I’M SO EXCITED! Thursday was the launch of Finding Claire Fletcher, the poignant tale of a young woman who was kidnapped at
the age of fifteen and held captive for ten years. This incredible novel of love, loss, and hope
was written by my very best friend, Lisa
Regan. (Read my
review of FCF here.)
I was lucky enough to have read this book as a critique
partner a couple of years ago, and since then, I’ve read it an additional three
times. That’s how much I love it! I know you’ll love it, too. As a preview, I’d like to give you a bit of
insight into Lisa and her novel so you can see just how wonderful and talented
she really is. So here is an interview I
conducted. Enjoy!
Why the obsession
with missing children?
I think it was from being bombarded as an adolescent by
missing child stories. Jacob Wetterling
and Jaycee Dugard were both abducted within two years of each other and the
news coverage was extensive. Certainly
something I’ve never forgotten. Right
around that time, that TV miniseries I Know My First Name is Steven about
Steven Stayner came out and that had a big impact on me. I was the same age as Wetterling and Dugard
and I think it was a that-could-be-me kind of thing that started the obsession.
You’ve been writing
since you were a child, so what is it about Finding
Claire Fletcher that made you want to seek representation and a publishing
contract?
It was the first thing I wrote that had a discernible
plot! As an adult it was the second
novel that I finished. In my first novel
I was trying to do too much. But FCF was
pretty simple: girl is abducted. Here’s
what happens. Man tries to find
her. FCF seemed much better written than
everything that came before it. I just
had this feeling that after all those years of trying, I had written something
worth reading.
How long was it from
the day you started writing Finding
Claire Fletcher to the day you finally signed your publishing contract, and
was there ever a time you just wanted to give up, tuck Finding Claire Fletcher into a drawer, and move on? If so, why didn’t you?
I started writing it sometime in early 2004 and I signed my
contract on 4/3/12 so it was eight years from first word to contract. If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to
give up, I wouldn’t have to work. Yes,
there were times I wanted to put FCF into a drawer. There were times I felt like I should put it into a drawer and move
on. But Claire’s voice was so compelling
to me that I simply couldn’t. The whole
time I was writing it, I felt like she was standing behind me with her hand on
my shoulder, whispering the words into my ear.
She became like a real person to me, and I felt like I owed it to her to
see her story through. Maybe because she
represents all the children who have lived through an abduction whose stories
most people turn away from.
What is the most
important lesson you learned during this time between writing and publication?
Ask for help. When I
was growing up, I approached so many teachers asking for help or direction with
my writing, and I was consistently blown off.
So by the time I started writing as an adult I had a bit of a chip on my
shoulder. I didn’t want to ask for help
because I was sure no one would give it.
But my college professors were wonderful, and, later, after I started
querying unsuccessfully, I found plenty of other writers willing to help me
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Unfortunately I didn’t have critique partners or beta readers until after I started querying for FCF. I really believe if I had gotten the type of
feedback I got between 2006 and 2010 from CPs and betas before I sent out my
first query, my journey would have been a lot shorter. Plus this is not a journey you want to take
alone. You need other writers to support
and encourage you—only they can understand the unique misery you’ll
experience. Get involved in a writing
community—in person or online and accept their help and support.
Do you think the
subject matter in Finding Claire Fletcher
made it a hard sell, and why?
Absolutely. It’s the
element of sexual assault that makes it a hard sell. I’ve found that murder and dismemberment are
easier for people to deal with than rape.
But I purposely did not want to shy away from it. It happens to women all over the world every
day. It is real, and it is
damaging. We shouldn’t pretend it
doesn’t exist. We shouldn’t minimize it.
I think that would be a disservice to women (and men, too) who are recovering
from it or have survived it—and their loved ones whose lives are also affected
by sexual assault. You know, Diane
Sawyer asked Jaycee Lee Dugard why she went into detail about the sexual
assaults she suffered at the hands of her abductor in her memoir and Dugard
said, “Why not look at it? You know,
stare it down until it can’t scare you anymore?” I think that is incredibly brave.
With real-life cases
like Shawn Hornbeck, Elizabeth Smart, and Jaycee Lee Dugard so well-known, why do think the Big Six
turned Finding Claire Fletcher down
on grounds they thought it unbelievable that a kidnap victim allowed to leave her
prison would not seek help from the authorities?
Well obviously I can’t speak for the Big 6 but I think the
real issue is that most people have a hard time believing the real-life
instances. I think a lot of people look
at kids like Hornbeck, Smart, and Dugard and, in the back of their minds, there
is a nagging question as to why they didn’t try to escape. What people don’t realize is that, first of
all, these were children. Do you
remember how you felt when you were 11 or 14?
