A Few Bumps
It’s a few days before Christmas. A chance encounter on an airplane during a snowstorm. Turbulence.
Book Summary →
A Few Bumps
It’s a few days before Christmas. A chance encounter on an airplane during a snowstorm. Turbulence. The pilot calls the experience “a few bumps.” Amy Moran of Boston is on her way to her best friend’s wedding in Hawaii. Sitting next to her is a charming young man, Brian Emerson. They’ve been talking all the way from Chicago to Kansas City. He lives in Boston now but was raised in Kansas City in a wealthy family who live in a mansion, compared to what Amy’s used to.
They land in Kansas City. The snowstorm has evolved into a blizzard. All flights are canceled. Amy has little extra money and nowhere to stay. Brian suggests that she can stay with his family, since they have extra room; he can’t bear the thought of her sleeping in the airport. He calls his mother, who reluctantly agrees to having an unknown guest at the holiday.
As the rest of his family welcomes Amy, Brian’s mother is less than happy with her presence. She doesn’t know Amy’s pedigree, looks down her nose at Amy’s lack of sophistication, and is upset that Brian seems to like this girl who came out of nowhere.
Brian runs a not-for-profit agency for people with drug and alcohol addiction in the Boston area. His mother believes he should be working the corporate world, but Brian likes the work he does. Another chance encounter with Jeffrey, a client in need of services from his agency introduces a spiritual element into the story, as Jeffrey’s recently deceased mother returns from the dead to encourage Jeffrey’s return to sobriety.
Brian and Amy continue to experience bumps along the way as their relationship develops, with obstacles thrown their way by various people and circumstances. Will Brian’s mother succeed in keeping them apart? Will the bumps become true turbulence?
What readers say about the book🧐
This novel grabbed my attention at the outset. The characters’ personalities are well established and the dialogue throughout the story is realistic. Amy is a delightful main character. When Brian and his family refer to their mom as “Mother” and their dad as “Daddy,” it is a preview of things to come and sets the stage for the necessary conflict that is the basis for the plot. The first half of the book moved quickly and kept me turning pages.When Amy leaves for home, however, the story slows. I like the idea behind the twist that I won’t reveal but, for me, the change in focus broke the romantic tension that had been built from the beginning. Although the story slowed, the plot was interesting and kept me reading to the end. Overall, it is a sweet, well written romance that is worth the price of admission.
Karen Black
About the Author →
Wanda Adams Fischer
Wanda Fischer has loved baseball since she was nearly eight years old. At one point in her life, she aspired to become a sportswriter; however, in the mid-to-late 1960s, that avenue was difficult for women to pursue. After retiring from a 40-year career in public relations/marketing/media relations, she parlayed her love of America’s pastime into her first novel, “Empty Seats,” which is not necessarily about her favorite team, the Boston Red Sox.
When not writing or watching baseball, she’s listening to folk music for her show, “The Hudson River Sampler,” on WAMC-FM, the Albany, New York National Public Radio affiliate–a program she’s done since September 1982. In February 2019, the Folk Alliance International inducted her into its Folk Music DJ Hall of Fame.
In 2012, she auditioned to become the public address announcer for the Red Sox and made the finals for the job, but ultimately wasn’t chosen. On August 5, 2012, she announced a complete game between the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins on “Vermont Day.”
She and her husband Bill, a retired physician, met at a coffeehouse at Boston College in 1966 and were married in 1973. They have two grown children and six grandchildren. They live in Schenectady, New York.
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It’s a few days before Christmas. A chance encounter on an airplane during a snowstorm. Turbulence.