I had a really good idea for a novel. What if a lovely divorced woman with a little girl marries a lovely divorced man with a little boy, and everyone’s happy until the children become teenagers. (I accidentally typed teenangers, which is sort of relevant.)
What if the girl accuses the boy of a terrible deed and the boy denies doing it? Who does the woman believe, her daughter or her stepson? Who does the man believe, his son or his stepdaughter? How does the family manage to stay together—or does it?
Phyllis Levy of Good Housekeeping, said about An Act of Love, “I just couldn’t put it down. It has the pull of a good suspense story; you really care about the characters. I couldn’t guess who was telling the truth.”
Writing this book was more difficult than I had dreamed it would be. I think I look sad in my cover photo. I was sad. When I write a novel, I’m living in that fictional world, and it can tie my stomach in knots. I admire the writers—Chris Bojalian, Jodie Picoult, Kristen Hannah, for example–who deal with the tough subjects and help us deal with the tough subjects.
