Born and raised in Southern Californian, I love reading, writing, movies, and anything else related to the arts. Writing is something I’ve thought about my whole life, so the completion of her first novel, In Search of Lucy, is truly satisfying. I have a B.A. degree in Journalism and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. My most enjoyable moments are spent with my family, traveling, spending time outdoors, or simply laughing and being together. Our long-time tradition is family movie night where we sit on the floor, eat dinner and watch a movie. You can find out more about “In Search of Lucy” including sample chapters and reviews at http://www.liafairchild.com or follow me on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/#!/liafairchild
IAN. Please tell us about In Search of Lucy
Thirty-year-old Lucy Lang’s in freefall. Unfulfilled at work and abandoned by both her alcoholic mother and the sister she helped to raise, she's become cynical and depressed. Then, just as romance strikes, she finds out her sister needs a kidney transplant and only Lucy can help. Bolstered by new found friends, Lucy sets out on a road trip to save her sister's life and in the process, makes discoveries about the kind of person she truly is.
This romantic drama will pull you into the world of its heroine and inspire you to see the true power of human relationships.
IAN. How long did it take to write the book?
LF. It took less than a year to write In Search of Lucy. I think it was about 10 months, so it was kind of like my little baby.
IAN. What inspired you to write the book?
L.F. I’ve always loved creativity and always wanted to create something big and lasting. That feeling intensified when I started having children. I guess that’s what happens when you see your replacement. I had been trying to find my place in a career and made two major career changes, but I still wasn’t content in what I was doing. It dawned on me that I needed to put all of the ideas running through my head to good use. When I finally made the commitment and the idea of In Search of Lucy came to me, I felt such a drive to write the story. The most important thing to me was that I didn’t give up and I saw the project through to completion.
IAN. Talk about the writing process. Do you write at night or in the morning?
LF. During the school year, I’m a substitute teacher. On days that I’m not working, I write while the kids are in school. It helps to have a nice quiet house. Once I got the book out there, I soon discovered I had a lot to learn about marketing and the process of getting your book to the public. Now, I struggle to fit everything in; family, marketing, writing, living.
IAN. Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?
LF. I didn’t need an outline because the whole idea came to me at once. I already knew exactly where the story was going to go. The one thing I did do was keep a chapter log as I went. It basically summarized in a sentence or two what the chapter was about. This helped me to make sure the flow of the book was right and that it kept a nice pace.
IAN. How is In Search of Lucy different from others in your genre?
LF. One of the reviews I received said they liked that my main character was not a perfect heroin. Lucy has flaws, but she is trying to overcome most of them. I think another reason my book is different is the story line is a unique one. The idea that someone may not want to live their life any longer but suddenly has no choice to save a loved one is interesting to me. I think readers will agree.
IAN. Is your book published in print, e-book or both?
LF. You can get In Search of Lucy in print or as an e-book and is available on several sites, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.
IAN. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading In Search of Lucy?
LF.I hope readers will simply enjoy the story. I want them to feel that they’ve really got to know some interesting characters. I hope that they will see how important the relationships in our life are and how they affect our perception of own identity.
IAN. Where can we go to buy the book?
LF. Amazon US
LF.I just released two short stories. The first is a romance called Special Delivery and is about a widow that wins free flowers every month for a year. It’s been on the Amazon Kindle Indie book “Hot New Release” list for a few weeks now and has been downloaded more than 18,000 times. You can get it now for just .99 cents http://amzn.to/nAjQGh
You can find me on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/lia.fairchild.author
Watch the trailer for In Search of Lucy at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvp7vItINng
In the car, there was a brief moment of awkward silence until he began to search for music. He pressed number three on the CD player. “You like Green Day?” he said looking straight ahead.
“Sure.”
“I remember now…you never did talk that much in school.” He chuckled.
That was an unsettling statement to respond to. She didn’t want to just start rambling like an idiot to prove him wrong, or keep sitting there like some wallflower. The pressure of the silent seconds ticking in her head caused a sudden, yet casual, “Sor-freakin-ry.”
Taken by total surprise he burst out laughing. “Well I didn’t expect that.” He put a hand on her knee. “I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said. “Listen, I’m supposed to meet some friends for a get together. Do you want to go? It’s just a few people for drinks and it’s not too far from here.”
“Sure, why not,” she replied surprising herself.
“I just need to stop by the store. I always hate walking in empty handed.”
Now at JPs Market, Lucy waited in the car while Kyle ran in to grab some wine for the party. Sitting there, Lucy suddenly began to feel that this was a big mistake. Her fight or flight was kicking in and she thought the latter would be a much better option. She wondered why she had agreed to go with him. But, she knew why. Did she really think she could make it through a party being nice and polite to total strangers; enough for Kyle to like her and want to spend the night with her? Was she even sure that was what she wanted? The anxiety was rising in her and she was starting to lose the buzz she earned earlier in the evening.
Nervously, Lucy looked at her phone, then out into the store window. She glanced around all the angles of the car to see who was around. For a second she almost opened the door to get out and leave. In the back seat she noticed a small bag that looked like it was for toiletries. She grabbed it and began to rummage through it. It seemed to hold the usual stuff: mini toothpaste, floss, shampoo. Then she saw a prescription bottle. She yanked out the bottle and turned until she saw what it was; Vicoden.
Looking up she noticed that Kyle was not at the cash register yet. What was she considering here? What would he think of her if he found out? At this point she didn’t really care. Besides, he wouldn’t miss a few and it’s always good to have a few pain killers around for emergency. Not to mention the fact that she needed to ease her current tensions. Popping open the bottle, she poured four pills into her hand. Holding them tightly in her hand, she replaced the cap and put the bottle back in the bag. She opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. On the side there was a zipper which she opened and tried to pour the pills in. To her dismay, only one pill fell in and the other three dropped between her legs. She looked up in a panic to see where Kyle was and found him paying at the counter. Now she really felt idiotic. She dug down and pulled one out and dropped it in the wallet. Two more she thought. Kyle grabbed his change and headed back to the car as Lucy dropped her wallet in her purse and set it on the floor.
“Hey,” he said as he slid in the car. He reached in the bag, pulled out a candy bar and handed it to her. “Here, I got you a treat,” he said smiling.
Lucy took the chocolate and replied, “Oh…thanks.” She couldn’t decide if that was strange or sweet, but she was leaning more towards sweet.
Kyle set the bag on the back seat next to the little black bag.
Lucy smiled, trying to act casual, and put her hands between her thighs as if she was cold, which actually she did feel a little chill. In the dark he wouldn’t notice her looking for the pills so she began feeling around.
“Oh, I’ll turn the heater on for you,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said still running her fingers around. Then, she felt them in the crease of the seat. “Mind if I have a sip of your water?” She gestured to a bottle with her head.
“Sure, but it’s been there a few hours.”
“That’s okay. My throat is really dry.” She turned her head to look out her window, popped the two of them in her mouth and took a long drink from the bottle. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He smiled but kept his eyes on the road.
Ten minutes later they arrived at a two-story home in a family-style neighborhood. Kyle grabbed the bag, got out of the car and started to walk around to her side intending to open her door. Before he got there she was already opening the door to get out. The cool breeze felt exhilarating on her skin and flying through her hair. She froze for a brief moment to enjoy it and then her expression faded.
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