I just posted the first two chapters of Come See About Me here on my website and plan to have the ebook available for the end of June. One of the things I loved about writing this novel is that it's set where I live so I had the chance to explore some of Oakville's charms (not that the main character, who is in a fragile emotional state for much of the book, really notices them as such). But honestly, Oakville has pretty much spoiled me for other places. There are few things I love more than a walk by the lake and Oakville's compact downtown area is so charming that every time I'm strolling there it feels like a holiday. I mean, do places this cute exist in real life? Did I conjure this town up with my imagination? It feels that way sometimes.
Before 2000 I'd never even been to Oakville but in the late 90s a co-worker used to rave about the place (she lived here) and when my husband and I moved back to Canada at the start of the 21st century we gravitated here. Anyway, main character twenty-year-old Leah Fischer (from Burnaby, British Columbia) moves to Oakville in 2012. Late June, to be exact. The move's not really a choice on her part but after her boyfriend Bastien has died and she's flunked out of college and pretty much stopped functioning Bastien's aunt offers her a rent-free place to stay—a soft place to fall.
You can find out a bit more about Come See About Me here and if you read the sample chapters you'll notice there are some brief Liam sightings in Chapter One but it's awhile before Leah's in the headspace to really notice him and even when she does...well, it's infinitely complicated. Grief isn't linear. Relationships aren't linear.
If you've read any of my YA books you've probably noticed that I like writing about gray areas but I do think there's alot of light in this book too and I thoroughly enjoyed writing about a character who, though still quite young, doesn't fit in the YA category. Like I talked about a few weeks ago, I wish traditional publishers would release more books about characters in their late teens and early twenties. I don't think readers interest in young characters ends when they turn nineteen or finish high school. However, it's great to be writing in a time when you can bring a story to readers without depending on traditional channels and if traditional publishers continue to avoid books about 'new adults' I have high hopes that the void will be filled by other means!
