Writing Betty & Clark: Why This Story Matters to Me

I have some exciting news to share!My second novel, Betty & Clark, is now available as an eBook on Amazon!

Thanks to ChatGPT, I was able to create an AI-generated cover and write a compelling summary for the Amazon page—feel free to check it out there.

But in this post, I want to talk more personally about what this story means to me. Compared to my first novel, The Zumba Class, Betty & Clark feels much closer to home. While it's a work of fiction, I relate to Clark in many ways—our personalities are similar, and over time, he’s come to feel like a real friend. He and Betty shared their story with me, and it continues in my third novel (though I’m not sure when that will be released).

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m one of Clark’s biggest fans. I genuinely hope he’s doing well—wherever or whenever he may be. Our relationship feels like it transcends time and space, and I look forward to whenever our paths cross again.

Why is this story so important to me? First, because I believe in love—even love that doesn’t look the way we expect it to. You probably won’t find manyreal-life couples with a fifty-year age gap like Betty and Clark. But when you read the novel, I hope you’ll see how believable and realistic their love seems.

Neither of them expected this relationship to happen. The circumstances are unusual, and it certainly wasn’t easy. They had to face their insecurities and doubts to make it work. One of the biggest questions they both wrestled with—and one that I think is universal—is about time: Do we have enough of it? Betty, nearing seventy, wonders how much she has left. Clark, just nineteen, wonders how he’ll cope with losing her someday. But isn’t that something all of us wonder in relationships, no matter our age? How do we love fully, without regrets, knowing nothing is guaranteed?

That’s a central theme of this novel—time, love, and what it means to truly commit to someone despite the uncertainty.

You might look at the cover or read the blurb and think you can predict how it ends. Maybe you’re right—but maybe not. Either way, I invite you to read it. What seems like a simple story on the surface might surprise you with how deeply it makes you feel and reflect.

Thank you for your support—and keep reading!

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