Piper Lennox
The initial idea for The Road to You was very nebulous; when I began writing, all I knew was that the female lead would embark on a journey to find her biological mother. As the outline expanded, the plot became more character-driven, which allowed me (forced me?) to draw on more personal experiences.
Like Lila, I lost a parent when I was a teenager, and know firsthand that kind of grief can't be filed and accepted so easily. It follows you. It changes who you are at your very core. Even once you've moved on, there will never come a day when you are "done" grieving. Those scenes were hard to write, because I had to let my own grief expand all over again - but it was also cathartic to do so.
Shepherd's addiction was difficult for other reasons. It required a lot of research, since I've never been an addict - but I also found many of his scenes tough to get through because my best friend was an addict. Stepping into their shoes, so that I could step into Shepherd's, opened many emotional "boxes" in my head I didn't even know were there.
Like Lila, I lost a parent when I was a teenager, and know firsthand that kind of grief can't be filed and accepted so easily. It follows you. It changes who you are at your very core. Even once you've moved on, there will never come a day when you are "done" grieving. Those scenes were hard to write, because I had to let my own grief expand all over again - but it was also cathartic to do so.
Shepherd's addiction was difficult for other reasons. It required a lot of research, since I've never been an addict - but I also found many of his scenes tough to get through because my best friend was an addict. Stepping into their shoes, so that I could step into Shepherd's, opened many emotional "boxes" in my head I didn't even know were there.
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