I turn 49 in just under a month. Which means that this time next year, I’ll be a breath away from clocking 50. I know; I did the math and it’s shocking. :-)
So, I’ve been thinking about what I can do to mark this major milestone.
My tightening jeans and a set of awful vacation snapshots tell me that I could set a weight loss goal for the next 13 months.
And it might be fun to aim for some other challenge, such as training for a 10K race.
But I’m a writer. And since I only began taking my novel-writing seriously about four years ago, I thought it’d be much more fun to set myself a book-related challenge to mark my fifth decade. It should be something tangible I can hold up and say, “I did this before I turned 50.”
So, I decided that by the time I’m 50, I want to have written a “secret baby” romance. Why that particular trope? Because it’s a storyline I’ve been avoiding. Readers love a secret baby story, but just the idea of it throws up so many roadblocks in my head.
Why would a woman keep her child away from its father? There must have been major issues between them for that to happen. How can those issues be cleared up and the couple fall convincingly in love over the span of one standard-length book? And it goes beyond falling in love. How can they be emotionally mature and healthy enough to build a future together and successfully parent their child? The child, too, should be able to get past being kept away from their father.
A few of my author friends have pulled off some excellent secret baby romances, so I know it can be done. One of my favourites is Dalyn Weller’s The Rancher’s Surprise Second Chance. It navigated all these minefields beautifully.
I thought, this is a worthy project to get my writing chops around as I face down my personal golden anniversary.
There are two other books I need to write first, but, God willing, I hope to celebrate my 50th birthday with a secret baby romance I can be proud of.
Have you done anything special to mark your milestone years?
And another question for you:
What secret baby Christian romances have you read and enjoyed?
Two randomly chosen commenters who leave answers by Thursday September 14th will get their free pick of an electronic copy of any of my books.
And don’t forget that by commenting before Tuesday September 12th, you also enter the draw for our big InspyRomance Back to School Bash!
I write fiction that reflects my Christian faith. I love happy endings, heroes and heroines who discover sometimes hard but always vital truths, and stories that uplift and encourage. My family and I live in the east of England where we enjoy rambling in the countryside, reading good books and making up silly lyrics to our favorite songs.
Happy Saturday, Milla! Best wishes on your upcoming milestone birthday and goal. I celebrated my 40th Birthday with baby son #3 on my arms. Not quite what I expected. For my 50th Birthday I got my ears pierced – plus it was a new century (May 2000). My 60th birthday I celebrated with my high school colleagues and students and then with family. My 70th birthday I celebrated with only family due to Covid and social distancing. I have a t-shirt stating My 70th Birthday – The One Where I was Quarantined 2020.
A secret baby Christian romances that I have read and enjoyed is Elizabeth Maddrey’s So You Have My Secret Baby – Book 4 in her So YOU want to be a Billionaire series. A well developed, inspiring, page turning romance with relatable characters (Holly and Aaron), developed plot, and believable conflicts. While this avid reader is NOT fond of Billionaire romances, Elizabeth Maddrey has me hooked with her intriguing premise to this series – Matchmaking cloaked as an Office Competition; because the emphasis is not on the money, but the competition and the troupe (Book 4 – Secret Baby). Elizabeth Maddrey has a way with words. She weaves contemporary issues of college parties, secret baby, cooperation and structure in the corporate world, and romance into a page turner.
Happy Weekend to All. Enjoying the cooler fall weather in SW Michigan. Hoping for sunshine. Been a gloomy week.
Oh, I’ll definitely read Elizabeth’s secret baby book. Thanks for the recommendation.
And I love how you celebrated all your milestone birthdays! I can’t even remember what I did on my 40th.
We’re having one of the hottest days of the year today. The weather can’t seem to read the calendar. It’s hotter so far in September than it was in July!
Have a lovely weekend.
I have not done anything special for milestone birthdays but I really like that idea. My next one will be in 3 years so I have plenty of time to plan something. Happy early birthday!
Thank you!
I’ve never done anything special for myself, either. Although for my 30th I was about to relocate to a different country and my friends threw me a birthday and farewell party.
I hope you come up with something meaningful to mark your next milestone year!