Do you think you would have been equipped to handle being torn away from
everything you knew and systematically tortured, both physically and
emotionally for a sustained period of time?
Because make no mistake—what happened to these kids was torture. Second, they were completely terrorized and
broken down by their captors. By the
time people see them on the news, they’re grown up. They look like and they are now adults. People forget that they were just kids when
they were taken. So I think a lot of
people want to say, “Why didn’t they just walk away?” But no one looks at a Prisoner of War and
says, “Why didn’t he just bust out of there like Rambo?” They are kids and they’ve been tortured. I think that’s the point people miss. But to answer your question, some publishers
may have reasoned that if people find it hard to swallow that real life kids
don’t leave at the first opportunity, then they won’t buy a fictional account.
After all the hard
work getting Finding Claire Fletcher
a home, what’s been the most difficult part since?
Managing my time. I
had no idea that this part would be so busy!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic and euphoric. It has just been hard finding time for everything
on top of working full-time and raising a child. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!
What can we look
forward to next from you?
More of the same!
LOL. Well there is Aberration
which comes out on 6/6/13. It’s about an
FBI profiler working on a serial killer case where she turns out to be the
object of his affection. The WIP I’m
working on now is about a single mom who is a detective in Philadelphia investigating a series of sex
crimes. After that I had planned on
working on a new book that would have Connor and Claire in it, but we’ll see
how successful FCF is—if people like it, I’ll bring Connor and Claire
back. If not, I’ve got a few other
things up my sleeve, but whatever it is you can count on dark and gritty.
Thanks,
Lisa! As part of the Finding
Claire Fletcher Blog Tour (12/6 - 12/21), Lisa Regan will be giving away:
·
$25.00 Amazon Gift Card
·
1 signed copy of the paperback of Finding Claire Fletcher
·
1 e-book version of Finding Claire Fletcher
All you have to do is visit the Finding
Claire Fletcher Blog Tour & Giveaway page and comment on that page
letting Lisa know whose blog you’ve just come from. Each commenter will be assigned a number and
then the winners will be chosen using random.org. Winners will be announced on 12/24/12!
And please stop by Lisa’s tour to learn more …
Lisa’s
Blog Tour:
12/6: Emily Unraveled
12/11: Cassie Mae
12/12: Melissa Maygrove
12/13: Libby Heily & J.C. Martin
12/14: Falling for Fiction
12/17: So, You're a Writer
12/18: Julie Flanders
12/19: Writing With Hope
& Leave it to Livia
12/20: Wizardry of Otin
& The Serial Killer Files
12/21: The Doubting Writer
Find Lisa here:
Blog Website Amazon Goodreads Sapphire Star Publishing
Buy the book here:
Watch this awesome book trailer for Finding Claire Fletcher
Buy the book here:
17 comments:
Great interview. Nancy, you asked some great questions here, and Lisa's answers are fascinating. This is an example of a difficult topic that I think fiction can help bring about a discussion on. I can't wait for my wife to finish the book so that I can start in on it!
So happy for Lisa! "First thing I wrote that had a discernible plot" - I can relate. And yes, ask for help. Critique partners are priceless.
Great job on the post, Nancy!
Best of luck with everything Lisa!
Heather
I've only read the first chapter (still finishing Libby's novel) but it looks good!
I don't know why those kinds of abduction cases fascinate me as well. I always follow them with so much interest. And when you find out one of these kids is still alive after they've been missing for years, you just have to wonder how they survived and how they'll ever put a normal life together in the future.
Thanks guys! and thanks Nancy, as always, for hosting me and for all your kind words! I'd be nowhere at all without you!
Wow 8 years that's persistence! Congrats! It sounds like a great story.
Congratulations, LIsa. Great to read about your story.
Congrats Lisa! Excellent interview and excellent book!
Wow. *shivers* This sounds like quite the book.
Congrats again to Lisa :)
Congrats to Lisa! Sounds like a gripping story.
Great interview!
Can't wait to read the book! :D
"It’s the element of sexual assault that makes it a hard sell. I’ve found that murder and dismemberment are easier for people to deal with than rape." Sad, but I think this is true.
Awesome book trailer.
........dhole
Huge congrats again to Lisa, and fabulous interview, ladies! Can't wait to read FCF!! :-)
This was a delightful and fascinating interview, Lisa and Nancy. I'm so impressed, Lisa. You're a big inspiration. Best of everything!
We demand a sequel! *starts chants* Se-quel! Se-quel!
Wonderful interview, pub sisters! <3
Thank you so much, everyone! I appreciate all the support and kind words! Thanks again, Nancy for hosting me. I really appreciate it! I would be nowhere without you!
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