Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010

Granados: Local writer loves allure of 'happily ever after'

I thought I might find romance when I moved back to Raleigh in July. But not like this. Sitting in a North Raleigh Borders bookstore, talking to Nancy Badger, a woman 26 years my senior, I reflected on the fact that we may seem an odd pairing.

But then again, I was interviewing her about romance fiction, not our future together. No doubt her husband would have had a problem with the latter.

The couple has lived in Raleigh since 2007 near the corner of Sawmill and Lead Mine Roads. At 57, Badger is late to the writing game. She's been an avid reader of romance fiction since she was 12, but it was only when her son returned home from Iraq in 2006 that she started writing.

"I think once I knew he was back I said, 'Well, now it's time for me to worry about my life and what's going to make me happy,'" Badger said.

And that happiness would come from romance. She began writing her first novel by hand in the backseat of a car. She knew her competition was tough, but Nancy thought she could handle it.

"I had this story in my head," she said. "I thought, 'I can write as good as these people.'"

That first story eventually became "Destiny's Mountain," the story of a broken man and a beautiful woman whose love ignites on a mountain. Classic romance fare to be sure, but add in a dose of the supernatural and a struggle to stay alive and Nancy hoped her readers would be hooked.

That first book took a month to complete. But it wasn't ready for the romance world quite yet.

"It was crap because I didn't know what I was doing," Badger said.

She put that book aside for a while and would eventually come back, rewrite and sell it. But by then, she had already sold two other e-books. In total, she has four published e-books with another coming next year.

This is a long way from her previous life in New Hampshire where Badger was a 911 operator. She returned to that life briefly after she began "Destiny's Mountain" in the back seat of that car. She would work on the book between emergency calls in her cubicle at work. But the passion kindled there really became enflamed when Badger moved to Raleigh and started writing full time. Here she has joined a romance writers group, met some local bestselling romance novelists and worked on honing her craft so that she may achieve her goal.

"My plans right now are to get in print," she said. "And in order to do that I have to come up with the best book."

To that end, she has enlisted the help of her family. Her two adult sons, 25 and 29, have both read her work. Badger says they don't feel weird about reading her romantic writing. In fact, her son Eric - the one who served in Iraq - helped her with military details for one of her e-books.

Even her mother joins in by being what Badger calls her "best editor."

The latest book Badger is working on is the first set in her new hometown. In fact, the book begins at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

"A big adage that I believe in is write what you know," she said. "I'm not in New Hampshire anymore, so I like to incorporate the local area."

Since she moved to Raleigh, Nancy has learned quite a bit from other romance writers at her monthly writers' group called Heart of Carolina Romance Writers of America. There she's even starting to get a dose of what it's like to be a respected writer herself -- newcomers now come to her for advice.

As for me, I have never actually read a romance novel. But I was curious what an avid romance reader and writer would have to say about the genre.

I asked Nancy what was so engaging about it.

"It's the promise of happy ever after," she said. "It has to have a happy ending."

And that is exactly what I hope for her.