Louisa: Behind-the-Scenes

Louisa took me three years to write, and I started with the last chapter. Then I wrote the first seven chapters. Then I wrote the last 6 chapters. Then I wrote the middle chapters. Writing books in sequence is so passe.





My favorite chapter is Chapter 42, and it has been ever since I wrote it a couple of years ago. I wish I could talk more about it right now, but … spoilers. Feel free to ask me about it after you read it, and I’ll jaw on for awhile.





The cover (designed by Emily Perry) is both an allusion to the stained glass of Lu but also the quilts of Penny Thrift, Grandma Pat’s shop, which plays a central setting in Louisa. Quilting is my favorite art form – feminine, skilled, scrappy, utilitarian, approachable, and infinite in its combinations. It’s no wonder I chose it as the logo (designed by Grace Weaver) for everything else I do.





What is a wonder is what I didn’t see in the cover. “It’s cool how there’s a cross,” my sister said after she saw it. “There is?” There is!





I appreciated readers asked for a sequel, and I never felt pressured by the question. Even when COVID hit, and I needed to push back the launch date, it felt okay. It was an open hand I’d wished for but couldn’t force. Some things we just need to grow into, I guess.





The Beth who wrote Louisa was not the Beth who wrote Lu. There’s a vulnerability and opening to Lu in this second book that I needed to understand as a woman before I could write about that woman.





What stayed the same is my editing process, and it worked like a charm again to share along the way. There’s so much to benefit in sharing our work, but I’ll boil it down to two. First, I never feel alone in what is an inherently solitary pursuit. Second, each share strips away my ego, which is good for me and the reader. Readers don’t need my ego. They need a good story.





That being said, I’m sure there are still errors. If you find them, please send them my way! They take a hot second to fix.





The biggest writing challenge I took on in Louisa was telling several chapters from Jackson’s perspective. Though I love the character of Lu, I wasn’t all that excited to write another book from her point-of-view. Could I write another character as fluently? Could I write dude? The idea of answering those questions excited me, and I went for it.





I don’t know much about characters until I write them. Even at the end of Lu, Nana Bea was mostly mystery. Why did she move in with Lu’s family after her husband died? What’s under the quiet? I explored her character in Louisa, and it reminded me how everyone has a story. They just don’t always tell it.





The hardest character to write was Jackson’s girlfriend, Rebecca. No one wants to like her, I wasn’t super interested in getting to know her, and in the first go-round she was two-dimensional. And then I thought, but what if she is cool? What if in some ways, she’s better than Lu – the better woman and the better fit? It was an adulterous, interesting thought. I revised accordingly.





The biblical anchor to Louisa is the story of the Abraham – both a patriarch and a man growing into a patriarch. They don’t make it into the book, but these verses from Roman 4:20-21 are constants for me: Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.





I love writing dialogue. Every piece of dialogue between Lu and Gracie was gold for me because there’s nothing like two girlfriend finishing each other’s sentences.





I still feel like there needs to be a chapter between Chapters 30 & 31, but honestly, I was tired. I let it go and let it be an exercise in good enough.





I do think Louisa is the better book, storytelling-wise, and it reminds me of the sense I had when I finished Lu – that I had written the best book I could with the time, energy, and skill I had. It set a good baseline to develop a healthy relationship with writing and treat each work as an artifact instead of a penultimate.





The books have different playlists! Here’s the one for Lu and the one for Louisa to celebrate launch week.





I do like stories that end before they’re finished. I like where Louisa ends. However, I see how readers might want an epilogue. I didn’t include it in the book, but I have it for you! Just sign up for my email list (if you haven’t already) and I’ll send it out on Monday.





Also, the Kindle version of Louisa is on sale all week for 99 cents … because she’s Midwestern and likes a bargain. Buy one, buy many!

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Published on August 11, 2020 05:35
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