Character Interview: Gwen Ellis

It's day #4 of my "Books & Coffee" giveaway. For more information on how you can be entered into the drawing for a FREE pound of amazing coffee, locally roasted here in my hometown, as well as a signed copy of my YA novel, ONCE AGAIN, go here.
Today, we're hearing from Gwen Ellis, Lucas's mom. She's a really interesting character! I hope you enjoy getting to know her a little better.
To start off, give us some basic information aboutyourself.  Well, my name isGwen.  I'm 38 years old. I workfrom home as a medical transcriptionist, which sounds really boring, but itgives me the flexibility I need as a single mom.
You and Lucas are so close. Can you tell us a little aboutyour relationship with your son?  I'vebeen fortunate, because Lucas has always been such a wonderful son. His fatherand I got married right out of high school, which wasn't the smartest thing todo, obviously. Lucas was born when I was 20, and from the first moment, he wasthe light of my life. Something changed in me when he came into my life.Suddenly my existence centered around another person, and what I wanted took aserious backseat to what he needed. Unfortunately, Luke's father didn't change.He wasn't ready to settle down into family life, so he left. I could'vewallowed in self-pity, but then I looked at two-year old Lucas, knew he wasdepending on me, so I did what I had to do. And Lucas and I have been fine eversince.
What was your first impression of Layla?  Well, Lucas had told me about heralready. I could tell he liked her from the beginning! When I finally met her Icould see why. She's sweet and polite, not to mention pretty! My firstimpression was that my son has extremely good taste in ladies!
What's your favorite pastime?  Oh, I don't have just one! I love reading. I enjoy movies.Gardening. Photography, shopping consignment shops, dreaming about travelingthe world. Just to name a few!
What will you do when Lucas is grown and on his own?  I'll still work at home. Still work in thegarden. Maybe I'll be able to travel. Mostly I'll just still be me.
You mentioned traveling. When you have the opportunity totravel, where will you go first? Alaska! I want to see the Northern Lights up close and personal.
What's your greatest wish for Lucas?  I just want him to be happy. There aresome parents who want their kids to be football stars or CEOs or somethingelse. I've always just wanted Luke to be himself and to be happy.






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Author's perspective on Gwen Ellis.  I wanted to portray Gwen as the quirky,funky mom. I knew from the beginning that she was going to be the adult who wasprivy to the reincarnation drama, and in order for that to work, she was goingto have to be an eccentric character. She was fun to write. It was like therewere no rules when it came to her! And in many ways, even though she and Lukehave a very close mother-son bond, they are complete opposites. Where she'skind of random and unconventional, he's very "even" and organized. I didn'texactly do that on purpose. It just sort of happened during the first part ofthe book. But once I realized it, I decided it was a neat contrast, so I triedto "play it up" during the rest of the story.

Don't forget, every comment, tweet, or email that helps spread the word about my blog and this giveaway gets your name entered into the drawing for the coffee and signed book! For more information on the giveaway, go here.
Happy reading and writing!