Welcome to my tour stop! Check out an interview with the author and giveaway below...
I'll Take the LieChristian YA
Paperback & ebook, 380 Pages
June 28th 2019
Summary
Does the truth really set you free?
Paige Hall doubts it, after her boyfriend Justin tells her he’s over it, leaving her with a broken heart and crushed dreams. When Justin disappears, she can’t help but try to find out what happened to him. But when the more she searches, the more problems arise, she can’t help but wonder if it would be better to just accept the lie…
Interview
Would you tell us what inspired you to write I’ll Take the Lie?
I had the idea about five years before I started writing the book. I was really into The Great Gatsby and wanted to write a story from the onlooker’s point of view. Originally titled What’s Wrong with Alex?, the story I created was about a sister who watches her brother, Alex, change while he’s away at college, wondering what’s going on inside of him. It took a lot of thinking and plotting to come up with Paige’s part in the story—the sister who is worried about her brother but who is also more involved in the mystery than she knows. I created Justin’s character to add to her backstory, and slowly she grew into the protagonist’s role. The book is still about Alex but not as much as I’d originally planned.
What challenged you about writing I’ll Take the Lie?
As I mentioned above, the story was supposed to mainly focus on Alex. I wanted to readers to get to know him and understand him as a person, and that was hard, writing from Paige’s point of view. To help with that, I added snippets of his story throughout the narrative, giving the readers a glance into his life and descent. The challenge was not giving too much away—it is a mystery, after all! (This question is challenging to answer without giving away any spoilers!)
Do you have any specific snacks you eat or music you listen to when you write?
I don’t like to eat; it takes away from the writing. But I do my best writing at a coffee shop with some kind of coffee drink to get me going. I also have a “chill” playlist that’s mostly music without words or that’s good for the background.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Advice is good, but every writer is different. The most overwhelmed I feel as an author is when I start comparing myself and my lifestyle to other writers. Everyone has different times they write, different ways to plot out their story. I can’t sit still for more than an hour or two, so I have to break things up and write at shorter intervals. I also don’t always have time to write every day. I had to come to peace with that and set aside writing time at least twice a week that I stick to. My advice is to find what works for you and commit to it—don’t always worry that you’re not writing as regularly or for as long as the next person. Just do it!
What are you working on next?
I’m currently in the editing phase of my third book, Different. It’s a sequel to my first novel, Perfect. The story follows the main character, Gina, to college and all the struggles she faces there, trying to fit in and be someone she isn’t. It’s a tribute to everything I learned and all the crazy adventures I had in college. 😊
About the Author
Nancy E Wood was born into a missionary family and lived in Hungary until she turned twenty. Her whole childhood, she loved reading and stories, writing some of her own, but never believing she actually had the talent to be an author. Speaking multiple languages, she never thought she would be good enough in any to become a wordsmith.Her senior year of high school, she was encouraged to write short stories, one of which turned into Perfect, a novel that couldn’t stay short. After sharing it with a few people, she decided to get it published a couple years later. She went to college in Florida, where she studied English and Music. After graduating, she married and moved to California. She published her second standalone book, I’ll Take the Lie, in the summer of 2019 and is currently working on a sequel to Perfect. She also runs a blog for young women, where she writes relatable and motivational posts that point to God. She has also done some speaking in different Christian schools and youth groups, encouraging teens to pursue Christ through some of the most difficult years of their lives.
More from Nancy
What’s truth? Why is it important? Does everyone have their own kind of truth or is there only one?
Those were questions I was dealing with in my college Apologetics class while I wrote I’ll Take the Lie, and I thought that theme would fit so well into the story.
The idea came to me a long time ago. I was really into The Great Gatsby at the time and wanted to write a story from a bystander’s point of view. Originally titled What’s Wrong with Alex?, Paige, the worried sister of Alex, who drastically changed over his first semester of college, wants to find out what happened to him. But the deeper I went into the story, the more Paige’s character shone through, and she soon became the protagonist with her ex boyfriend’s mysterious disappearance. The whole theme tied into what I was studying about apologetics and truth, so the messy pieces all came together into a solid plot.
Paige isn’t a believer, and she doesn’t really care about the idea of truth and spirituality until she gets dragged into it. It’s my hope that this book story helps young adults like me think deeper and question their beliefs. We get so caught up with our own happiness, we don’t always want to accept the hard truth. But, like Paige, we need to think about whether we can keep living pretend lives or if the truth really does set us free.
Tour Schedule
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 20
Wishful Endings, May 21 (Author Interview)
deb’s Book Review, May 21
For the Love of Literature, May 22
Texas Book-aholic, May 23
Through the Fire Blogs, May 24 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 24
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 25
Older & Smarter?, May 26
Inklings and notions, May 27
For Him and My Family, May 28
Quiet Quilter, May 29
Vicky Sluiter, May 30 (Author Interview)
CarpeDiem, May 30
Locks, Hooks and Books, June 1
Pause for Tales, June 2
Tour-Wide Giveaway
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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