Hi, friends!
Ahh, it’s finally spring! I hope you’ve had a good week so far! As promised, here is a look into my new book FIONA (see preview below) and the writing process. If you’ve ordered the paperback or downloaded the ebook, I just want to say a huge thank you! It means the world to me that you take an interest in my stories, and I hope to keep creating more in the years to come. Without further ado, allow me to share with you the story of how FIONA came to be.
I started writing this book right before I published PHOEBE. I guess you could say I needed a new project to look forward to before sending my first book out into the world. I enjoyed writing FIONA because it had such a different feel to PHOEBE, and it was refreshing to write from a different perspective. FIONA is about a girl who is trying to find her place in a world where girls are supposed to grow up, get married, and raise children—which is perfectly honorable, but it does not suit Fiona. She wants to have adventures and discover the world. Instead, she ends up discovering herself and finding her place in society through a series of misunderstandings and misadventures. I’m not sure why I chose Fiona to be the protagonist of my second book, except that, of all my characters, she seemed the most ready for the next adventure. At twenty-two, still living at home, unmarried, and her world changing before her very eyes, I wanted to—as Harper Lee put it so well– “stand in [her] shoes and walk around in them.” I found I could relate to her, and if I could, I was sure others could too.
Fiona is a unique soul, who seems easy to understand at first glance, but upon better acquaintance, you begin to see different facets. She reveals different traits in different light, much like a kaleidoscope. And with this colorful character of mine, I began to build a storyline. I found she was fueled by reactions to the circumstances and characters around her, which, in turn, fueled the other characters’ personal stories. Everyone was going about their lives, and Fiona simply could not handle how fast everything was changing. This showcased how the other characters’ lives developed after the end of PHOEBE, which, I hope, satisfies the questions of, “What happens next?” that I have received since publishing PHOEBE.
One of the ways I wanted to make FIONA a unique story was to take the heroine out of her comfort zone, by literally removing her from the surroundings which she had known her whole life. This meant putting her on a ship bound for Europe. As a nod to the books by Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson that I loved as a teenager, I incorporated elements of a seafaring adventure by giving Fiona incentive to become “sea-savvy.” And to her assistance, comes a new character to the series, Percy, who “annoys her to distraction” yet helps to open her eyes to the world around her.
Percy was never part of the original cast for the book, yet he dropped in – much like he does to startle Fiona – in the middle of my perfectly organized plotline and stood his ground as a main character. To be grammatically incorrect, I couldn’t not let him be a part of the story. And much like finding one’s balance on a ship, Fiona learns to find balance in life, despite its unpredictability. She grows more confident in who she is, and through the wisdom and advice of her friends and loved ones, Fiona discovers who she truly is.
This was the first book I’ve written based on an outline. Did I stick to that outline completely? Not exactly. The first half of the book was pretty faithful to my original intent. Unfortunately, characters develop their own paths, and it’s up to authors to document their journey rather than attempt to control it. Writing FIONA gave me new ways to stretch myself as a writer. In the middle of writing this book, I took a college course in creative writing, which taught me to “play” with words, the sounds they make, the number of syllables, the rhythm they create, and the feelings we associate with them. In learning this, I began subtly incorporating this concept into my book, which allowed me to convey more meaning with my words and paint a more detailed picture of what was in my head. By the way, if you appreciate a shorter read, you will be happy to know that FIONA is only 300 pages as opposed to PHOEBE’s 400+ page count. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the story, and I hope you like it too!
With love and appreciation,
C. G. Eppinette
P.S. Have you had a chance to read FIONA yet? Let me know what you think. You can reach me in the comments below, on the CONTACT page, through email via cgeppinette@cgeppinette.com, or Instagram @c.g.eppinette. Also, please leave a review on Amazon to help other readers find my books; it’s extremely helpful!
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C. G. Eppinette 