Q&A with Wendy Francis

 

 

 

Wendy Francis is the author of the new novel Betting on Good. Her other books include The Summer of Good Intentions. Also a former book editor, she lives outside Boston.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Betting on Good, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: Like the characters in the book, my husband and I always dreamed of going to the Kentucky Derby—an item on our bucket list for years.

 

When we finally got the chance in 2023, we were awed by the pageantry, the revelry, and the traditions on display. It’s one thing to watch the event on TV, quite another to see it in person! That was when I realized the Derby would make a terrific backdrop for a novel.

 

As for my characters, I’ve always loved writing about relationships. In Betting on Good, I wanted to explore the long-term friendship between two couples and the possible tensions that might arise both between them and within their own marriages. Each couple in the book, married for more than a decade, yearns for a weekend getaway, but for very different reasons.

 

Q: Can you say more about why you chose to center the novel around the Kentucky Derby?

 

A: Indulgence and carefree abandon go hand in hand at the Derby. What better venue for a character’s emotions and revelations to come to a head?

 

The Derby is also a vibrant melting pot of all types of people—over the first weekend in May, 150,000 guests rub elbows at Churchill Downs. Southerners and Northerners, the well-to-do and those who’d prefer their “cheap seats” on the field, the fashion-savvy and the horse-crazy. Plenty of opportunities for drama, bad behavior, celebrations, and heartbreak.

 

I loved taking in the outlandish hats and suits, feeling the rush of adrenaline each time the gates flung open, and witnessing the Derby’s age-old traditions, like the bugler’s call.

 

Then there’s the sheer strength and beauty of the horses thundering down the track, the cheers in the stands buoyed by the ever-flowing bourbon and mint juleps. It’s almost harder to imagine what couldn’t happen at the Derby than what could, a novelist’s dream.  

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I read whatever I could get my hands on, especially since I’m not an equestrian by trade. Laura Hillenbrand’s national bestseller, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (Ballantine Books, 2001), tells the fast-paced tale of the champion horse’s rise to fame and offers a sharp-eyed view of the racing world and its most memorable characters.

 

Kathryn Scanlan’s Kick the Latch (New Directions, 2022) delves into the lives of the those working behind the scenes—the trainers, the jockeys, the grooms–a book I loved for its authenticity and firsthand look at the sport.

 

I also consulted several reference books (e.g. DK Smithsonian Handbooks: Horses) and countless articles in local and national papers.

 

So much surprised me as I researched this novel, including the fact that almost all of today’s thoroughbreds are descendants from three main “foundational” stallions who lived in the late 1600s. Or that Secretariat still holds the record (1973) for the fastest Derby race time of 1:59.4.

 

Attending the Derby itself also proved invaluable for research purposes. Did you know that roughly 125,000 mint juleps are sold over Derby weekend?

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I’ve always loved the phrase “good enough.” I get tired of people’s assumption that to succeed in life, we have to be “the best” at what we do. Because what if being “good enough” is really all that’s needed for a happy and successful life?

 

How much time do we waste trying to be the best at something instead of doing it satisfactorily, crossing it off the list, and moving on? If the door hinge I fixed yesterday creaks a bit, what’s the big deal? It’s good enough. If the birthday cake I baked tilts slightly to one side, so what? It was made with love; it’s good enough. You get the idea.

 

Originally, I hoped the title might be “Betting on Good Enough,” as there’s a race horse in the novel with that name. But then, my editors and I whittled it down to “Betting on Good.”

 

I like the open-ended suggestion of it, the possibility of what’s to come. Because when we think about it, shouldn’t we all be betting on good happening, not only in our own lives but also in the world?

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Hmm. . . I think all I’ll say at the moment is that it’s a family drama unfolding over a week-long vacation.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Even though the Kentucky Derby can feel like a rarefied world, I hope readers will recognize themselves in the dramas of Drew and Nate and Leslie and Graham.

 

Friendships and marriages are always being tested. No matter how easy our lives might appear on the surface, the old adage that everyone is struggling with something applies to these characters.

 

Betting on Good is meant to be a summer escape, steeped in Derby finery, love’s challenges, and old-fashioned fun. I hope your readers will love it. Thanks for having me!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Wendy Francis.