We’re delighted to have Carol Lynch Williams here to share more about her latest novel MESSENGER.
Carol, what was your inspiration for writing MESSENGER?
I remember when the idea first came to me for MESSENGER. It was, of course, just a seed, an emotion.
Okay, how many times do you go to a public restroom and have to wave your hand under a sensor to turn on the water or get paper towels out of the dispenser and nothing happens?
One day, after practically dancing in front of an automatice paper towel dispenser and getting nothing, I thought, why is it that these things never detect me? Am I a ghost? And that sparked the idea. I could see a girl trying, without success, to wash her hands. The reason? She’s dead, but doesn’t know. She was clear in my mind. That was years before I sat down to write the book, but that picture of her–at the bathroom sink–stayed in my head.
How long did you work on MESSENGER?
What do you hope readers will take away from MESSENGER?
How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?
What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?
What are you working on now?
This is an exciting question to answer. I love starting books! There is so much potential and promise.
So–
I’m working on two projects with friends. One is an adult murder mystery I think could turn into a series.
The other is a middle grade novel. Ann Dee Ellis (THE END OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT) is my neighbor and we actually have two other projects in mind, as well.
I’m doing a big rewrite of a middle grade about sisters who have to care for themselves because of their mom’s depression when their dad leaves.
I’ve begun a mid-grade about two girls who want to be ‘wrasslers’ (set in the 60‘s) and I’m writing my first YA murder mystery.
That’s a lot of projects, I know, but they are all at different stages of writing. Two are being rewritten. One I’m writing notes for. One I’m brainstorming on. One is the first draft stage. It’s fun!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Messenger
by Carol Lynch Williams
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Released 10/18/2016
From PEN Award–winning author Carol Lynch Williams comes an eerie and atmospheric coming-of-age tale about a girl who can talk to the dead—even if she would rather not.
Evie Messenger knows that her family is different from other families. But it isn’t until her fifteenth birthday that the Messenger gift is revealed to her. Evie has the family’s gift—a special power. Soon she realizes she is able to see and talk to the dead—ghosts—often with no idea who the person was. Or as Evie says: “I see Dead People. It’s a Messenger gift.” That doesn’t mean she wants the Messenger gift. So Evie tries to ignore it but soon she finds she cannot. Can Evie find a way to live her life without letting her power take over? And what if the dead person is someone close to Evie’s family?
Purchase Messenger at Amazon
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Lynch Williams, a two-time winner of the Utah Original Writing Competition, is the author of several books for children, including two novels about the Orton family of New Smyrna, Florida: Kelly and Me and Adeline Street. A starred School Library Journal review of The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson praises Williams as she “again demonstrates her facility at mood and character development… Truer colors are hard to come by.”
Her most recent novel, If I Forget, You Remember, is a moving intergenerational story that stresses the bonds that hold families together through difficult times–a help since over 19 million Americans have a family member with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Have you had a chance to read MESSENGER yet? Have you ever been inspired by a story while washing your hands? Do you write from your heart? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!
Happy reading,
Jocelyn, Shelly, Martina, Anisaa, Sam, Erin, Susan, Michelle, Laura, and Kristin
