Always there - North Carolina

Raven Rock State Park

I moved to North Carolina in my twenties, not long after I graduated from college. I've lived here since, and I completely love my adopted state. (Well, okay, maybe I don't like our state government so much.)

Anyway, I enjoy the people, the beaches, the mountains, the history, the weather, etc. There is just so much about North Carolina that I find interesting. This state bristles with stories waiting to be told, which is why I've set all of my stories here.

• The Whisper Falls series takes place in and near Raleigh/Wake County, both 18th- and 21st-centuries.
• The I Wish series is set in Magnolia Springs, a fictional town patterned after the real town of Elon. Magnolia Springs lies midway between Raleigh and Wilmington.
• For The Possibility of Somewhere, I dreamed up Bayville, a town near the Crystal Coast beaches.
• Fade To Us (releasing in Feb 2018) will take place in the heart of North Carolina, not far from Raleigh and Raven Rock State Park.

Occasionally, my characters will travel to other exciting places, but they will always call North Carolina home.

Always there - no violence

I rarely read books with violence in them. Mystery novels are about the only ones. Even then, I prefer books where the violence or murder happens before the book begins, and I want justice by the end.

As an author, I don't like to write violence, but I have on a few occasions, when I felt like I had no choice in order to tell the story. I guess this post would be better titled "Almost never there - graphic violence."

Whisper Falls has instances of physical abuse during the series. The 18th-century half of the first book shows the plight of female indentured servants. I couldn't have given a true account without letting the reader see the brutality that haunted their lives. Our hero has been the victim of bullying. It's hard for either of those plot points to be authentic without alluding to some violence. In book 3, the villain is again the cause of abuse to both the hero and heroine, although less is visible on the page. The reader knows it's happened, but the details are not graphic.  In this series, justice prevails.

In The Possibility of Somewhere (writing as Julia Day), the realities of the heroine's life are fairly harsh. Physical abuse lurks constantly as a possibility. The heroine, Eden, is prepared to take care of herself, though. "The Mundys of the world believed in a sunshiny legal system... [but] I knew better. The Edens of the world grew up in trailer parks, and they had different rules. Justice changed depending on where we lived."

So, perhaps instead of pledging to never write violence, I'll promise instead to limit it to the minimum needed to serve the story, to describe what's happening without gratuitous details, and to see that the criminals (perpetrators) reap punishment for what they've done.

I Wish question - are there diverse characters in the I WISH series?

Yes. Several of the main characters across this series are diverse in race, ethnicity, or ability.

Eli Harper: Eli's mother is a black English professor at fictional Piedmont University. His father is a white civil engineer. Although Eli is biracial, it's incidental to the story. He's been raised in an affluent family. He's always lived in college towns. While his race is not ignored, it's not a plot point either.

Kimberley Rey: Kimberley's father is a Colombian-American, so she is half-Latina. Like Eli, her ethnicity is mentioned but not a plot point. (I chose Colombia because I was visiting there while I was writing the book, and the people and country are beautiful and friendly.)

Kimberley has permanent brain damage from the chemotherapy she received to treat childhood leukemia. Her resulting short-term memory loss is a disability, and that is a major subplot in Wishing for You. 

Grant and Camarin: Because they are not human, our Benevolent Supernatural Beings do not have an earthly race. Their descriptions are deliberately vague; I only mention their dark hair and unnaturally green eyes. The humans they serve (as well as readers) are welcome to imagine the appearance and ethnicity of the Beings however they wish.

Secondary characters: In I Wish, you meet Lacey's mother, Crystal, who struggles with depression. The family's financial problems make it difficult for Crystal to afford the mental health care (and medications) she needs. Readers will see glimpses of her in books 2 and 3. The impact of Crystal's battle with mental illness continues to affect Lacey and her brother. Just like in real life, Crystal has good days and bad.

In Wishing for You, readers will meet Scott and Paul Fuentes. They are Latino. Paul, an immigrant from El Salvador, is dating Kimberley's mother. Readers will see much more of his son Scott in book 3. Kimberley's dad has a partner, too. Nour is Lebanese-American. I chose Latino and Lebanese in honor of two of my friends.

