Always Waiting…will you ever really do this?

It takes time and patience and a lot of guidance to bring up a great dog! We’ve been through all the stages of grieving our last wonderful dog, Reilly to the swift adoption two months later of this boy, Wrigley. We didn’t have time to wallow too long, because this little shark-toothed boy, Wrigley was busy biting at my heels. But as Wrigley grew, and I spent more and more of my time nurturing my long-time main character, Ivy Leigh, my story grew and changed as well. And in all this time, Wrigley waited, sleeping under my feet, waiting to be walked, fed and snuggled. But now, it’s show time!

IVY LEIGH EVER AFTER actually came to me after the awful events at my former school, Sandy Hook in Newtown, which seems in some ways like a long time ago, but then again, like yesterday, really. My friend, Ann Leal, encouraged me to start writing again in my journal…hand writing my stories again, after I was a bit frozen and truly not myself for a while. I so wanted to do something. But what? I couldn’t stop the ache for  those that had been so directly destroyed by the horrors that happened at my little school, and inside my community.

But then, Ivy showed up on the page, I swear–without me focusing too hard on the details or the ‘what-about-it’ of story. It was a kind of magic I can’t describe, but it grabbed hold and  followed me for many years. Or, I should say I followed her. And yes, there are components of Ivy that relate to my own life story. She’s lost her mom at a young age. I’d lost mine at a younger age. There’s a dad that mirrors in some ways my dad. The houses on the street mirror my old neighborhood. But that’s where the mirroring ends and story takes over.

Ivy’s story is one of second chances. It’s what can happen if a community leans in and helps the kids in this world. Ivy is motherless at age eleven turning twelve, living in a family that’s grieving but at the same time is capable of a few snarky laughs too. She has all the problems of a normal middle grader. Should she leave all the best of childhood behind? Riding bikes and tromping around in the woods, getting messy and wet? Her best friends want her to take the leap, up her fashion game. And so does her fashion influencer sister, the relentless Vivian!  Ivy’s good friend, Michael, wants Ivy to ‘go out’ with him. But what does that even mean?

And then, there’s a pair of jealous bullies, Rachel and Winona. At a point of total weakness, these two push hard, and Ivy makes an enormous mistake, one she regrets right away. But it’s the help of the community that surrounds her, her neighbors and friends, like Mr. Winters, of Native American descent, but also a cowboy wannabe who helps set her on the right path. It’s Miss Aurelia, who can barely see, but has wisdom way beyond plain sight.

Ivy’s is a story of chaos and kindness, of love and forgiveness, of compassion found in the swirl of a turbulent situation. It’s truly a multi-generational story of sadness and laughter and of finding oneself, no matter the age, through the eyes and the hearts of others.

IVY LEIGH EVER AFTER will soon be available, with its beautiful cover, thanks to Moran Reudor of the Lollipop Art Studio, and all the guidance of The Blue Cottage Agency, who helped me find the courage to get Ivy’s story out into the world!

And, there’s more! My niece recently told me recently, it reads like an adventure story, could be a series! I chuckled at that. Of course, there’s more. I’m Irish…and full of stories. Ivy’s sequel is ‘under construction,’ but hopefully will someday make it out into the world too!

So please, hop over to Gael Lynch, Writer on Facebook and take a peek at Ivy–for the very first time, finally showing her face to the world! (I’d love for you to follow me there as well!)