This was a very hard book to write. Even harder than Naked Hearts, despite the fact that this one is mostly fiction.
This storyline swam in my head for over a year, and I was excited about getting to write it. But when the time came, I chickened out, hard.
So many doubts rose to the surface. Would people think it ridiculous? Would anyone get it? Is it okay to give a contemporary character a bow and arrow?
And the biggest question of all: Will I be shunned for writing about a mass shooting?
I changed the plot so many times, trying to do anything but what my heart and soul were set on. The shooting in Norway all those years ago had never left me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. No matter how many times I tried to change the story, my characters wouldn’t let me.
I had no choice but to surrender, and take that leap of faith, hoping I’d figure out how to write it in a way that didn’t make readers think I’d used such a painful topic merely for shock value.
So, I focused on the healing and not on the event itself.
Life can be ruthless, and bad things happen all the time.
Most terrible events are out of our control. All we can do is choose how to deal with the aftermath. How to once again make sense of our lives after they’ve been forever altered.
I hope these books and these characters do just that for you, the reader.
The only thing in this book based on real life is Mignon. She was my best friend for years, and left this world when I least expected it.
I wanted to find a way to immortalize her and honor her. I wanted to give her the ending she deserved.
So, my lovely Migs, wherever you are, this one’s for you <3
