Judy Corry - Second Chance Romance With Spunk

Judy Corry is the USA Today Bestselling Author of YA and Sweet Contemporary Romance. She writes romance because she can't get enough of the feeling of falling in love. She's known for writing swoon-worthy kisses, endearing characters, and hard-won happily ever afters. She lives in Southern Utah with her husband and their four children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy who took her to her Jr. Prom. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Her Football Star Ex.

Please give us a short introduction to what Her Football Star Ex is about.

So this story is about a pro football player, Vincent and his ex-wife Emerson. They were together for six years before they got divorced due to a night of drunken infidelity on Vincent’s part.

Yes…I wrote a romance novel where I had the huge task of redeeming the male main character of a seemingly unforgivable situation.

So at the beginning of the book, Emerson finds herself in need of a date for an upcoming wedding. She knows Vincent is going to be there, so she is desperate to find a guy impressive enough to make her famous quarterback ex jealous and kick himself for losing her. But when they are thrown together before the wedding, unexpected sparks fly and Emerson starts to wonder if she divorced Vincent to soon.

Of course, much more happens, but that’s the basic intro to what happens in the book.

How did the idea for the novel originate?

I actually had the idea of writing a romance between a divorced couple for several years. I’m not sure exactly where the initial idea came from, but when I listened to the soundtrack for the broadway musical Hamilton, and heard the part of the song “It’s Quiet Uptown” where the character Eliza forgives Hamilton of his infidelity and really thought about how hard that would be and what a big moment that was, I just had to write a story of my own.

I am a huge fan of second chance romances that require a lot of work to get to the happily ever after, so I couldn’t resist this story line. I just think the more you torture your characters, the more rewarding the love story can be. (Yes, authors are so mean sometimes!)

Tell us more about Emerson. What makes her tick?

Emerson is a no-nonsense type of person. She doesn’t need a man to make her happy and also doesn’t need a guy to take care of her. But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t love to share her life with someone again.

She is an amazing mother to her and Vincent’s four-year-old son, Jaxon, and loves him to pieces. But even though she loves being a mom, it is also important for her to succeed in her career as an attorney.

If you’re on her good side, she loves you fiercely. But if you do her wrong (like Vincent did a year ago) she will kick you to the curb and move on without you.

She of course has her own insecurities and issues that she has to deal with throughout the story, but she is sophisticated, tough and classy and one of my favorite heroines that I’ve written.

What makes Vincent such a great match for her?

Even though they’ve had their differences and things haven’t been perfect, he really is her best friend and just gets her in a way that no one else in the world does. She is a strong, independent woman, but he has a way of making her feel safe and protected in a way that she needs.

He’s an amazing father to their son, and she adores that about him.

Him being the most attractive man she’s ever laid eyes on doesn’t hurt either.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I am a really musically inclined and play a few instruments—the piano being my favorite. I also love to sing and was in a show choir in college.

I make the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had as well—though I don’t make them nearly as often as I used to these days since I found that I ate way too many of them.

Why exes? What intrigues you about second chance romance?

Great question! And the reason why I had to write it is because my husband and I are actually a second chance love story. We never got divorced or anything quite a dramatic as what happened to my characters in Her Football Star Ex, but we did have our own reasons for why it didn’t work out the first time and why it took some forgiveness and learning to trust again to get back together a few years later.

So while our circumstances were different, it gave me some insight into what someone in my characters situation would go through. I knew that even though our love story had some bumps in the road, it was so worth it to overcome those obstacles to be together because my husband is the perfect person for me and really is my best friend. Just like Vincent really is Emerson’s best friend.

Readers say the story is one of heartbreak and healing. Why did you find these themes important to write about?

Because life is messy, and sadly it isn’t all sunshine and roses all the time. I think it’s important to realize that people aren’t perfect, but as long as they’re still breathing, they still have the ability to change if they really want to.

With so many marriages ending in divorce these days, I wanted to give an example of a situation where forgiveness and getting back together was the right choice.

Of course, there are lots of situations where people really should move forward and away from those who hurt them, but it’s not always the case so I wanted to show an example of that.

Do you have a favorite line from the book, and can you explain what that line means to you?

“No one is their biggest mistake.”

It just captures the essence of the story that I wanted to share with readers. It’s an idea that I’m not perfect at remembering all the time, but I do try to give other’s the benefit of the doubt for the most part. I like to believe that most people are good people, they just don’t always make the best choices.

Is there an underlying message you wish to relay about basic human nature through your characters?

It goes along with my favorite line above. I really wanted to show that we are all human and sometimes mess up—mess up big time. But I also wanted to show that forgiving people of their wrongs can sometimes bring you the happiness you’ve been searching for.

Do you write your books for yourself, or do you write them with a particular reader/audience in mind?

I always write my books for myself first, since I want to enjoy what I’m writing. Writing my next favorite book is always my dream going into a project. But I do think about my readers as I’m writing as well and how I hope they will react to certain scenes that I’m writing.

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

I’m such an introvert that I would probably be soooo awkward meeting someone famous. But, if I had to choose and could be sure that I wouldn’t make a fool of myself, I’d love to meet Oprah. She is such a well of wisdom after having conversations with so many people (and reading so many books!) and I would just love to learn from her and also thank her for her books and podcast that have been so helpful to me as I’ve gone through difficult times in my life.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I don’t know if it’s anything interesting, but I do find that my creative brain comes to life in the afternoons—you know, right around the time my kids are getting home from school and needing a ride to various activities.

This summer, an average writing day happens between the hours of 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. I sit at my desk and go through whatever scene I wrote the day before so I can revise it and get myself back into the story. And then I will write in about 500 word sessions where I get up and walk around my house, fix a snack, refill my water and then get back to writing.

These days I’m really lucky to get 1500 words in, with a really good day being over 2000 words. I’m not the fastest writer but I do write pretty clean first drafts so it works for me.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I am working on the fourth book in my Rich and Famous series called Friend Zone to End Zone. It features two side characters that we meet in Her Football Star Ex, and it’s been so much fun to write so far.

My main character Cole is trying to get out of the friend-zone with his best friend Arianna and so to get her to take a closer look at him, he’s arranged for her to be his dating coach. He, of course, plans to bomb all his dates so Arianna will be forced to spend lots of extra time coaching him and hopes that by the end, she’ll realize he’s not only best friend material but also boyfriend material.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

All of my books are on Amazon, so that’s a great place to find my books.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Corry/e/B075CVVS2P/
As for interacting with me, I am on Facebook and Instagram most days.
Instagram: @judycorry
Facebook: @authorjudycorry
And I also give weekly updates on everything going on with my life and books on my weekly newsletter. I offer a free copy of my book When We Began to anyone who signs up. Join Judy’s VIP Reader’s Club here: http://www.subscribepage.com/judycorry