A HIGHER STANDARD by E.F. Dodd - Spotlight & Interview

 

Staunchly independent horsewoman Everest has her heart set on expanding the reach of her equine rescue, Second Chance Farms. But when Boston real estate developer Gideon West rolls in from the big city, hoping to buy the land next door, Everest’s plans, and a good portion of her life, are turned upside down. In E.F. Dodd’s steamy new contemporary romance, A Higher Standard [SugarBeaver) .

Much to Everest’s dismay, Gideon is welcomed by almost everyone in her hometown of Mimosa, North Carolina. But Everest doesn’t trust his silver tongue or the promises it makes, and she’s determined to protect her town – and the rescue – from his plans. Everest Kennedy is a gigantic, yet gorgeous, thorn in Gideon’s side. She doesn’t trust him, or his intentions for Mimosa and isn’t shy about letting him – or anyone else – know it. To win the day, he’s got to woo her over to his side. Except . . . the more time he spends with Everest, it becomes less about winning the day and more about wooing the girl. Can Gideon have Everest and his development, or will one cost him the other?

WE GOT TO ASK E.F A FEW QUESTIONS

     

Question: What’s the main message of A Higher Standard?

E.F. Dodd: We live in a world that puts increasing pressure on women to take on more, to do more and that if they either refuse to do so, or ask for help, that’s a sign of weakness. It’s not. It’s okay to ask for – and accept – help and it’s okay to delegate tasks and not try to do everything yourself. People will be there for you if you let them.

Question: How do you come up with the characters for your books? Are they based on real people?

Dodd: I adopted an English Bulldog from a rescue in August of 2021. The work that goes into these rescues is unreal, as is the dedication of the volunteers who run them. So, that’s where the idea of Second Chance Farms came from. My characters introduce themselves to me at random times through snippets of stories that pop in my head. There will be a concept that appeals to me and then, when I play it out, that’s when the characters start to take shape. Real life does bleed into that, so there are characteristics of my characters that are gleaned from real people, but the characters themselves are wholly fictional.

Question: The events of A Higher Standard take place in North Carolina, where you grew up. How did your upbringing in North Carolina influence the way you wrote the book?

Dodd: North Carolina is a beautiful place, and the Charlotte area is growing daily. The joke is that no one is “from” Charlotte anymore. They’re all transplants from out of state. It’s easy to understand the draw for this area, because within three hours to the west, you’ve got gorgeous mountains and a little bit longer to the east, you’ve got beautiful beaches. Which explains why there’s so much development in this area. Development that all too often signals the death knell of the surrounding small downtowns through the construction of bypasses and freeways. New is preferred and the old is cast out. I happen to enjoy touring small towns and think these downtowns should be preserved instead of cast aside for newer, bigger, better. That’s what I was trying to capture in the fictional town of Mimosa – a small town that can maintain its charm without being gobbled up for tract housing and mini-malls. Progress and preservation can work together, if people take the time to see it.

 Question: What makes A Higher Standard different from other books in the same genre and with the “Enemies to Lovers” trope?

Dodd: Everest hangs on to the “enemies” portion of this trope a lot longer than Gideon, since he’s intrigued by her from the jump. The animosity between them stems from the conflict between what she wants for the rescue and what he needs for his development. He’s not your typical alpha romance hero, either, because I’m not a fan of a character who is a total jackass to the heroine only to find redemption within the last third of the book. I’m tired of the “he’s mean to you because he likes you” schtick. He's mean because he needs to get his head out of his ass and sort out his own issues, and let’s be honest, we deserve so much better than that and shouldn’t romanticize it.

Question: What is it that draws you to writing romance specifically? Are there any authors you look up to?

Dodd: Lucy Score is such an inspiration, because she took independent publishing to new levels and has achieved such unprecedented success, all while staying beautifully humble and grateful to the readers who helped her get there. I like writing romance, because of the HEA requirement. Sure, the two knuckleheads suffer through being knuckleheads and make plenty of mistakes, but you know they’re going to sort it all out. I like that positive resolution aspect of it. No matter what happens from page one to page two hundred forty-nine, on the last page they’ll be together and happy.

 Question: What is the best piece of advice you have for beginner romance writers?

Dodd: Don’t be intimidated by the blank page. We’ve all confronted it and there are days when it wins and you feel defeated by its stark, glaring emptiness. But that day passes and the next day you’ll crank out word after word after word. The blank page gives your creativity a clean slate. Don’t fear it, embrace it.

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Like her heroines, E.F. Dodd came from a close-knit family in a small town in North Carolina. Although she dallied briefly with city life, she retreated back to the country, where she now lives with long-time boyfriend and an English bulldog. From a young age, she enjoyed creating stories, including the time at five years old when she’d almost convinced her grandmother that she’d gone horseback riding all alone… until she added a friendly crab to the storyline. With age came wisdom and the understanding of how far to stretch a plotline. 

Now she pursues writing as a creative outlet and hopes, one day, to have this be her career instead of a pastime.

https://efdoddwrites.com