It’s December and that must mean one thing – it’s time for Al and I to release the Christmas charity book. The first was The Invasion of Tork, now free, which was our very first publication and part of the Beaten Track anthology. Proceeds from this anthology went to The Trevor Project. Last year we wrote If I Should Stumble, and this year…
I said no thank you, Al Stewart. In 2017 we scribbled one full length novel, two novellas and a fair few failed endeavors currently hiding within the laptop. I just didn’t think I had another one in me. “Write it yourself,” I said, snarling. And charity comes down to that, doesn’t it? Who still has capacity and empathy time after time? Because need doesn’t go away. I’m not a bad person, but I’m not a 100% empathy machine either. Writing is hard, and time, time I could be spending with my family. I work full time in a very demanding job with people who aren’t always polite. I already spend way too many hours prodding at key boards….Me, me, me.
Long story short, my son, Al, and a few other people made me think again. My son called me a Grinch. LOL. Our book is released tomorrow. Momma admits defeat.
Nobody’s Butterfly is about young adults being forced to live in a struggling care system. Like all our books it is researched from our own lives and employment experiences. I wish I could say events in the story could never happen but unfortunately I know they can, and do.
People keep asking us why we write YA books when all our fans want adult. Al has a different reason, but this is mine. I don’t. I write a story and as it comes together it becomes clear what kind of book it is. I never think of labels such as YA until we have to categories. It’s a story that can be read by anyone, but I doubt children under twelve would be very interested.
As I’m not here very often, I wish you all a very happy set of holidays and a successful new year!