Spotlight with Victoria James, author of The Best Man’s Baby

Spotlight with Victoria James, author of The Best Man’s Baby

The last few years have been all about babies around our house. It’s not that we have a bunch of kids-even though it may sound like there are a dozen or so-but no, just two. Which is perfect for us :). They were both planned. Hubby and I enjoyed five years of marriage before delving into parenthood. We knew we wanted children and we were ready. Or so we thought…no matter how prepared, how many items were ticked off the to-do list, nothing truly prepared us for holding our baby boy the morning he was born. The emotion, the love, the awe that we felt when looking at his beautiful face is always with me.

I don’t think anything can prepare a person for the massive undertaking of becoming a parent for the first time. Your entire identity shifts, your perspective on life is altered, and you can never go back to the person you were before you had a child.

But what if I hadn’t been with a partner? What if my pregnancy hadn’t been planned? My hero and heroine, Jake and Claire, from The Best Man’s Baby find themselves in this exact situation.

Claire is a heroine I think many women can identify with; she’s a people pleaser, she tries to keep everyone around her happy and do the right thing. She’s smart, responsible, and organized. But she also has a lot of pain buried underneath. Her life is all planned out. Until she finds out she’s pregnant. And Jake, well, he’s a bad boy with a ton of hurt buried deep inside and feels he’s not good enough for Claire. At his very core though, is goodness. He has a heart of gold and is willing to do whatever it takes to make Claire believe he’s father material.

The unexpected pregnancy forced her most intense emotions to the surface-she has been in love with Jake forever-except he doesn’t know it. They both have strong, stubborn personalities and they are truly combustive when together. They need to overcome their pasts in order to move forward. They are both pushed to their limits and Claire has an epiphany one night and acts completely out of character for herself and creates a huge scene. But this is the beginning for her-she is finally taking control of her life and is compelled to become a mother that her child can look up to.

In many ways, I think Jake has more of a journey to go on. He was an easy and difficult character for me to write, if that makes any sense. He was so charming, funny, and well, hot. But he was also hiding so much from the people that were closest to him. When he finally confides in Claire, this vulnerable, heart-breaking side to him came out. I’ll admit I did shed a few tears when writing his scene.

I think it’s impossible to become a parent and claim that it hasn’t changed you. I adored writing this book because I was able to draw upon my own emotions and infuse the characters with feelings that I think so many of us can identify with. I decided to write an epilogue for The Best Man’s Baby because I wanted a few more minutes with Jake and Claire-and I wanted Jake to experience the unconditional love that comes with parenthood.

I’m so touched at the response I’ve received to The Best Man’s Baby, that I wanted to host an extra giveway. The contest ends Friday, so be sure to enter on my website.

Thank you so much for your kind words and emails, I treasure all of them!

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Heather Riccio

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