It’s spring, 1970. The Vietnam War has been raging for years with no end in sight. Janey Martin, a California college student and aspiring journalist is tired of writing puff pieces about her university men’s sports teams. She wants to be taken seriously as a journalist and as a woman. With riots at their doorstep, her wealthy father sends Janey to the Sorbonne in Paris to finish her college education away from the chaos.
Janey is reluctant to leave the Big Story that is Vietnam, but vows to prove herself. Much to her dismay, her first assignment is to interview the hotshot star forward of a local soccer team. Janey is sure Adrien Rousseau is going to be like every other playboy jock she’s ever dealt with, but quickly learns there is much more to Adrien than meets the eye.
The mysterious, sexy footballer just might be the biggest story of Janey’s life.
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I reached over and pushed ‘stop’ on Janey’s tape recorder and turned to her. “Saturday then?”
She coughed in surprise. “What happens Saturday?”
“We conclude the interview. You need to see a football match firsthand or your article is going to sound like a bunch of amateurish gibberish. You want to be taken seriously?”
She pressed her lips together for a moment. “Yes.”
“So do I. Saturday at noon at Stade Jean-Marc. We’ll finish the interview after.”
“Antoine wants the article in two days,” she said.
“Tell Antoine I said to wait.”
She took another long pull from the lemonade, her pride not letting her say yes to me so quickly.
“Saturday then,” she said. “For the article.”
“Right,” I said, holding her gaze. “For the article.”
She finished off the lemonade and set the glass down. “Thank you very much, Sophie. It was just what I needed.” She gathered her belongings and turned to me. “See you.”
“You have a drop of lemonade on your chin,” I said.
“Where?” Her hand flew to her mouth. “No, I don’t…”
I held out the cocktail napkin with my sketch of her, my brow raised.
Janey dropped her hand from her dry chin, fuming. I expected her to flounce away. But she snatched the napkin out of my hand, dropped it into her bag, and coolly walked away.
I wasn’t in love with her, but in that moment, I knew someday I would be.
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Michel’s Review
One Good Man by Emma Scott was more than the typical romantic novella. In fact, this novella seemed more like a novel which contained a complex, rich story with compelling characters. The one thing that stood out in this story was the era in which the story takes place, a very controversial time in history.
The year is 1970 and the United States is deeply involved in Vietnam. The younger generation is protesting the United States involvement as well as many other social issues. Some would say that it was a time of social awareness but it was also a time of conflict, violence, and social unrest.
The main portion of this novella takes place in France. France had been in Vietnam a decade before the United States entered the arena. France is experiencing the same social issues the United States encountered after Vietnam. The veteran’s are forgotten. Their issues are ignored. Families have suffered the loss of loved ones even though those loved ones actually returned home.
One Good Man features a French family suffering the after effects of the Vietnam War. As a young man and college student, Adrien Rousseau has his own hopes and dreams but the after math of the Vietnam War has ruined his family. Rather than pursuing his dreams of greatness he has to pursue becoming a great athlete, a star Footballer.
Janey Martin is a journalism student who was sent to France to avoid prosecution. She’s resentful because she feels she is missing the the “real” story. What she doesn’t realize is the greatest story is hidden in the layers of the fluff story she is trying to avoid. She only has to open her eyes. Her heart will see the rest.
Emma Scott was again floored me with her profound insight into a conflict that happened many years before she was born. She captured the conflict and turmoil as well as all the youthful hopes in a very turbulent time. Her research made everything within this story authentic. I loved it!
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Emma Scott is a bestselling author of emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy thoughtful, realistic stories with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy my novels.
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Emma Scott is a writer, marathon runner, and caffeine addict, who lives and writes in the California Bay Area. She has two smart, feisty little girls, a super-supportive husband, and is a demonstrated fan of the Oxford comma. She is also an unabashed Star Wars geek and comic book enthusiast who fell into romance novels when a writing contest prompt turned a 1000-word romantic story into a full-blown novel. She also writes epic fantasy that suffers an epic word count.
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