When I started writing Waiting for the Storm, I had no idea these characters would stick with me so much that I'd end up writing three books in the Angel Island 'universe'. Charlotte, Ella, and Sadie have become a big part of my life over the last couple years, and I'm so excited their stories have come full circle.
Sadie came out of nowhere when I started writing After the Storm. She started off as a character I thought would make a few brief appearances, and then all of a sudden she was talking to me as much as Ella was. She demanded to be a big part of the story, and she was. She was exactly what Ella needed, and as she revealed bits of herself to me (there were at least three big things about her that popped up with no warning), I knew she was something special. I'm not sure when exactly I knew she'd get her own story, but when After the Storm came out and people started telling me Sadie was their favourite character, I knew I had to write her book.
This was one of the easiest, and yet one of the hardest books I've ever written. Writing a side character who's a lesbian is a lot different than writing a main character who's a lesbian. I had a lot of doubts going in. What if people wouldn't read it because it was LGBT? What if people questioned me about my own sexuality? What if I got hate mail from homophobes? What if I couldn't do this story justice? What if people didn't like it because it's an unconventional love story (I can't explain that one because of spoilers)?
Then I realized telling this story was worth getting past those doubts and fears. If people don't read it because it's LGBT, I think that's their loss. People who say they 'can't relate to LGBT characters' boggle my mind. Do you not relate to human emotion? To grief and joy and pain and love and adventure and new experiences? As for people asking about my sexuality...they can ask, but it doesn't mean I have to answer, considering it's nobody's business, right? ;-) I'm not one of those people who leads with their sexual orientation, mostly because I don't feel like it defines me. Once I got over all those fears, I had so much fun writing Sadie's book. I pulled from my own college experiences, which made me nostalgic, but it was also cathartic in a way to go back to that time, get out old pictures, and add in little inside jokes that only my college friends would get. If they ever read this book, they would likely see a lot of themselves (and me) in some of these characters. Sadie makes mistakes, she learns a lot, she falls in love, she discovers new things about herself, all while staying true to herself and being proud of who she is.
I hope you'll give Sadie's book a chance. Through the course of writing it, I laughed, I cried, and I swooned, and I hope you will, too. If you haven't read Charlotte's and Ella's stories, you don't need to in order to understand this book, since the books are technically companions. BUT...they're on sale right now, so it'd be a good time to give them a chance. ;-)
{Add to GoodReads}
Sadie Fitzgerald has always been different, and not just because she makes her own clothes and would rather stay home watching Doctor Who than party with kids her age. When it’s time to leave Angel Island for college, Sadie is eager to put her old life behind her. Small-minded people and rumors have plagued her for years, but with the love of her adoptive family, the O’Dells, Sadie has learned to embrace who she is. Now she’s not afraid to admit the rumors about her are true: she’s gay.
For the first time in her life, Sadie feels free to be herself. She dives into college life and begins volunteering at the local LGBT center, where she discovers her small-town upbringing left holes in her education about life outside Angel Island.
The world is a bigger and more accepting place than Sadie ever imagined. She’s finally found where she belongs, but with the reappearance of someone from her past, an unexpected new friendship, and a chance at love, Sadie soon realizes she still has a lot to learn about life, friendship, and love.
Waiting for the Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}
After the Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}
After the Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}
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Congrats on the new book! I love the cover and the title.
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