The Best Character I Never Wrote—Unless You Count the Prologue and Epilogue

October 12, 2020 | By Barbara Conrey | Reply More

Her name was Kate, and she was eleven. She had a best friend named Emma, a father who was (still is, actually) a renowned oncologist, and a mother who vied with Florence Henderson (of the Brady Bunch) for Mother of the Year.

Kate was dead from the moment I created her. She had long blond hair the color of spun sugar; if it could have been packaged it would have been a bestseller. She rarely saw the need for a comb or brush. I doubt she ever took the time to look in the mirror, but if she had, she would have seen that the eyes staring back at her were the color of the dark, dusty plums sold at the farmers market on a hot summer’s day.

She always wanted to be older; as soon as she turned eight she wanted to be nine, she was certain that with age came adventure, and somehow she had to squeeze it all in, fast. Everyone that knew her said she charged forward and never looked back. She was the first to discard her training wheels and tackle Highpoint Hill. She was the first to swim the length of the community pool so that her mother could sun herself in her own lounge chair on her own patio (drinking her own freshly-squeezed lemonade) while all the other mothers supervised their kids at the community pool, guzzling lemonade that started as crystals in a can.

Kate liked old movies—anything with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy—the more kissing, the better, climbing trees—the higher, the better, ice cream, and God. She loved God.

In all honesty, her name wasn’t even Kate. Kate was the name I gave her to protect the privacy of the real family who watched their child suffer from the effects of a brain tumor that preferred middle-aged men but somehow ended up in their child’s brain. That child was the reason I wrote Nowhere Near Goodbye. Because I wanted to create a surgical procedure that could remove the tumor whole to prevent it from growing back. Because that was (and is) the problem with the damn tumor—it keeps growing back.

But there is no procedure to remove the glioblastoma brain tumor whole—to keep it from growing back—to save the lives of those who’ve had the misfortune to be diagnosed with this travesty. That procedure is a figment of my imagination, just like Kate.

NOWHERE NEAR GOODBYE

Oncologist Emma Blake has dedicated her life to finding a cure for a rare brain cancer. Twenty-five years ago, Emma’s childhood friend Kate died of glioblastoma, and Emma vowed to annihilate the deadly disease. Now, Kate’s father, Ned, is pushing her to work harder to fulfill that promise.

When Emma discovers she’s pregnant, she’s torn between the needs of her family and the demands of her work. While Ned pressures her to do the unthinkable, her husband, Tim, decorates the nursery. Unwilling to abandon her research, Emma attempts to keep both sides of her life in balance.

Emma knows she needs to reconcile her past with her present and walk the fine line between mother and physician. But Ned has a secret, and when Emma discovers what he’s been hiding, the foundation of her world cracks.

Nowhere Near Goodbye is a story of family, failure, and second chances.

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Author Bio: Barbara Conrey worked in the health care industry for many years before opting for early retirement, which lasted precisely three months. She then accepted a position in finance, for which she had absolutely no background. Four years later she decided to write a book.

But not about finance.

Travel is a passion, along with reading, writing, hiking, and exploring antique shops. Barbara’s greatest passion is Miss Molly, her rescue beagle. There are stories to be told about beagles, and Barbara hopes to incorporate some of those stories into her books.

Barbara lives in Central Pennsylvania, close to family and friends, and of course, Miss Molly.

Links:

Instagram.com/barbaraconrey

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Author Page – Facebook.com/baconreywriter

Web Site – barbaraconreyauthor.com/