STEPH: I don't know about "Lost then Found." What's it about?
CHRISTINA: Lost Then Found is about skip-tracers Renee and Jonas Knight, ex-spouses and former business partners, who find themselves on opposite sides of a case. Renee lost her sister to domestic violence and decides to her skills as a skip-tracer to relocate and hide abused women who are trying to start their lives over. She's starting to feel whole again when her ex-husband shows back up in her life demanding to know the whereabouts of one of Renee's clients. Jonas knows the young woman couldn't have vanished by herself and suspects Renee helped her. When his client starts acting suspicious, Jonas decides to team up with Renee to protect her and also to discover the truth about the young woman in hiding.
STEPH: How long did it take you to write?
CHRISTINA: The first draft of Lost Then Found took me about 3 months to write.
STEPH: Where did you find the inspiration for the novel?
CHRISTINA: I attended a writer's workshop that had a skip-tracer speaking. I signed up for the newsletter and a few months later the newsletter talked about how paparazzis use skip tracers to find out the secret locations of celebrity weddings and vacations. I started thinking about what would happen if a skip tracer was hired to find a person who had a very, good reason to have gone off the grid. What would cause a person to make that choice? How would a person know how to hide themselves? More and more what and how questions developed and as I answered them, the New Beginnings series took shape in my mind.
STEPH: How important is setting to the novel?
CHRISTINA: As the story starting forming, the setting became more important. Not so much the area where the heroine’s office is located in Maryland, but the town two women she relocated call home. This town, Mourning, took on a life of its own and became, in a way, a character with its own personality and plays a key role in other books in the series.
STEPH: Did you have to do a lot of research for the story?
CHRISTINA: I did research into skip tracing, wills and estates, and also checking to make sure the choices Renee made never crossed the line between right and wrong legally. Or is a decision will have her crossing that line, it’s a conscious choice where she's willing to accept the consequences.
STEPH: Hollywood is calling. Cast the lead characters of the story.
CHRISTINA: This question took me a little while to answer as I hadn't really thought about it. But, I think Josh Lucas and Emma Stone would be great to play Jonas and Renee Knight.
STEPH: What's the theme of the novel? What do you want to resonate with readers?
CHRISTINA: The theme of the novel is forgiveness and responsibility. What do I want to resonate with the reader ... that's a tough question. The main thing is that there is always hope for a better life no matter the circumstance and no matter your past. And sometimes to fulfill dreams and move past pain, we have to come term with wrongs we’ve committed and set out to make them right.
STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?
CHRISTINA: I have a Kindle and am being tempted by the Kindle Fire.
STEPH: How long have you been writing?
CHRISTINA: I have been writing since I was in the ninth grade. I just did the math and realize that’s about 27 years. Wow! Though, I didn’t start taking it seriously, as in trying to get published, until 15 years ago.
STEPH: FUN question: What's your favorite Thanksgiving day pie?
CHRISTINA: Apple pie with crumb topping.
STEPH: My son, Andrew, (he's 9) absolutely LOVES Apple pie like this!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment