I’ve been spending a lot of time over the past few weeks thinking about life. I guess more about the life these characters have taken on and who they are evolving into.
I always said I didn’t want to write a young adult series, but looking at where the story is going, it has to have some of the elements of YA to work.
The kids are growing up. They are evolving into their own people and their stories are permeating the canvas.
I have found a new layer to the core characters by writing how they deal with their children. How the younger generation fits in and how they are able to see and explore the world around them has opened up a ton of opportunities for everyone.
Almost everyone.
Amongst the kids, Josie has always been the hardest character for me to write. She is like her mother with her fighting spirit, but she isn’t Julie. She is like her father with her sense of right and wrong, but she isn’t Bill. She is like her brother with her sense of humor and her love for family, but she isn’t David.
Josie was named for John, and I like to think she embodies many of the characteristics he had. She is loyal and fiercely protective of those she loves. She is honorable and stoic and also vulnerable and compassionate.
But she isn’t John.
She is Josie and I adore her.
But she also confuses me.
Why does she want to join the military?
What are her hopes and dreams really all about?
It was when I began to think about Josie that her illness came out.
I realized, like her, I was missing her connection. I had ignored part of who she was by leaving her out of the loop of her amazing beginning.
That sounds confusing.
What I mean is, she was a triplet and she didn’t know.
That was wrong.
So “One More Miracle” was born out of my need to evolve Josie into a
full-fledged character.
Her anger at her parents was her anger with me.
Her need to know the truth was real and important. I let her down and I needed to fix that.
I also needed to jump-start the rest of the crew.
The triplet storyline and subsequent miscarriage of the boys was one of my hardest books and some of my proudest work. I remember agonizing over those scenes and trying to balance the loss with the gratitude of Bill having survived his most serious crisis. I also needed to give enough respect to both Bill and Julie in how they dealt with their grief.
It was a surprise for me when the triplets didn’t survive. I pictured them. I saw Julie and Bill trying to handle four kids under two and I saw the humor and the love.
But, as with much of this series, the stories flow as they must and the two boys passed away.
A few months later, Josie came into our world.
What a little spitfire she was from day one.
Book 26 is finally time for me to focus a little more on Josie and the young woman she is becoming.
It’s time her story was heard.
“One More Miracle” is now available everywhere books are sold. I can’t wait to hear what you think.
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