My new episodic novel follows Margaret (“Mar”) Meyer through her first year of single life, moving each month from one acquaintance to the next to escape the pain of her divorce. As Indies Today said in their 5-star advance review, “When Ruth F. Stevens writes about gray divorce and second chances, you’ll believe anything is possible.”
Here’s a preview of some of the main players in a novel that received a coveted Editor’s Pick designation from BookLife Review, describing it as a “touching, polished story of a woman embracing growth, post-divorce.”
Margaret (narrator)
👩🦱 Call her Mar, please
🍷 Works better with wine🍷
💃 Likes dance workouts
💑 Determined to keep things light
🤔 The cranky disposition of Olive Kitteridge in the youthful looking body of Sutton Foster
Quotable quote: “I respect people who meditate, the same way I respect people who never touch alcohol. Both are admirable practices I have no intention of pursuing myself.”
Charlie (love interest)
📚 Famous novelist
😍 Mar’s main love interest
🧘♂️🥾 Likes yoga, hiking
✅ Funny, sexy, smart
Quotable quote: “I’ve always regarded ‘we need to talk’ as one of the top entries in the lexicon of unwelcome phrases. I rank it up there with ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’ and ‘I’m referring you to an oncologist.’”
Sunny (new friend)
👱♀️Warm, kind, gentle
👯 A nice new friend for Mar
🌊 Despite her name, there’s a dark cloud over her head
👼 Believes in reincarnation, not heaven
Vincent (mentor)
♿️ Physically confined but mentally unbounded
🎅 Like a California Santa—bearded, thin, suntanned
📚Huge fan of Charlie’s novels
🚨Mentor to Mar—helps her find her way
Quotable quote: “Some people like to say the devil’s in the details. But I say the devil’s in the timing.”
Jax (hip-hop instructor)
😎 Very cool dude
🕺Hip hop teacher extraordinaire
🥰 Possible fling for Mar?
💡Planner and schemer—an idea man
Quotable quote: “As soon as this infection clears up, it’s game on.”
Audrey (friend and dogmother)
🦮 Dog mom to Petey the Wheatie
🗽A real “New Yawkuh” – street-wise city girl
♿️ Volunteers at a senior home
👯 She and Mar exchange relationship advice
Quotable quote: “If you want someone to listen to you, first you have to speak.”
Judith (organizational consultant)
🗂️ Professional organizer and pain in the butt
💣 Drops a lot of F-bombs
😡 Frequently bossy
😹 Also frequently funny
Quotable quote: “I’ll make a couple of calls to my people, and this stuff will be flushed out faster than s—t through a sick goose.”
Petey (Wheaten terrier)
🐾 Stubborn as a terrier… because he is one
🦮 Loves beach walks
🏥 Trained therapy dog
🐶 Man’s (and Mar’s) best friend
Quotable quote: “Woof!” (He’s a dog…what did you expect?)
