Things We Lost on GA

Here are the questions and answers:



What is the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
That would be, I believe, sweet bread. The name is deceiving. We were at a dinner at the Italian American Community center and this was one dish served. My husband and I loved it, until we found out it was calf brains.



What's your favorite room in your house? Do you plot or write there?
That depends on my mood. I plot everywhere because you never know what will strike you and send you somewhere on an adventure. I do write downstairs, which is one of the places in the house I do enjoy more than others.



What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know?
That I was a submariner in the US Navy and qualified for three different types of firearms as well as being submarine certified.



Is there a literary character (in the whole universe of fiction) that you’ve read who you really identified with?
Anyone who pretends like they have their shit together. I like the character who, internally, wonders if they are doing the right thing or if they are interpreting signals around them as they should but who puts out an air of knowing what they are doing.



Is there a specific source of inspiration for Things We Lost plot or characters?
Things We Lost was born from the image used, with permission, for the title. I began to wonder who that person was, kneeling on that little stretch of beach, and why they might be there and in that position. That was coupled with a boy I saw at our local YMCA who looks after little ones in the after school program; Tristan's inspiration.



How/why did you pick the details for your main character, Ehren, like his name spelling and unusual hair color?
The hair color came from the image; it's unusual enough that it captivated my imagination. His name comes from a book series called The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. In it a secondary character named Ehren is smart, clever and loyal – and in a spoiler alert, the author implies he gets killed in the last book (majorly pissed me off!) but he actually survives. I tend to fall in love with the side characters due to their mystery, their lack of being fleshed out completely beside a few qualities the author deems necessary for the story.



Ehren has interesting gaps in his knowledge most people wouldn’t think, like if he like popcorn or French toast. How much did personal experience with at risk youth dictate those gaps, and how much was just how you envisioned the character?
I've worked with and around at risk kids for years, in one capacity or another – both formal and informal. I can recall a certain young man who, when I worked in a group home, didn't know what errands were. To me, having been dragged along on so many as a child, was inconceivable. Kids that come to us through foster care know things they shouldn't while not knowing what a cooked breakfast smells like. They miss out on so many things, average things that we take for granted. His character is, at the core, a mix of all those kids.



For me, because this has been driving me nuts, how old are Ehren and Tris? You never really give an age for them or the other teen characters beyond ‘high school’. Was that a deliberate choice to allow readers to come up with that on their own or just how the story happened to unfold?
I'm honestly accused of this often, and I'm very guilty. Sometimes it's to allow readers their own vision and, other times, it's because leaving it unsaid gives me options later when other ideas develop. Their age would fall into the 15/16 range, though I could clarify that considerably in the sequel.



Can you sum up Things We Lost in one sentence?
Maybe a run on sentence, but I don't think so.



One final question, which is more of an opportunity of your choice. Share with us what’s coming up next. An interesting teaser about a current story? A plot idea of a story yet to be shared on GA? Spill!!
I've had a hard time finding time to write, recently. Most of that is because beside having two boys at home who are going through very different struggles, we have been asked to take in a third child who is related to us and needs an adoptive placement. Dealing with counties is actually harder than dealing with the kids, sometimes, but between them both I've had my hands full.
There are some developments I have notes on for the Sanitaria Springs series, which I don't own all of and so haven't shared them all at GA. I also have started the sequel to TWL, tentatively titled Things We Found. In it I intend to explore Ehren facing school and 'civilization' from a different perspective.