Today I want to share what motivated me to write Dare to Dream. In a nutshell I was inspired by a book I read.
A few years ago I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road. For those of you not familiar with the story it is a harrowing tale of a father and son struggling to cope in the aftermath of an apocalypse. We are never told what plunged the world in to despair, just that it had happened. McCarthy sort of drops the reader in to the bleak wilderness and encourages them to follow along with the main characters and will them to survive.
The end of the world is not a great place to be there is no denying that. But as I read the book I started thinking about how I'd love to have read the story which occurred before The Road, where I'd be given an insight in to what happened.
As a writer I'm always keen to push my characters to their limits as it is when people are pushed to extremes that they are at their most interesting and revealing. And it is from this place that the original idea for Dare to Dream was born.
When I was writing the story it was called Maggie Trafford Dreams of Armageddon. Kind of lengthy, right? The story was about a teenage girl who preempts the end of the world. I wanted to give my story an anchor through Maggie, I also didn't want to paint as bleak a picture as McCarthy did because I think however dark it might be at the end of the world, hope will always manage to shine through.
Maggie is hopeful, brave and fiercely determined. Dare to Dream details the start of her story but it is far from over.
I can't wait to share Maggie's journey with everyone. It would be amazing if her story prompted someone to write a book of their own! ; )
If release day feels too far away don't despair as Reuts are starting to filter tantalizing teasers in to the world so make sure to follow them on Twitter so you don't miss anything!
And check out Dare to Dream over on goodreads as I've got a feeling there might be some competitions launching over there soon...
xoxo
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