Why did I write ‘One Side of the Wall’?
There is only one question harder to answer than this, and that question is: What is your book about?
It sounds silly but of course I know the answers to these questions internally, however it’s very difficult to answer externally and summarize such complex emotions.
Growing up I absolutely loved the feeling of escaping into the false reality of books. My love first began with Harry Potter (predictable, I know) and flourished from that point forward. Immersing myself into fictional plots, whether they be magical or dystopian, helped me cope with the pressure of being a perfectionist teenager. So, in short, I wrote this book to hopefully provide others with the same interesting escape into a different reality that I enjoyed. Books bring magic to life!
There were also a few major themes I wanted to explore through the plot of my novel. Even though this is a Teen Fiction Sci-Fi story, I wanted the themes to be realistic and somewhat relatable. Here are some of the overall themes I’ll be exploring in this trilogy:
- Weakness vs Strength
- The Power of Belief and Believing in Someone
- Partnership vs Possession (as shown through the Partner Assignment system itself)
- Importance of Memories
- Understanding the Motivations of Others
- Embracing the Truth
- What is Love?
These are general statements to ensure I don’t give away any spoilers here! For those of you who have read it, you’ll likely understand perfectly.
Characters Inspiration and Quotes
You’re probably guessing that my favourite character would be the protagonist, Aurora Lovejoy, however it’s not… my favourite character to write is actually Will!
Aurora Lovejoy
This character definitely has a huge chunk of myself in her inner dialog and the way that she cares so deeply about the ones she loves. Her inner thoughts are obviously very similar to my own, but that’s where the similarities end! Her bravery and spunk are inspired by Isabelle Lightwood from the Shadowhunters series (on Netflix!)
On a more serious note, Aurora undergoes an impactful mental health journey throughout the book which I enjoyed experiencing through her mind.
Quotes:
Chapter 11 – “I spill my guts like a sinner in church.”
Chapter 17 – “Me. I am your weakness William Inch. Your hero’s complex to save me will destroy you.”
William Inch
The obvious love interest of the series, and Aurora’s assigned partner! Now don’t get me wrong, I love the hunky sexy strong-but-silent bad boy characters that usually dominate Teen Fiction novels, however those guys can cause some unrealistic expectations for girls. After reading those books I find girls are searching for the perfect boy when he doesn’t exist!
My hope in creating Will, a character with the obvious disadvantage of being very short, was to show a different side of Teen novels with an imperfect but amazing love interest.
Weirdly enough, my boyfriend is my inspiration, even though I wasn’t close to dating him at the time I designed this character! He has similar mannerisms, sarcastic remarks, a stubborn attitude, and a signature sideways grin that my bf has. They’re both undeniably loyal, a trait I value and admire. The exception is the height feature; my boyfriend is 6 feet tall. Will also has some of Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games in him (and who doesn’t love the boy with the bread!)
Quotes:
Chapter 8 – “Hello lover. Sorry I haven’t asked you out yet, I didn’t know we were dating.”
Chapter 12 – “I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into, but I don’t completely hate it.”
Skyler Inch
Okay, I have to include Sky on this list. He’s just way too much fun to write! He’s supposed to become the new Commander of the Protection (Oxbow’s military organization/police force) and yet he’s the biggest scaredy-cat ever.
Quotes:
Chapter 9 – “Move, MOVE! I will not die today!”
Chapter 12 – “Blink twice if you need help.”
Was it Hard to Write a Book?
Yes. That is the simple answer, but the complicated answer would be yes and no.
It is fairly easy to come up with book ideas and write a few chapters, however it is difficult to completely finish a story and wrap everything together to make enough sense to the reader but still leave them with some mystery.
Motivation can be challenging because writing is a lonely business. It is a passion that survives solely on motivation and determination which fluctuate depending on my mood, causing lots of Netflix breaks and glasses of Pepsi.
To be brutally honest, I wasn’t sure I would actually end up publishing this book but with the pressure from my parents (my mom telling me to “just do it!”) and my boyfriend encouraging me to finish the damn thing, I was able to pucker up the courage and do it! Definitely worth it!
My Amazon Experience
I published my book exclusively through Amazon and found it to be a great, user-friendly experience! Their how-to guides for formatting helped me to edit and format my paperback myself (saving money in the long run but adding to my hours spent on the book exponentially).
My paperback books have excellent colour pigmentation on the cover and the pages are the perfect thickness. The binding glue is done very well so I’m confident the book won’t be breaking apart anytime soon. Shipping did take three weeks but honestly with how beautiful the result turned out, I can’t complain.
I’ve always dreamed of publishing a book and luckily Amazon has made that dream easily achievable! On a side note, my mother “loves” the way my name appears on the book and my boyfriend says my name sounds like “an author’s name”. Thinking they might be a tad bias… but I’ll take it!
Order your Amazon copy today or purchase a signed copy from me!