THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LUCAS MCGILLEY
Suzanne D. Williams
Feel-Good Romance
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About the Book:
“Go ahead and plan to leave,” Lucas said. “Hold onto your
ticket. I’ll even drive you to the train. But I’ll do it with Sam and John and
Charles and Will. With Marcus and James. Even with Jesse. And you’ll have to
look us all in the eye as you board and decide what’s more valuable to you.
Your plans in Atlanta. Your friend, Christine, who I’m sure is great. Or ten
people who love you.”
---
The second of eight boys, Lucas McGilley spent his youth
pulling pranks. Yet growing up comes hard, and he’s learned his lesson. Or so
he thinks.
Then Iris Willow shows up for the summer, and along comes love, strife, and a terrible family secret. He needs her now, more than he’s ever thought possible.
But can he convince her to stay, or will she catch the train and be gone forever?
From the author of best-selling novella, ME & TIMOTHY COOPER, comes another young adult romance of first love and the importance of family.
Then Iris Willow shows up for the summer, and along comes love, strife, and a terrible family secret. He needs her now, more than he’s ever thought possible.
But can he convince her to stay, or will she catch the train and be gone forever?
From the author of best-selling novella, ME & TIMOTHY COOPER, comes another young adult romance of first love and the importance of family.
Welcome, Suzanne Williams!
1. When I hear any title that begins with The Life and Times... I imagine a quirky, fun story. Can you tell me what inspired the title for you?
I woke up early one morning with that
title in my head. I saw it like a headline. I am a graphic artist as well as a
writer, so initially it came to me like the top of a newspaper. But when I made
the book cover later, I decided to use a couple instead and give the title an
old-fashioned headline effect.
2. I sometimes begin with a title too. Since you did, then where did the storyline come from?
The storyline was originally a
historical fiction. But because contemporary YA sells so well, I changed it.
This enabled me to use a modern young couple on the cover and to include things
like trucks and cell phones. But it keeps it’s “country” feel somewhat. I am a
native Floridian and love to include descriptions of the landscape and
lifestyle I am so familiar with in my books. This was the first YA I’ve written
that I could really indulge myself in that and it still be contemporary.
3. I understand there are a host of sibling brothers in this story. What was the most difficult part of creating your characters?
Remembering all those brothers –
Jesse, Lucas, Marcus, James, William, Charles, John, and Sam.
I try to make each story unique in
some way. Lucas being one of eight boys is definitely unique, but add in the
challenge of having so many names in the text, giving each of them a
personality, and the rapport brothers in a large family would have with each
other, and I had to stop and think…a lot. Sam’s my favorite brother next to
Lucas. Lucas, being the troublemaker, I needed a brother who’d continually stir the pot, so to speak, and he became
it.
Here’s an unusual fact about the
book, my editor is herself a mom of five boys, so she identified with the feel
of the family, and that was a huge help to me in finalizing the story.
4. So the female lead is Iris Willow. Interesting name. What’s
her part in the story?
I love naming characters. As a mom, I
personally tried to give my daughter a normal name. After all, I grew up having
to explain “Suzanne.” But when it comes to books, I can indulge myself and
choose things outside of the box. In Iris’ case, I asked a friend to name a
flower, completely at random, and then a tree. I then put them together. It was
that simple.
It being a YA romance, I had to have
a girl in the story, and since the story is set in a small town way off the
road, it made sense to bring her in from the outside, where she’d be unfamiliar
with the area. It also seemed a good idea she not be used to a large family,
and that created the problems between she and Lucas, her reluctance to get
involved, and the mystery of why exactly she was there.
5. What do you love about writing YA?
The innocence of it, two young people
first falling in love, and the thrill that brings to the heart and the mind.
The older I get, the more I appreciate this.
I never set out to be a YA writer,
and actually, write many other romance titles, but it’s the YA that I always
come back to, which brings me the most joy and feedback. As a Christian writer,
I add Bible morality into each story as well. Some have more of a Christian theme
than others, but all have foundational truths behind them.
No one person’s life is perfect, and
I try to reflect that in the mistakes and foibles of the characters, and write
what’s best for that particular tale because what works for one doesn’t work
for another. Yet when all is said and done, love always triumphs because that,
after all, is romance.
Suzanne D.
Williams is a native Floridian, wife, mother, photographer, and writer. She is
the author of both nonfiction and fiction books. She writes a monthly column
for Steves-Digicams.com on the subject of digital photography, as well as
devotionals and instructional articles for various blogs. She also does graphic
design for self-publishing authors.
To learn more about what she’s doing visit http://suzanne-williams-photography.blogspot.com/
or link with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/suzannedwilliamsauthor.
