Okay, so this is the moment I get to tell you a little about my process of writing Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen. I never story-boarded it. I didn’t plot or plan what events are going to invade Wilson and Max’s life. I never knew what was going to happen from one word to the next. I let the creative process take over my consciousness and let the story come through me. As a matter of fact, I was writing the second book in my Prototype Series when Wilson decided to whack me upside the head and scream my name.
I wasn’t looking to write her story; she just came to me one day. I think because the chapter I was writing in Prototype’s Hindsight is 20/20 was so intense that from the ashes of brutality and despair Wilson had to be born. Maybe it was self preservation on my part or the need for something light hearted to invade the murky crevices of the creative process Hindsight was imparting in my mind. Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen unfolded perfectly. I didn’t write one scene out of place. I let the story happen as she told it to me.
Now let’s fast forward to today. Suddenly chapters and events for the next book in Wilson’s story are coming at me from all different directions and times. I tend to find myself filling in gaps between sculptured experiences of her life.
In doing this, I’ve come to realize the responsibility I have to the thousands of people who have read and related to Wilson’s story. Those readers have fallen for her and Max, they have collaborated in sympathy for Nick and conspired to name all the Cindys in their lives. They’ve let the characters that used to only reside in my head, live in their soul.
So I don’t take my need to keep authentic to Wilson’s story lightly. And I honor every reader that is chomping at the bit to get their hands on the second book. So—thank you for being patient while you wait for Wilson to impart her story through me. I promise you, you’ll be just as engaged in the second book as you were in the first. At about 47 thousand words, and half way through writing the book, it will be worth the wait!
