This idea came from my experience with a life-threatening health crisis that prompted me to rethink the choices I was making with respect to my career, my family, and my bucket list!
Jamie Beck – 21 July 2023
The Back Flap
Winning the lottery changed Amy Walsh’s life, but the cost was greater than she could bear. In the aftermath, she struggles to find joy and purpose. Only one thing feels certain now—she will never spend one cent of the prize money on herself.
Worried, her older sister, Kristin DeMarco, invites Amy to live with her family while she heals. Unfortunately, this arrangement leads to trouble for Kristin: Divided focus affects her career. Her daughter prefers Amy to her. And Amy’s unsolicited opinions provoke tension between Kristin and her husband.
Meanwhile, Amy is making drastic plans of her own, which include giving away all her money. But first she must convince Kristin not to squander her most valuable asset—time with her family.
As the sisters help each other reimagine their futures, life’s unpredictability sends them to surprising places that test their love and resilience. Will they learn to live in the now, before it’s too late?
About the book
What is the book about?
The plot revolves around the needs of and relationship between two sisters, each of whom is struggling with different pain points in their lives. The cautionary tale is about the risk of not approaching every day as the gift it truly is.
When did you start writing the book?
I began outlining the idea in September 2021 and started to write it that December.
How long did it take you to write it?
Including research, outlines, drafts, and self-edits (not including publisher’s edits), roughly ten months.
Where did you get the idea from?
As the author’s note in the book describes, this idea came from my experience with a life-threatening health crisis that prompted me to rethink the choices I was making with respect to my career, my family, and my bucket list!
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I’ve had three “gift” books out of the nineteen I’ve written, and this was one of them. A gift book is one that flows readily from beginning to end without too many doubts or growing pains. That said, this is not an easy read. It touches on heavy topics in order to drive home its “live now, not when” theme, and there were times when I had to step back because I felt wiped out from a scene.
What came easily?
The emotions and relationship between the siblings, and Kristin’s personal struggles in particular. I didn’t set out to model her after me, but about halfway through the book, I realized that there were more similarities than I’d planned.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Ha! I just answered this a bit above. In addition to that, Amy is very loosely based on a woman in my county who, years ago, lost her three children and parents to a house fire on Christmas morning. I’ve never celebrated any Christmas since without thinking of her. I’ve read about her and listened to her interviews and TED Talk about how she overcame grief. Some people’s courage and resilience are a marvel and inspiration.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
There are certainly writers that I read often and admire (Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, Barbara O’Neal, Sonali Dev, Celeste Ng, Katherine Center, and so on). I don’t know that they’ve directly influenced my writing style, but I will occasionally study elements of their books when I’m trying to level-up my own work.
Do you have a target reader?
I don’t write with a particular reader in mind, but I suspect that my books would resonate best with a mature reader (30+) who enjoys realistic stories that grapple with universal themes like love, fidelity, grief, illness, and the like. I especially love when I hear from individual readers who tell me something I wrote has helped them reframe a similar issue in their real life.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I am not strictly wedded to a process, although I do tend to follow a pattern. I begin with a theme I want to talk about. I then try to create one or more characters who would have the hardest time living out that them (to create conflict/friction). At that point, I plot a series of turning points that will logically take a character from point A to point B on their growth arc. I don’t write until I have a decent outline, although sometimes I will get well into the book and make some course corrections when the outline isn’t working as I presumed it would.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
My outlines read more like a lengthy synopsis, so they stay high-level but do run through the majority of plot and turning points. The longest was 15 pages, but most are 5-7 pages long.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I edit as I go (about every four chapters, I’ll go back and comb through/clean/make adjustments). When I finish the draft, the first half is as good as I can make it, the second half usually needs more revision before I turn it in.
Did you hire a professional editor?
My publisher supplies developmental, line, copy, and proof-reading edits in five separate rounds.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I do, but nothing with lyrics. I can’t write while I’m listening to other words, so my playlists range from classical music to movie soundtracks to Indian chants and new age music.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes. I’m represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I’m not an independent author. All my books have been published traditionally.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
My publisher’s art department does the artwork, although I do get some say in that process.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
My publisher does a majority of the marketing, although I also hire an independent PR group to help support each book’s launch.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
I cannot give advice on this topic other than to say that, from watching friends who’ve done it, it requires you to become very savvy not just with the craft of writing, but also with all business aspects of the publishing industry. It seems best suited to those with a marketing or data/tech background.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Where do you live now?
I live in Southwestern Connecticut (and have since 1999).
What would you like readers to know about you?
I’m grateful for each person who spends several hours in any of the worlds I create, and I hope they leave my stories with some new understanding (whether of a topic in the story or with respect to their own perspective on things).
What are you working on now?
I’m superstitious and generally don’t like to talk about my books this early in their development, but I will say that it’s a romantic women’s fiction novel, and is the first one I’ve written that is set in my hometown (Pittsburgh) as well as the first one written entirely in one point-of-view. That’s been an interesting challenge (and I’m undecided on whether I will ever do this again!).
End of Interview:
For more from Jamie Beck, visit her website and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Get your copy of The Beauty of Rain from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
