Читать книгу No Matter What - Janice Johnson Kay - Страница 4

Dear Reader,

I love to put heroes and heroines through horrific tribulations I’ve never experienced (and never want to, thanks anyway). I’ve got to admit, No Matter What hit way closer to home for me than my usual stories do. For one thing, once upon a time I was a teenage girl who had passing thoughts about what a pregnancy would do to my life. The idea of telling my parents any such thing was unthinkable. Wow.

I’m not sure my father ever took seriously the idea that his little girl ever had sex, even after I was married and produced two children. As it happens, both those children were girls. Who became teenagers. Who dated. My youngest had a boyfriend who drove a fancy pickup truck. He’d bring her home and they’d sit out there in the driveway forever and ever. Half an hour would pass. I can’t tell you how desperate I was to march out there and shine a flashlight in the window. What stopped me (besides my desire not to utterly humiliate my daughter) was the common sense realization that they had already been gone all evening, doing heaven knows what. If they were going to do that, it probably wouldn’t be when parked in front of her house with her mother pacing inside.

We survived those teenage years, and I’m proud to report that both my girls graduated from high school and college without getting pregnant.

Fact is, pregnancy is an ever-present terror for any mother of a teenage girl. This book was triggered when it occurred to me that a teenage pregnancy wouldn’t be any picnic for the parent of the boy who is responsible, either. Hmm...

And I’ve got to tell you, I love teenagers in all their sulkiness, defiance and amazing leaps to maturity. So enjoy meeting Caitlyn and her mom, and Trevor and his dad!

Janice Kay Johnson

PS—I enjoy hearing from readers! Please contact me c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road,Toronto, ON M3B 3K9 Canada.