My origin story.

It's amazing what a dare can do.

I published my 44th novel two weeks ago.

Yes. 44th.

Just typing that number makes me smile in both happiness and disbelief. It’s hard to believe I wrote one novel, let alone this many. Others apparently find it hard to believe, too, because I get asked all the time how it happened. 🤣

To make it super simple for the people who don’t want to read the whole post: my husband dared me to write a book.

For the rest of you, let me set the stage …

It was a cold, snowy February night in Indiana. My husband and I were home alone (the boys had went to Grandma’s). He was watching television and I was sorting through my Kindle. Book after book went by and nothing captured my attention.

Me: “I have nothing to read.”

My husband (*side-eyeing me*): “I’ve seen our credit card bill. That’s a lie.”

Oops.

After a lengthy conversation about how, okay, there were books I owned that I wanted to read at some point, there was nothing I wanted to read that minute. The story I was looking for wasn’t … anywhere.

“Then write a book,” he says.

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah, you. You read enough of them. You’re always writing in a journal or letters or blog posts. Write a book.”

“I can’t write a book. It’s not that easy. I don’t even know how.”

He smiled. “Maybe all of that is true. But I know you can do it, and I dare you to try.”

I was thirty-three years old—a stay-at-home mom of four little boys with no college degree and absolutely no professional experience writing anything aside from grocery lists that I never remembered actually to take to the grocery store. How on Earth could I write a book?

As I sat on our sofa (I hated that sofa, by the way), I contemplated his challenge. And the longer he stared at me, the more taunt I absorbed from his handsome face and the more brazen I became.

“Fine,” I say. “I’ll write a book. Let’s name the characters right now.”

He was shocked a bit, I think, but he played along. We devised a hero, a heroine, and a basic plot. Then I set off to work.

And then I promptly stopped working on it the next day.

I picked it up for a few days the next week, then shoved it in my drawer again.

A few weeks later, I found it looking for scissors and pulled it out. I wrote for a week or two and then lost it amid spring baseball chaos.

This went on for a few months until one day I fell in love with the book. With writing. With my characters. With the feeling of doing something just for me—for once.

It became less about writing a book and more about filling my tank. I craved the quiet time. I loved the writing community I discovered online. I chased the high of finishing a chapter.

I finally felt like me again in a place I never imagined.

Now, 44 books later, I wonder who I would’ve been had I not taken my husband’s dare. ♥️

If you need a new read this week, may I suggest The Arrangement …

The gorgeous CEO of Brewer Air is my boss and, thanks to a bet, my new husband for six months.

Why? Because I begged.

I have a grandmother to support, a stack of bills higher than my five-foot frame, and as a cherry on top, I need to find a new place to live. Soon.

Sure, Jason Brewer’s bright green eyes and chiseled jawline steal my breath. His smirk makes me weak. The former military hero’s protective nature is as sexy as watching him control a boardroom or fly a plane.

But none of that matters. I’m desperate—not foolish. I know forever-level commitments aren’t real. This is simply a business transaction with a billionaire.

It’s too bad we didn’t consider all contingencies.

Our first kiss was to seal the deal. The second was in front of an Elvis impersonator. The third kiss led to a honeymoon that was so hot it burned into my memory.

I tell myself it’s okay because there’s an arrangement in place. It’s a—very—enjoyable means to a much-needed end. There’s nothing to worry about.

Except there is …

Jason is determined to prove that we could be more. When he proposes a new arrangement, it changes everything in ways I never saw coming.

From USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Adriana Locke comes a new age-gap workplace romance featuring a former military hero who falls first and hard for his heroine. You will swoon over this spicy standalone romance.

Available now in ebook and paperback, as well as a discreet paperback.

Audio is coming next week, so stay tuned!