SO WHERE DID THAT BOOK COME FROM?
Writers are often asked where they get their ideas. Personally, most of the time, I don't know where the idea comes from or what the catalyst that spawned it might have been. That isn't the case with THE FIRST BOY I LOVED. I know exactly what "caused" it. It was a song I heard on NPR during an interview with Patty Griffin called "You'll Remember." I heard it, and suddenly there were all these "character people" milling around, looking for their story. And I must tell you, when this happens to a writer, it is WONDERFUL. It was one of those "Book of the Heart" things. The premise sold easily, it was written almost easily, mostly because I bought "You'll Remember," and I listened to it over and over (writing is never truly "easy"--music and photos help), and it was up on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, etc. ready for pre-ordering. All was well--and then, out of the blue (to me anyway), THE FIRST BOY I LOVED was orphaned. "Orphaned" is the perfect word for what happens when a publisher suddenly decides to cancel one of their lines and the books waiting to go "live." It's painful. Here was the book I thought was one of my best, and it was never going to see the light of day. "Orphaning" truly hits a writer right where she lives. (I have other sad stories, but I'll leave those for another time.)
But wait. BellBridgeBooks wanted to publish it. And they did. In print and in ebook format, and it's available online--Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, etc.
I am proud of this book, and I hope you'll consider reading it. I would also like for you to hear the song and the singer that caused it all, keeping in mind that "the island" mentioned in the lyrics, to me, isn't a literal island. It's the figurative island my character, Gillian Warner, exiled herself to to keep from being hurt.