I’m not crazy about secret baby books, to be honest. I especially don’t like the ones where the baby is secret from the father. I don’t mind them when the baby isn’t really the woman’s secret from the father, but secret from someone else. I’ve read some (not that I remember names of books!) where the baby is secret from a mail order husband, that the woman had been married, her husband died, and she then became a mail order bride and kept her pregnancy a secret. I’ve read some where a woman (man) became the parent of a siblings baby after the sibling died, and no one “knew” he/she had a child, but it wasn’t really a “secret” thing. For my “last” big milestone birthday, which was last year, I threw myself a “Dutch” treat birthday party, and 15 friends helped me celebrate! A friend decorated our “table” at the restaurant, we had cake, it was great!!
Sounds like we have similar misgivings about the secret baby premise. That’s why I’m keen on trying the challenge.
Ooh, what’s a Dutch treat birthday party? Must be nice, if there’s cake involved!
I haven’t done anything special to mark my milestone years.
I haven’t ever made a goal for any milestone birthdays, but perhaps I will for my next one.
It was every one pays for their own dinner! There’s no way I could pay for everyone, and none of my friends could, either, so “Dutch Treat” is everyone paying their own. One of my friends bought my dinner, and I found out later that 6 others talked to our waitress about paying for mine, too. My friend that decorated bought the cake, after getting my preference for the type of cake and icing, and then asked me to go pick a design, too. It was really fun!!
I never really thought about it until this year, either.
You should! If you can think of something meaningful. I’m looking forward to doing it for the first time. Thanks for your comment.
Happy soon-to-be birthday. Welcome today and thanks for sharing. “Have you done anything special to mark your milestone years?” Not really. It has always been special with our two kiddos. Now that one is married and one is in another state, my husband and I do a little something special for each other on those days. Last year I got to go to the botanical gardens. So cool. My birthday is Dec. 22 and mid Dec. they had a wonderful winter time special going on. One year we combined both of our birthdays and spent the day at the zoo.
I have not really done anything dramatic for a milestone birthday. I have had a couple of surprise birthday parties given for me.
What a wonderful time to have your birthday! And I love how you celebrate. It sounds really special.
Wow, surprise birthday parties sound like fun! How did they pull it off?
I had a surprise bridal shower, but I suspected something was afoot. :-)
Ah, I get it. Like the phrase “going Dutch” for a date. What a lovely way to celebrate so you can have all your friends without worrying about the cost.
On my mom’s and her twins 40th birthday her family threw a big birthday party for them. My mom had her baby a few weeks before she turned 46 my mom will be 49 beginning of November.
I don’t think I have, but I like the idea. :) You’ve got this!
A couple of books I’ve read and liked with this trope are by Jessie Gussman: The Cowboy’s Secret Baby (from her Sweet Water Ranch series), and A Secret Baby in the Show Me State (I enjoyed the not-so-usual twist).
First, Happy Birthday!! I don’t do anything different for the milestone birthdays than I do for the regular birthdays. It’s just another day, one day older to me, not a big deal.we might not really have parties or anything but we do have cake, got to take every excuse you can for cake right!?!
What a lovely way to celebrate your mother’s 40th!
Ooh, those sound interesting. I’ve not read those particular books of Jessie’s. I’ll look out for them. Thanks for the recommendations!
Ha ha, who needs an excuse for cake? Thanks for your comment, Joannie!
Happy soon to be birthday. I haven’t really done anything particularly special to celebrate a mile stone birthday.
can’t think of any
I haven’t consciously done anything special to celebrate milestone birthdays, but I got married a couple of weeks after I turned 30 and I had my third baby a couple of months before my 40th birthday.
I’m not a fan of the secret baby trope, it just seems such a big secret that there would need a really good reason for not telling someone that they are a father, and how to you get past that reason? Or move on with someone who has kept that from you? As well as the damage done to the child by ut all. So I haven’t really read any to recommend, I tend to avoid them even by authors I usually enjoy.
But they are popular, so maybe I’m missing something? I suppose they are a good place to explore forgiveness and how God brings his grace to even the most broken situation. Good luck with writing yours, I promise I will read it when you’re done, knowing you have doubts about the trope too.
Hello, gorgeous!
Thanks for suggesting my book. I was a secret baby so I wanted to write a story on this.
