Guest Post Amy Faircloth co-author of Wicked Good

People frequently ask how it came to be that two sisters wrote a novel together and what it was like to work as a team. The answers are “simple” and “great.”

It was March. The snow was dirty brown and the sun was absent here in Bangor, Maine. I was spending a lot of time on my sofa, channel surfing and landing nowhere. Joanne called from her home in Florida.

“Wanna write a book together?”  I wrapped the afghan around me tighter and yawned from lack of blood flow to my brain.

“Sure,” was the best response I could muster.

I am a lawyer by day and single mom to two teenage boys by day and night. My oldest is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism which has been of mixed blessings to my life. Joanne suggested a story about a relatively mad scientist who had discovered the cure for cancer in a rare strand of DNA. The cure required the death of one specific boy, a teenage boy in Bangor, Maine with Asperger’s syndrome. My contribution was to write the parts with the boy in it.

We ran into two significant problems with this story line. First, my actual scientist friend was quite offended. “Why do people always write about mad scientists!” She exploded at me as we rode our bicycles one day at Acadia National Park. “Besides, curing cancer with DNA is a stupid idea.” She said more but her words were lost to the wind as I slowed to let her pedal ahead – way ahead.

Second, although Joanne was surprisingly good at creating criminal characters and gruesome situations, we wrote really bad chase scenes. Weeks went by as we attempted to write the scene of the mother and son being chased in a forest.

Joanne is the literary brains behind this outfit. I can only write based upon my life experiences. Without Joanne moving the plot along, we would be nowhere. She would give me the plot line and I would write. We discussed plot and character development. If we disagreed on anything, I let her win. That, of course, applies only when we write! I am four years older, but, like I said, she has the literary brains.

On the other hand, I have the experience.  My son is now 19 years old.   Life has been a challenge for both of us.  The incidents in Wicked Good are pure fiction - made up by myself and my sister.  But many of the characteristics of the mother and son have basis in authenticity. For example, once my son gets an idea in his head, it is tough to dissuade him otherwise.  As another example,  juggling his needs with my job truly does stress me out and the bathtub is a frequent refuge.  However, he has never hit me and I do not have a drinking problem.

We are so excited that the novel is being published by Trestle Press.  Not only because that in itself is totally cool, but now we have a reason to talk to each other at least once a day and text constantly.  We hope you enjoy reading Wicked Good as much as we enjoyed writing it.  And thank you for your thoughts and good wishes. 

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