I Wish question - Does I WISH have a cliffhanger?

I don't like cliffhangers and will never write one. So, no, I Wish does not end in a cliffhanger.

At least, that was not my intent.

[The rest of this answer hints at the ending to I Wish. It might be a spoiler if you haven't read book 1, so read on with caution.]

Some readers have assumed this story has a cliffhanger. I think that must be because they don't want the book to end the way it does. Lacey makes a big decision with an unexpected twist near the end of the first book, and she does not take it back.

In I Wish's final chapter, readers discover something that might happen next for Lacey and something that will happen next for Grant. Both of those plot points are confirmed in the first two chapters of book 2, Wishing for You. Grant continues to be a main character in Wishing for You. You'll see plenty of Lacey in books 2 and 3, but after book 1, she becomes a secondary character.

I WISH question - Will there be a second book?

Will there be a second I WISH book?

Yes, and a third one!

The I WISH series is a trilogy. Book 2, Wishing for You, will release on 13 October 2015 and book 3 in 2016.

I WISH question - Who would be in the dream cast for I WISH?

Who would be in the dream cast for I WISH?

I would love to see I WISH made into a movie, so (naturally) I've thought about who ought to be cast. I'd never be allowed to influence that--but it doesn't hurt to dream!

Here goes. My dream cast.

Lacey Linden

I see Hayley McFarland as the heroine of I WISH. Like Lacey, Hayley looks sweet, fun, and friendly--with a hint of steely resolve when she needs it.

Eli Harper

Eli is Lacey's high-school friend and Henry's soccer coach. Eli is biracial, hot, and athletic. I see Jacob Artist (from Glee) as Eli.









Kimberley Rey



Kimberley is Lacey's best friend. She is Latina and disabled, struggling with lingering issues from childhood leukemia. I think that Christian Serratos would make the perfect Kimberley.






 

Our hero Grant

When I first wrote I WISH, Grant was blond. He stayed that way through multiple drafts, long enough for me to think that he looked like Theo James.

 Then I worked with the cover designer for I WISH. She let me choose the male model whose face we would license for the book covers. (We only used his eye on the cover for book 1.)

Before long, whenever I would think of Grant, I would see the face of the cover model. So I changed Grant to have brown hair. He kept his green eyes, because all benevolent supernatural beings are green-eyed.

When I went out looking for an actor with brown hair and the right height (approx. 6 ft), I found an actor named Grant--and he has green eyes.  Grant Gustin (The Flash) is perfect!

(Images for all but Gustin were found on wikipedia.)

I WISH question - How were the character names picked for I WISH?

How were the character names picked for I Wish?

Picking names for characters in a book is a tough thing to do, especially since I try to avoid the names of people I know. I don’t want them to think that I’m basing a character on them.

I Wish, however, is full of characters named for specific people. I doubt I ever do that again. So here are the names and why I chose them.

Grant – Originally, I named my genie Grant for a weird reason. Genies “grant” wishes. It was just a place-holder until I learned him better and knew what his name should be. But a couple of things convinced me to keep it. Every guy I know named Grant is both cute and nice. I like that track record. Also, I looked up the meaning of the name and discovered that Grant means “great”. It was a perfect fit for the hero of I WISH.

Lacey – In my first draft of the book, the heroine’s name was Molly, which never quite felt right.  My heroine was determined, fiercely independent, and intensely loyal to the people she loved.  That profile described my grandmother.  So I renamed my heroine after Grandmother Lacey, and that felt exactly right.

Henry – I named Lacey’s brother after Prince Henry of Wales. Just because.

Eli – Lacey’s friend (and Henry’s soccer coach) is named after Eli Manning, the quarterback for the New York Giants. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi. The Manning family is practically royalty for Ole Miss alumni. (And, yes, I use the name Peyton in another book.)

