Her Secret Son
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If you were Josh, what would you have immediately done when you realized Logan wasn’t Grace’s child? What would have pushed you to make that choice?
Josh blamed himself for his parents’ and Grace’s deaths. What kept him from spiraling downward after Grace died, and how hard do you think he had to fight not to spiral again? What might have happened if he did?
Josh intended to give Logan up only if his parents were good, decent people. What did you make of that decision? If Logan had been Charlie Abbott or Alex King, what should Josh have done, and why?
What scene was the most pivotal in the story for you? How would the novel have changed if it had been different, or hadn’t taken place? What did you expect to happen?
Given Emily’s circumstances—her family history, and what she thought she did to Alex—how did you feel about her giving Hunter/Logan up?
What might have happened if Grace refused to take Hunter/Logan from Emily? What would you have done if you’d been Grace on the bridge that day?
Emily’s father and husband betrayed her in different but devastating ways. Did that betrayal justify her attacking Tyler, and why? What do you think ultimately made her take her own life?
How do you think Josh will cope with the lies in the long run? Will he ever be able to move past them, and if so, how? What about when he finds a new partner? Do you think he’ll share the truth about Logan?
How do you feel about Josh not telling Logan about his true identity? Can a situation ever justify hiding someone’s reality from them? What might happen if Logan found out five, ten, twenty years later?
If Grace hadn’t died, do you think her relationship with Josh would have survived long-term? What do you think he’d have done if she’d confided in him about Logan?
If Josh hadn’t found Alex’s bones, but had discovered Logan was indeed Hunter, what do you think he’d have done? Could he and Emily have found happiness, why or why not, and if yes, how?
A Conversation with Hannah Mary McKinnon
What was your inspiration for Her Secret Son? Did the story start and end the way you first imagined, or did it evolve along the way?
I was at the gym one morning, watching a news report about a young woman who’d been kidnapped at birth, and lived a lie for the first eighteen years of her life. Initially I thought about crafting a story where a young boy was raised in a healthy, happy home before discovering he wasn’t their child—how would that affect his love for them? What if he much preferred his kidnapping parents to the real ones, and wanted to stay with them?
However, as I sat down to plot the story, I started wondering what if the boy’s birth mother had secretly given him up instead? First of all, I imagined the scene with two strangers—Grace and Emily—on a bridge in the rain, one of them begging the other to take her child. Then Josh strolled up to me (well, in my head, anyway) and said, “How about if I was Grace’s partner and had no idea her son wasn’t hers until she died?” That was it—I needed to tell his story.
What did you enjoy the most about writing the novel? Any seemingly insurmountable hurdles?
I adored writing the relationship between Josh and Logan, the bond between father and son. We have three boys, so I drew a lot of inspiration from watching them with my husband. I also thoroughly enjoyed writing an entire novel from a male character’s perspective—something I’d never done before, and which stretched me as a writer.
As for the hurdles—there were a few. Strangely, I found having a whole story with only one viewpoint character more challenging (there were four in my previous book, The Neighbors). In fact, at the beginning I took the novel in a slightly different, more “conspiracy plot” direction, and gave Ivan a few of his own chapters. My editor, Michelle Meade, suggested I strip them out, allowing me to develop Josh and Emily’s relationship more. She was right (she’s brilliant!), and doing so helped me rewrite the ending, too, something else I’d struggled with for a while because I couldn’t decide who to kill off!
You set the story in Albany, New York, and Faycrest, Maine, but your protagonist, Josh, is British. Can you tell us what was behind those choices?
I’d tried a North American setting while drafting The Neighbors, but found myself second-guessing whether the “voice” was right, if the expressions I used and the way the characters talked were American enough. It slowed me down, so I moved the setting to the UK. Consequently, when I was writing the proposal for Her Secret Son, and Michelle asked if I’d consider setting the story in the US, I was hesitant. However, I decided if I made Josh a Brit, I wouldn’t worry about the voice, so it was an entirely strategic decision based on my comfort levels and abilities. Maybe for the next novel I’ll feel confident enough to make it all-American.
As for setting Her Secret Son in upstate New York and Maine, I wanted it to be somewhere I’d been, and could easily return to. On the other hand, Faycrest is an entirely fictional place, which meant I could take whatever creative liberties I needed, and not upset any residents of a real town.
In reality, I believe my stories could happen almost anywhere. The novels are about everyday people and their relationships rather than the geographical location.
Speaking of everyday people, you throw them into difficult circumstances and place them under immense pressure. What draws you to writing family dramas?
I’m fascinated by the resilience and strength of people, how they cope when faced with tragedy, what they do to survive—including the lies they tell themselves, and each other. Our experiences, both good and bad, shape who we become, and shape us differently, which is equally interesting to explore. Creating difficult but entirely fictional circumstances for my characters provides the opportunity to think about how, and why, people have varying reactions to the same situation. I hope my stories also make the reader wonder what they would do if they found themselves in my characters’ shoes.
What’s your writing process like? Do you outline, or dive right in? Do you write the chapters consecutively, or jump around?
The more I write, the more I plan. My novels start with an idea—something that pops into my head, a radio segment, a newspaper article or a discussion I overheard somewhere. I noodle the thoughts around my head for a while as the main characters slowly take shape. The next step is to write an outline. I start by jotting the main plot points on sticky notes, which I then use as stepping-stones to build and write the rest of the outline. I fill out personality questionnaires for my main characters to understand them better, and search for photos on the internet to build a gallery I stick on my pin board. By this point I’m raring to go.
Whether I write the chapters consecutively or not depends on if I get stuck—if I do, I jump ahead and trust myself to be able to backfill later. I write a very basic, largely unedited manuscript that’s about two-thirds of the final word count, then layer and develop until I’m happy calling it a first draft, and send it to Michelle. That’s when the real editing work begins, which is fabulous because I know the story will become a thousand times better with her expert input.
What’s been the biggest surprise since becoming an author?
Hands down the writing community. I’ve never, ever worked in an industry that’s so supportive. Having an entire publishing team that’s rallying behind my novels is incredible. It also amazed me to discover how authors don’t see one another as competition, and are genuinely excited about, and interested in, helping each other—it’s truly wonderful. I’ve made so many new friends and feel very fortunate and privileged to have become part of the community, and be able to help others in return.
What can you tell us about your next project?
My fourth novel is another family drama/suspense story about two half sisters who don’t know the other exists. When one of them finds out, she decides she wants the life she sees as rightfully hers—the other sister’s—and will stop at nothing to get it, eve
n if it means destroying her sibling. I can’t wait to introduce these new and messed-up people to the world. I should also mention my sister, Joely, is fabulous, so this novel is definitely not based on personal experience!
ISBN-13: 9781488088629
Her Secret Son
Copyright © 2019 by Hannah McKinnon
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