Inspiration for
Help Wanted
Where did I find
inspiration for Help Wanted? Truth be told, I didn’t have to look farther than
the mirror. I wrote much of this manuscript years before I even started on my
first published book, False Start -
back when, like Claire, I was incredibly unhappy in my chosen career and wondering
why in the world I didn’t put up a fight when my husband announced he’d be
dropping out of the workforce to become a stay-at-home dad to our four boys. Besides
my family’s involvement with cross-country, my husband’s Hispanic heritage, and
having a sister who’s a talented photographer, the similarities between my life
and Claire’s are pretty sparse.
The fun part for me
was filling in all of the little details that make up the differences between
the Mendez family and mine – especially where they live. While my husband and I
lived in downtown Chicago before and after we were married, we moved out to the
‘burbs when the boys came along. But I always wondered how different our lives
would be if we had stayed in the city. To make Claire and Paul’s lives seem
authentic, again, I didn’t have to look far because we still spend so much time
in the city proper and have family living on the more urban side of the tracks.
The one thing that
makes Claire and I the most similar is that we’re both plate spinners –
multi-tasking working moms. While Claire writes an advice column as “the Plate
Spinner” for the Chicago Gazette, I wrote the “Plate Spinner Chronicles” column
for the Chicago Tribune (a collection of which will be available in the near
future from Gemma Halliday Publishing).
And, like it did
for Claire, pursuing my dream of being a writer has had a wonderfully positive
and transformative affect on my life. Whoever said happy endings can only be
found in fairy tales?
* * * * * * *
Help Wanted
An Assignment: Romance Novel #2
Barbara Valentin
When Claire Nelson decided that her
happily-ever-after lay not in marriage but in a spot on the New York Times
bestseller list, she vowed never to tie the knot. But that was before she met Paul
Mendez, handsome and charming enough to have her breaking said vow and marrying
him shortly after college.
Almost fifteen years and four sons later, Claire is now a burned out breadwinner ready to ditch her quest for happily-ever-after, and Paul has traded his dream of chairing corporate board meetings for volunteering at PTA meetings as a stay-at-home dad. Feeling trapped in a demanding job, Claire's repeated attempts to get Paul to return to work fall flat. Contemplating divorce, she drafts a letter to the Plate Spinner, a popular advice columnist, asking for help. But when the reply contains an offer that may just put her bestselling author dreams back on track, Claire's only question is: will Paul be on board? Or does her charming husband make a surprise move of his own?
Almost fifteen years and four sons later, Claire is now a burned out breadwinner ready to ditch her quest for happily-ever-after, and Paul has traded his dream of chairing corporate board meetings for volunteering at PTA meetings as a stay-at-home dad. Feeling trapped in a demanding job, Claire's repeated attempts to get Paul to return to work fall flat. Contemplating divorce, she drafts a letter to the Plate Spinner, a popular advice columnist, asking for help. But when the reply contains an offer that may just put her bestselling author dreams back on track, Claire's only question is: will Paul be on board? Or does her charming husband make a surprise move of his own?
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Excerpt:
"Dear Plate
Spinner—I need your help."
After reading the plea
out loud, Mattie Ross, the Chicago Gazette's reluctant advice columnist and
marathon-runner-in-training, cringed.
Another letter from a frazzled
working mother, seeking direction and hope— commodities she herself was in dire
need of ever since her coach walked out on her, taking her heart with him.
Nick.
Her heart squeezed in her chest and
she closed her eyes. After hiding behind the same I'm married with kids lie she her perpetuated with her publisher
and readers for the eight months he had spent training her, she could hardly
blame him for being upset.
With a heavy sigh, she texted her
editor, Dianne Devane. Any openings in
Metro yet?
Almost before she hit Send, she got
her response. Sit tight, sweetie. I'm
working on it.
Emitting a quick growl, Mattie
turned her attention back to her computer screen and skimmed the brief account
of the weary woman's conundrum.
"The salary of my demanding,
soul-sucking job is holding me hostage. I haven't had a vacation in over five
years (maternity leaves do not count).
I see my kids so infrequently, that if I don't keep their pictures on my desk
current, I tend not to recognize them in passing (their resemblance truly is
jarring). Any friends I have left have given up hope of ever seeing me in
person again, especially when I had to cancel my appearance at an intervention
they were staging on my behalf, because I had to meet an absolutely critical
deadline. As it is, I'm spread so thin, I make plastic wrap look opaque. My
only hope is to convince my husband, a stay-at-home dad to our boys, to return
to the corporate world. Chances of this happening, though, are slim to
none—especially after he machine-washed yet another one of my dry-clean- only
sweaters, and I leveled him with a 'does not meet expectations' on his most
recent performance review (I mean, seriously—can you blame me?).
Needless to say, it did not go over
well. He has since relocated to the man cave-slash-office down the hall and has
barely spoken to me since.
So, tell me. Should I force his hand
and quit my job, or file for divorce and offer him a job as a live-in nanny
(because he looks a hell of a lot better in an apron than I do)?"
It was signed "Burned Out
Breadwinner."
Mattie didn't know whether to send
the writer a list of local marriage counselors or encourage her to pursue a
career as a stand-up comedian. Staring at the ceiling above her cubicle for a
moment, the advice columnist tried to think of a fitting response.
About the
Author:
Barbara is
an award-winning, best-selling novelist. A member of RWA's Windy City chapter,
she still dreams of the day when her to-do list includes "Accept Godiva's
request to be a taste-tester." False Start, the first book in
her Assignment: Romance series, was published in 2014 (Gemma Halliday
Publishing).
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