Their worlds collide just months before that particular day when Louisa’s fledgling event planning company is hired by the local Coast Guard station, where she discovers Cody has recently returned to the island as the second in command. As they plan a regatta fundraiser, hoping to promote positive PR in the community, neither can deny the fireworks each encounter ignites. But working together also brings up memories of the day Cody’s father died, revealing secrets that have Cody and Louisa questioning everything they thought they knew and felt about their families and each other.
1. What inspired you to write Is It Any Wonder?
I’m such a sucker
for a romance about a couple who grew up together. The shared history, the
potential for conflict in their backstory, the deep connection—I think these
are my favorite relationships to explore, so it started there for me.
2. This story centers
on the couple’s shared golden birthday—why did you choose to make this concept
a key piece of the story?
I don’t really
believe in fate, but I do love that there’s a bit of that feeling of something
being “meant to be” if two people are connected by a golden birthday. It has a
tiny bit of a magical element to it, which I think lends itself so well to
romance. J
3. What do you
love about the Nantucket setting?
Can I say
everything? I’ve been to Nantucket twice, and both times I was just completely
smitten by how charming everything is. It’s like everything you imagine when
you think of an idyllic island setting. The beaches, the ocean, the
cobblestone, the brick, the cottages, the history—it’s just perfection!
4. This romance is
a first love revisited—how was writing this love story different from others
you have written?
I think you have the
ability to go deeper with characters who have a past. These relationships have
instant “meat” to them because, as an author, I get to unravel that past and
maybe heal some old wounds. Truth be told, if I could write exclusively
second-chance romances I totally would!
5. Was there a
character in this novel that you especially enjoyed crafting?
I always love writing older, wiser, feistier characters, so Maggie was definitely fun to write in this story. But I really enjoyed writing Louisa. I think writing a character who is a little quirkier than my other heroines was particularly fun.
6. This book deals with difficult family history. What did you learn about family relationships and how they affect romantic relationships from writing this story?
I think it’s
interesting as an adult to explore family relationships, because no matter how
old you get, the impact of your family is still really, really evident. Family
secrets and hurts and trauma changes and shapes us into who we are. I was
listening to a speaker recently and she said, “What you don’t deal with in your
late twenties will come back to haunt you in your fifties.” And I think that’s
true. If you don’t unpack your childhood, it’ll keep coming back—and because we
care so much what our families think, it definitely informs who we choose to
love.
7. Were any
characters or events in the story inspired by people in your life or
experiences you have had?
Honestly, no. This
one was all fiction. Ha!
8. What role does
faith play in this story?
I think faith comes
into play in every story I write, whether it’s overt or more subtle. I tend to
really lean in to the theme of forgiveness because I’ve had to learn over and
over how crucial it is—to forgive others, to forgive ourselves, to not grow
bitter when someone hurts or wrongs us, or even to not foster anger with God
when life doesn’t go as planned. These are all things both Cody and Louisa are
learning and wrestling with. I feel like these are the kinds of universal
things we can all relate to because for whatever reason, no matter how much we
know we need to forgive, it’s never easy to do.
9. In your view,
why do we love stories of second chances so much?
There’s something
about two people who were always meant to be together finding their way back to
each other when life or circumstances have thrown them off course. We’re
instantly cheering for them.
10. What do you
hope readers will be inspired by in this novel?
I always want my
books to feel like an escape, especially from the realities of life these days.
I want readers to feel uplifted and hopeful and whisked away to a stunning
location where they can get lost in a love story. But deeper than that, I hope
that readers are challenged to forgive. Not only anyone who might’ve wronged
them, but themselves. I think oftentimes forgiving ourselves is much, much
harder than forgiving someone else.
Paperback & ebook, 416 Pages
February 3rd 2020 by Tyndale House Publishers
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