Don’t Mention It
Available Now to Agents & Editors
Synopsis
Play games and someone’s bound to get hurt.
After years of putting everyone else first, Simone Braxton is finally going after her lifelong dream to take the LSAT and apply to law school. It’s time for Simone to own her ambitions: that’s what Arlee, the gorgeous, uber-confident new mom from her son’s baseball team, says to encourage her. Except Simone has other problems—her husband, Wyatt, recently had a heart scare and is acting oddly evasive. And with her twins four years away from college, how can she add more expenses now? So Simone lies to Wyatt and the kids to protect her family and marriage… or so she tells herself.
Arlee Nichols is committed to never manipulate her son Jake’s life again. And when she meets Simone at Jake’s first game, Arlee knows the warm, openhearted woman will inspire her to keep that promise. But when Jake’s coach continues to unfairly bench him, Arlee’s urge to protect her son at all costs kicks in. As the League Treasurer, she publicly accuses the coach of siphoning funds and bankrupting the league.
When Arlee learns that Simone and Wyatt, a forensic accountant, are investigating the league records, both friends must make choices that ultimately determine whether they can become the women they want to be. Does Arlee tell the truth and permanently damage her relationship with Jake—or risk her friendship with the one person who’s ever stood by her by forcing Simone and Wyatt to keep quiet about what they discover? And does Simone continue to protect her family at the expense of her dreams?
As their worlds collide, Simone and Arlee must decide: do right by their children—or do what’s right.
Inspiration
I’ve always been fascinated by female friendships—the complexity, the mystery, the ways in which we can both betray and uplift one another. Personally, I’ve experienced the full gamut of friendships. Some that have spun me in circles with frenemy characteristics. And others (the majority, thankfully) that have cushioned me through life’s overwhelming challenges and—with enormous love, generosity, empathy,
wisdom . . . all the things—carried me through the worst days, months, years.
What if I took a combination of those types of friends and blended them into one character? Aren’t we all flawed? Sometimes our best selves, sometimes our worst? What if this woman—Arlee—had the best intentions and yet the worst impulses? And what if her new friend—Simone—was struggling with her intentions but had the best impulses? What would happen if Simone trusted Arlee with her most intimate secrets? Their friendship—the benefits and the devastations—alters their lives in ways neither would have chosen. The reverberations of their actions will upend their families and even their community.
With regard to the primary setting—the PONY League baseball fields—the possibilities were endless. As a mother of three sons, one of whom played baseball through college, I spent decades in the baseball world. Though the drama is real, I couldn’t resist creating this fictional account of what happens when competitive sports, a symbiotic friendship, and character flaws collide.
DON’T MENTION IT is a story about reinvention, the cost of good intentions, and above all, the power of female friendship.