As for milestones, I’ve passed my 50th some years ago. I don’t think we did anything special. Like you, photos indicate a diet and exercise program wouldn’t hurt me.
Thanks, Angeline!
Thanks for your comment, bn!
Thanks so much, Ruthie! I can’t quite see how to get past those very issues, especially when everyone is supposed to have a happily ever after. That’s why I want to give it a go. In Dalyn’s book that I recommended, she found a way to bring all those threads together wonderfully. But of course I can’t use exactly the same circumstances and have to come up with my own!
Ha ha, photos are evil! Your book is an excellent secret baby story. I hope I can write one that gets past all the inherent pitfalls.
I haven’t read many Secret Baby tropes, simply because they’re not my favorite. :)
For my 50th birthday hubby took my twin sister and me on a cruise vacation. It sure made turning 50 a whole lot easier and we made some great memories.
You will. I know you!
When I turned 40 years old, my Mom paid for the three of us to fly to Florida to see my aunt who was in her 90’s. It was a fabulous trip. One I will never forget. I read a romantic suspense book last year by Sami A. Abrams, Twin Murder Mix up. It was really good. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
They’re normally not my favourite, either, which is why I want to stretch myself. :-)Thanks for your comment!
Wow, that sounds amazing! I love cruises.
What an amazing birthday treat! Thanks for sharing. I’ll look up that book.
So late got distracted and then a Henry (my missing cat) possible sighting.
I turn 60 next year. But for my 50th I thought I would just be out of hospital from Gall Bladder surgery but the dr said it was so bad it had to be out asap which was the month before. I had decided to do a memory album. I had friends write a memory about me and a photo of us or them or both to put into the album. I got some lovely memories from friends and many Author friends. I got to have a morning tea and a friend from Victoria came over and we went out for tea. Then I had a voucher for a $100 at a hotel i often stay in when going to the city and I got to meet Narelle Atkins and her husband and my niece for a belated birthday lunch. Next year I don’t have plans yet (losing weight is on the agenda). I have to have surgery this time next year (have to wait for health insurance to kick in) so really need to be fitter and thinner. I am walking more already here and ironically I have a few more hills but starting at the top of a hill makes it so much easier to walk than at the bottom of the hill.
Will be going for walks the next few days looking for Henry
Aw, Jenny, I hope Henry turns up soon. Keep us posted. There’s a missing cat in the story I’m writing right now.
Sounds like you had a wonderful 50th birthday celebration! I hope your 60th is even better.
I don’t want to think about BIG birthdays LOL
For our 20th wedding anniversary, we did a cruise this year :)
I haven’t managed to do anything special on my milestone birthdays. 😆 I spent my 30th birthday at home with a new baby & my 40th was in the middle of 2020 so I didn’t get to do anything special. I guess there’s always my 50th!
My favorite secret baby book is Carolyn Aarsen’s The Cowboy’s Christmas Surprise. I felt like the situation was believable & worked out well. It’s hard for me to understand why a woman would keep a baby from the father, so it really needs to be a good reason for me to get into the book.
For my 40th birthday, I had a tea party for some of my women friends. I had been blessed with the opportunity to work with a church in Scotland for a year when I was single and in my late 20s, and I wanted to share some of the special treats I had enjoyed while there. I don’t remember everything I made, but scones with my “faux” clotted cream, a Victoria sponge cake with red raspberry jam and whipped cream and a cheddar cheese pie (think cheese quiche) were some of the items I served–along with lots of tea!!
As far as the secret baby trope, I am generally not a fan, though I have read a few that I found interesting and/or enjoyed. I know from reading Jessie Gussman’s newsletters that she doesn’t particularly like writing that trope, but she has been very creative in the ones she has written. In addition to the ones mentioned earlier in the comments, two others by her that I have read are Cowboy Looking at Me and Just a Cowboy’s Secret Baby. The last one, in particular, had another very interesting twist to the trope!
Ha ha, I just decided to embrace it, Natalya, because the clock isn’t moving backwards! A cruise sounds wonderful.
You know, I think I have that Carolyn Aarsen book on my eReader but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I’ll look it up.
For sure, celebrate your 50th, all else being well!
Thanks for your book suggestions, Betty. And I love the idea of a tea party for your 40th! That sounds amazing.