Kimberley – Lacey’s best friend started life as Adriana. But I ended up not liking the character, so I completely rewrote her. When I did, I needed a new name. About this same time, the receptionist at my family physician’s office asked me to name a character after her, and there you go. We had our Kimberley.

Crystal – Using the Social Security Administrations popular baby names website, I asked it to give me the Top 25 names for the year 1977 (approximately when Lacey’s mom would’ve been born.)  Name #25 is Crystal.

Sara & Sean – the twins are named after my great-grandmother Sarah (but I dropped the “h”) and my nephew-in-law Sean (but an entirely different spelling.)

I WISH question - what was my favorite parts of writing about Lacey and Grant?

What was my favorite part of writing about Lacey? About Grant?


Lacey’s story allowed me to write about so many different kinds of relationships. She doted on her brother. She mourned the loss of one friendship and enjoyed the renewal of another. She found warmth with her friend Eli and something more with Grant. Mostly, though, she gave me the chance to explore the pain, exasperation, and love that can exist between mother and daughter.

Grant’s job, as a supernatural being, is to try to understand humans. He is so logical—almost Spock-like—that it became really fun to see human emotions through his eyes.


[I often get questions about writing.  I'll answer each of the most commonly asked questions in a separate blog post. You can navigate to them from my website, too.]

I WISH question - is there a playlist for I WISH?

Is there a playlist for I WISH?

I didn’t really create a playlist while I was writing I WISH. I like silence when I’m writing. But, as I talked and brainstormed with my daughter about the characters in the book, she would suggest theme songs for Lacey and her relationships. So here they are.

Lacey and Henry
Lacey is a doting big sister for eight-year-old Henry. Her major focus is to keep his home life as worry-free and comfortable as possible (even though that is actually quite hard for their family). Henry adores her back.
“Rather Be” by Clean Bandit

Lacey and Crystal
Lacey’s relationship with her mom is complicated. Crystal’s depression and her seeming lack of interest in getting better are wearing Lacey down. But through all the anger and frustration, they still want to care.
“Shake It Out” by Florence + the Machine

Lacey and Eli
Lacey has known Eli throughout high school, and they’ve always been friendly. But now that he is coaching her brother in soccer, they have the opportunity to spend more time together. And friendly changes to friends.
“Lean on Me” with Glee cast

Lacey and Grant
I’m not going to describe their relationship. It unfolds and changes throughout the book. But I think "Break In" is just perfect for their theme song.
“Break In” by Halestorm

 

I WISH question - what was the hardest part to write I WISH?

What was the hardest part to write about I WISH?

Lacey’s mother, Crystal, is mentally ill. I would’ve liked to let our genie Grant wave a magic wand and make her all better. But that wasn’t realistic. So I had to let her suffer, stumble, succeed, and relapse. And in her pain, Crystal was often casually cruel to Lacey. That was hard to write, but necessary.



[I often get questions about writing.  I'll answer each of the most commonly asked questions in a separate blog post. You can navigate to them from my website, too.]
 

I Wish question - where did the title come from?

Where did the title for I WISH come from?

This is a genie book. The word “WISH” just had to be in the title. Since the story has a major subplot about a daughter caring for her depressed mom, the title had to be wistful, not cute or fun. I tried several ideas. “I Wished” had too much attitude. “Wishful Thinking” was too light-hearted. I went with “I Wish” because it felt just right.



 

I Wish question - what inspired the story?

What was the inspiration for I WISH?

I Wish came about when two ideas intersected.

I knew someone who was paralyzed by mental illness while her children fumbled around, trying to support her. I wanted to write that story—and the idea grew into a major subplot for I Wish. This book is about a depressed woman who wants to be a good parent but just can’t—while her daughter, Lacey, steps into the void to take care of the family.

The intersecting idea was about giving a heroine two guys in her life who were both amazing—but in very different ways. She could pick either guy or decide to say no to both—and all three choices would make sense. The story is not really a love triangle, although too many good options create a huge conflict for Lacey. She has no time for dating—and yet there are two hot guys who might be interested. What does she do with that?