.

So what do I love so much about Early? She’s 46, fifteen or so pounds overweight, and has about as much glamour going on as…well, she doesn’t. She “had” to get married at 16, finished high school on the GED program, and never sought further education because she didn’t have time.

Her arc needs to be pretty broad, doesn’t it? She needs to get prettier, thinner, and become a poster girl for getting a degree with four grown kids in the audience. She needs to repair her 30-year marriage or go on from its end and build a new life.

Except.

There’s nothing wrong with Early the way she is, and there’s not that much wrong with Nash (although, come on, he’s a guy…), but they’ve lost track somewhere along the way. Instead of going forward on a swooping arc, maybe they need to step back and work with what they have.

It’s not that simple, of course. Things change a lot for them, but the things that matter, that made them love each other 30 years ago? Those don’t need an arc—they just need some polishing up.

I hope you read and enjoy Early and Nash’s story.

A Soft Place to Fall

Early McGrath doesn’t want freedom from her thirty-year marriage to Nash, but when it’s forced upon her, she does the only thing she knows to do – she goes home to the Ridge to reinvent herself.

Only what is someone who’s spent her life taking care of other people supposed to do when no one needs her anymore? Even as the threads of her life unravel, she finds new ones – reconnecting with the church of her childhood, building the quilt shop that has been a long-time dream, and forging a new friendship with her former husband.

The definition of freedom changes when it’s combined with faith, and through it all perhaps Early and Nash can find a Soft Place to Fall.

Amazon | Books2Read

13 Comments

  • M J. Schiller, Romance Author

    June 22, 2023 at 10:14 am

    I love how this story is so realistic. It doesn’t seem to be about a lot of drama, but more about how a couple lost their way to each other and had to work hard to find their way back. The warmth and grittiness of their love–despite personal flaws and all that life throws at us–that is a story that deserves to be told just as much as the more seemingly dramatic ones. Because the little daily dramas that play out are still plenty dramatic to us, and the inexhaustible spirit that people have to grow and change–albeit sometimes reluctantly–is inspiring and worthy of delving into and exploring. You have a true gift for looking at these everyday happenings at a deeper, very human level and we are blessed that you share it with us. Your insight, and the insights that you bring your readers to discover within themselves, make us better people. Thank you for continuing to share yourself with us.

  • Barb Bettis

    June 21, 2023 at 2:25 pm

    Really enjoyed the post, Liz. She’s a heroine anyone can find encouragement in. continued best!

    • Liz Flaherty

      June 21, 2023 at 10:39 am

      Thanks, Kim. My original title for the story was “Early to Rise.” I thought that was perfect, but the publisher didn’t, so…

  • Liz Flaherty

    June 21, 2023 at 6:38 am

    Thanks for having me, Nan. I always love coming here, and I always love talking about Early and Nash, too. There is a “dearness”–I can’t think of a good word–to writing about people of a certain age, isn’t there? It gives them a special place for me, whether I write them or read them.