When I got the idea to write No Better Man, my hero husband and I were vacationing in Aspen. We spent a couple of days exploring the quaint downtown area, hiking in the awe-inspiring surrounding mountains, and simply rejuvenating our relationship. I can honestly say our 14-year marriage has been full of happiness (though not without the challenges, too), but when you have kids and you both work at home and things are chaotic and rushed and stressful, every once in a while, you just have to get away. Together. Alone.
Every once in a while, you need a new adventure.
That weekend, I fell in love with Aspen. (My mom would say I’ve always had expensive taste.) But it wasn’t the beautiful Gucci storefronts or the numerous couture shops that captured my heart. It was the startling contrast between the high-end luxury and the rustic, unrefined personality of the town itself. On the same block, you can visit a five-star restaurant and a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place with scrumptious fish tacos. As I walked around, I wondered how that contrast would play out in people. What if you took a wealthy, groomed city girl and plopped her in the heart of the Rockies? Yes, it’s been done (nothing new under the sun!) but something about the unique ambiance in Aspen brought those two things together so beautifully that I was inspired. I started thinking about characters and setting. I wasn’t yet convinced that Aspen was the right place to set the novel.
One morning, we woke up early to hike near the Maroon Bells. This happens to be the most photographed location in Colorado. The view of the glassy lake reflecting the three pyramid-shaped peaks surpasses beautiful. There are just no words to describe it, especially in the early morning light. We hiked all day, detouring off the trail to risk our lives and explore a waterfall on the side of a cliff. (More on that in another post.) 
When we got back to the hotel later that evening, I took out my computer to capture some thoughts I was having about my quickly developing characters and plot. When I looked down, I realized the diamond had fallen out of my wedding ring. It was gone. Seeing that empty space made me burst into tears, which made my poor husband panic because I never cry. Unable to talk, I simply held up my hand and showed him the ring. We both assumed it had fallen out while were hiking, and we knew we’d never find it. “It’s okay,” he said. “I wanted to get you a bigger diamond anyway. We’ll go look right now.” It was so sweet, but I didn’t want another ring. I didn’t want another diamond. Mine is only a half carat, but I’d had it on my finger for over ten years and I was pretty attached to it. In some ways I felt like it symbolized all of the hard work we’d done to make it that long. It might be small, but to me it held profound meaning. Sounds silly, right? But we writers can be pretty sentimental people.
All evening, I thought about how we could get the diamond back. We could go look for it, I reasoned, even though I knew that was crazy. As I assumed my sleeping position—on my stomach with hands underneath the pillow—I felt this tiny piece of gravel underneath my palm.
A tiny piece of gravel.
In the bed?
Pinching it between my fingers, I rolled off of the mattress and sprinted to the bathroom to turn on the light. Sure enough, there was the diamond pinched between my fingers. That was when I knew I had to write the story in Aspen. Our adventure there was symbolic. When we left our house, we were a little lost in the daily chaos of our life together. I knew my characters would be a little lost, too. Like all of us, they would be missing a piece of themselves as the result of something painful or stressful or hard.
But I learned something in Aspen that I wanted to incorporate into the book. What you think is lost can always be found again, as long as you never give up hope.
The endorsements for No Better Man are coming in! I am so humbled and amazed by the incredibly talented authors who have taken time out of their busy schedules to read my story and graciously provide a blurb. Thank you so much to Lori Wilde, Katie Lane, Debbie Macomber, and Christie Craig! After falling in love with your books over the years, your kind words mean so much! Here is what these fabulous ladies are saying:
“Fresh, fun, well-written, a dazzling debut!”
--Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author.
"An enjoyable read. Richardson's spunky, baseball-lovin' heroine is delightful!"
--Katie Lane, USA Today bestselling author
“Charming, witty, and fun. There’s no better read. I enjoyed every word!”
--Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"The perfect balance of humor, heart and heat. I couldn't put it down! Sara Richardson will sweep you away."
-- Christie Craig, New York Times bestselling author
News? Yes. Wow, do I have news!! After seven years (that’s 2,555 days) of writing and revising and networking and rejections and rewriting and revising some more, I signed a three-book contract with Grand Central’s Forever line!
I love the high-quality books Grand Central produces and am so excited to be part of their family of amazingly talented authors. (I have a lot to live up to!) All three books in the Heart of the Rockies series are set at an adventure ranch in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, and will tell the stories of three unlikely couples who fall in love in the most unexpected ways. Many of the misadventures in the books are based on my experiences as an adventure guide in the Colorado Mountains. The first book, No Better Man, will release in May of 2015 with Something Like Love and More Than a Feeling following in six-month increments.
Everyone keeps asking me how I managed to get a contract without an agent. The answer is, I’m not really sure. Luck? A miracle? The planets finally aligned? I don’t know exactly why I got the contract, but here’s how I got it: No Better Man won a contest back in August and the Grand Central editor who judged it asked for the full manuscript. I had also submitted it online to Grand Central, and one of their other editors found it in the slush pile. Meanwhile, another editor (from a different house) who already had the full manuscript asked me to make some revisions and resubmit it. After I completed the revisions, I sent it back to each of the editors and told them I had completed a major edit.
Three weeks later, I happened to be sitting at my dining room table with a dear writer friend when I got an email from the Grand Central editor. We love your story. We’re thrilled to tell you that we’d like to offer you a three-book contract for print. I gasped and pushed my laptop over to Elaine. We jumped and screamed and celebrated in that crazy way women do. At some point, I remembered to call my husband, who has encouraged me to pursue my dream for seven long years when doubts plagued me and I kept telling him I was sure I could find something more practical to do, something more meaningful to do with my time. You love to write, was his response. You’re happy when you write. So keep writing.
Thanks to him, I did. Maybe that’s why I got a contract. Simply because I kept writing. In the midst of rejections and redirections and some dark times, I wrote my little heart out. No matter what, I kept writing.
And now I can’t wait to share these stories of my heart with everyone! I would love to connect with you on Facebook and here on my website. I’ll be posting updates about the upcoming releases, so be sure to check back often!