Today, Wendy Arthur joins me at the Wednesday Women table with her leading ladies Maiah and Eleanor. Welcome!
* * *
I hadn’t
really thought about writing a novel before, but after the success of my online
fan-fiction series (still ongoing), I decided that a different story might be a
refreshing change of pace.
I wanted to
write a book that would challenge perceptions and alleviate stereotypes, a
story that would show the reader that love could be possible between two very
different people from completely different backgrounds. That’s where Maiah Reyes
and Eleanor Simpson come in.
Maiah was
an abused child who made the decision to run away when she had the chance -
Eleanor was doted upon and loved deeply. Maiah has no home and no money -
Eleanor is a workaholic and is very well off.
With
regards to her childhood, I wondered if Maiah would see her escape as a road to
freedom where she could feel no more pain and make her own choices. I wanted to
find out if she would ever come out of hiding when she finally saw someone who
felt like a safe place for her. I also tried to explore how a stranger might
see her, as the stereotypical wild woman who surely couldn’t speak or have any
knowledge of the world. These are a few of the things I decided to challenge in
the book, which is also a tale of love and mutual discovery for both leading
ladies.
I did get a
few reviews about how a child from the wilderness would react and cope as an
adult brought back into civilization. They said my story was too far-fetched,
or Maiah would have had so many more problems. Maiah did have issues, but
perhaps another book is needed to expand on them as she begins to interact more
with society. In my mind, it is a work of fiction that can be what I want it to
be, and when I researched the few real-life instances of ‘wild children’, I could
not find any records where the child was an intelligent, nine-year-old who
chose to stay away from people for so long. Who knows how she would deal with reintegration?
So, I
decided to write at least the first part of Maiah’s journey. The book cover was
also a deliberate choice, as it was where her entire story began.
In the prologue of
To Die For, there is a glimpse into
the childhoods of Maiah and Eleanor. The stark contrast in both lives continues
on throughout the book, including chapter one when Eleanor’s life as an adult
has met, and quite possibly exceeded, her father’s expectations. When he finds
out he is ill, he re-evaluates everything and realizes what he has done to his
daughter. And even though it is nothing bad, she is still all business, working
for him and living the life he lived. She knows nothing else. With that in
mind, he sends her off on a wilderness camping trip with her friend in the
hopes that she will ask herself what she truly wants in her heart. There, Eleanor
catches sight of a woman on her last vacation day. She decides she has imagined
it, but later on, she returns to the same place as she cannot shake her
curiosity about the vision she saw, or the feeling it invoked. She confirms that it was not a vision, and
when Maiah reveals herself once more, an unlikely bond is tentatively formed.
Life is about to change for both of them, bringing pain and happiness, fear and
safety, and ultimately, self discovery.
I hope you will
enjoy reading the book and challenging your perception of who you think Maiah
is. All the ‘stereotypes’ are there, but they might not be what you expected.
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