THE RAW HONESTY BEHIND OPEN PROMISE: THE TIDES OF DECEPTION

I began the Love Wide Open Series by diving into Cora’s story. She isn’t entirely sure where she belongs, but she falls in love fast, and everything becomes a whirlwind of emotions. Once I established the foundation of her story in Book 1, I knew I wanted to dig deeper emotionally in Book 2 and explore the difficult choices that arise when love becomes something even more complicated.

There are some stories that are difficult to write because the emotions sit so close to the surface. Open Promise: The Tides of Deception is one of those stories for me. At its heart, it’s a story about rekindled love, motherhood, and the promises we make to ourselves and the people we love.

Cora is pregnant, and she has already accepted that she will face motherhood alone. She isn’t waiting for someone to save her. She’s made peace with her circumstances and found the strength to build a life for herself and her baby. She knows she can do it.

Then Declan comes back into the picture promising he has changed, and suddenly, the future she’s carefully accepted doesn’t seem quite so simple anymore. She’s faced with emotions she thought she’d put behind her and decisions she never imagined she’d have to make.

One of the scenes that feels especially raw to me is when Cora’s doctor explains that there could be a complication with the pregnancy. The possibility that something could go wrong changes the emotional weight of everything. Suddenly, the future she’s been planning for feels fragile.

Declan’s reaction is impulsive. What comes out is raw, honest, and unmistakably Declan. In that moment, the emotions he’s struggled to keep buried begin to surface.

That moment was important to me because sometimes fear reveals the things we aren’t ready to admit. When something we care about suddenly feels uncertain, everything we’ve been holding back can come rushing to the surface.

For Cora, the moment is complicated in its own way. Witnessing Declan’s reaction gives her another glimpse into the emotions he doesn’t always know how to express.

I think that’s where the honesty of Open Promise really lives. It isn’t about perfect people making perfect choices. It’s about people who are scared, confused, and trying to figure out what comes next.

That’s what I wanted to explore through Cora.

I don’t want readers to simply watch Cora and Declan fall back in love. I want them to feel the hope and vulnerability tangled up in the uncertainty of opening their hearts again.

The hardest promise isn’t the one we make to another person. It’s the promise we make to ourselves: to keep moving forward, to protect the people we love, and to find the courage to open the door again when life gives us a reason to.