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I Don't Think It's That Simple
Do you think Evan Leighton is a stalker—or a good guy looking for love in all the wrong places? And how about Julia Atwater—is she an innocent flirt or a shameless manipulator? The one sure thing is that they both love Julia’s teenage son Hunter—then a surreal accident changes the course of all their futures. Evan and Julia may touch your heart, they may frustrate or infuriate you, but you’re guaranteed to recognize someone you care about—even yourself—in their story.
222 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2015
2 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Eva Fraser
5 books14 followersI started writing as a kid and my dream was always to be a published writer. When I was 10, I wrote a 50-page book called Night of Wonder about a girl who time-traveled in her sleep.
After I dropped out of college, I was a busy working mom with small children, so I wrote at night when my kids were sleeping—a screenplay and a 300-page novel. At the time, nobody in publishing was interested in my work. I threw the screenplay and novel away. But my dream lived on.
When my kids were older, I went back to college at night to study writing. I had some great professors, learned a lot, won the college writing award, and started on a new novel. I thought I was all set…
So I went to writers’ conferences to meet the New York agents and editors. But to them, I was a nobody, a zero from Cleveland. My stories didn’t matter and the industry bigwigs didn’t even want to hear them.
Helping other people helped me stay positive. I got active as an adult-literacy volunteer. As I taught my students to read and write, they inspired me with their life stories of strength and their dreams of better things ahead.
I started ghostwriting for friends. I developed the creative reading method Peace Through Fiction, and led PTF story-sharing sessions around the country. I helped bring StoryCorps to Cleveland to record the stories of students, founders, staff, and tutors at Project Learn, the adult-literacy organization where I served.
Successful in my day job, I accrued over 20 years of full-time editorial experience as a writer and senior creative consultant in a major corporate writing studio. I won awards for my creativity and innovation. But all my successes were linked to the corporation.
I just couldn’t let go of my personal dream, my passion, my drive to be a published writer in my own right, telling the stories I wanted the world to hear.
So when my employer offered tuition reimbursement for graduate school, I got into a master of fine arts program for creative writing. I knew the program would make me a better writer and consultant; I hoped it might help me make some publishing contacts, too.
Eventually, things worked out. A professor recommended me to his publisher; they published my first novel, and my second novel eighteen months later.
At last I had arrived! I’d proven myself, beaten the publishing odds, and become an industry insider. The future was in my hands. Success!
But people kept asking me things like Is your book a bestseller yet? Are you famous now? And since my answers were no, I started to wonder if I’d failed.
Then I thought about the readers who have written to thank me ever since my first novel got published. My writing covers a lot of sensitive topics and it helps these readers feel understood and less alone.
Hearing from my readers made me realize something. My dream to be a published writer wasn’t ever about making money or getting famous. It was always about the fact that our stories matter, and it’s important to share them.
And that’s when I renewed my commitment to helping other people get their stories written, too.
After I dropped out of college, I was a busy working mom with small children, so I wrote at night when my kids were sleeping—a screenplay and a 300-page novel. At the time, nobody in publishing was interested in my work. I threw the screenplay and novel away. But my dream lived on.
When my kids were older, I went back to college at night to study writing. I had some great professors, learned a lot, won the college writing award, and started on a new novel. I thought I was all set…
So I went to writers’ conferences to meet the New York agents and editors. But to them, I was a nobody, a zero from Cleveland. My stories didn’t matter and the industry bigwigs didn’t even want to hear them.
Helping other people helped me stay positive. I got active as an adult-literacy volunteer. As I taught my students to read and write, they inspired me with their life stories of strength and their dreams of better things ahead.
I started ghostwriting for friends. I developed the creative reading method Peace Through Fiction, and led PTF story-sharing sessions around the country. I helped bring StoryCorps to Cleveland to record the stories of students, founders, staff, and tutors at Project Learn, the adult-literacy organization where I served.
Successful in my day job, I accrued over 20 years of full-time editorial experience as a writer and senior creative consultant in a major corporate writing studio. I won awards for my creativity and innovation. But all my successes were linked to the corporation.
I just couldn’t let go of my personal dream, my passion, my drive to be a published writer in my own right, telling the stories I wanted the world to hear.
So when my employer offered tuition reimbursement for graduate school, I got into a master of fine arts program for creative writing. I knew the program would make me a better writer and consultant; I hoped it might help me make some publishing contacts, too.
Eventually, things worked out. A professor recommended me to his publisher; they published my first novel, and my second novel eighteen months later.
At last I had arrived! I’d proven myself, beaten the publishing odds, and become an industry insider. The future was in my hands. Success!
But people kept asking me things like Is your book a bestseller yet? Are you famous now? And since my answers were no, I started to wonder if I’d failed.
Then I thought about the readers who have written to thank me ever since my first novel got published. My writing covers a lot of sensitive topics and it helps these readers feel understood and less alone.
Hearing from my readers made me realize something. My dream to be a published writer wasn’t ever about making money or getting famous. It was always about the fact that our stories matter, and it’s important to share them.
And that’s when I renewed my commitment to helping other people get their stories written, too.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 8, 2017
This book explores the many complexities of love and relationships. In the first half of the book I thought I knew exactly the choices I would make if I was placed in the same situations confronting the characters, but by the second half I wasn't as sure. I love a book that challenges me to think, to explore my own psyche, and as the title implies--it is not all that simple.
April 30, 2015
Ms. Fraser's writing is excellent and her book well executed. I must admit, I did not like her main character, Evan, which made reading difficult. I found him to be arrogant, full of himself, narcissistic, yet, so insecure that he could never commit to anything, especially himself. I felt Ms. Frazer's character, Julia, expressed everything that was wrong with Evan when she said about her own life, "Life is all mine now --to fly or fall -- it's up to me." She said this while all Evan could think of was himself. Not my type of person at all.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews