Blurb
Everyone should have something to rebel against.
Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.
Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.
When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.
Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.
Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.
When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.
Interview of Charles Sheehan-Miles:
Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?
Let’s see… I’m forty one years old. I served in the Army during the 91 Gulf War, and spent much of the last two decades involved in one way or another in veterans’ issues, primarily focused on Gulf War veterans’ illnesses, PTSD and other related issues.
I met the love of my life in an independent bookstore in Atlanta (Oxford Books) and we got married in the bookstore on April Fools Day of 1994. You have to have a sense of humor about these things. We’re coming up on 19 years, now, and have two great kids, 17 and 12. My family is very supportive of my writing.
What a romantic story! Now, to your book, what is your favorite scene in A Song for Julia?
Julia, the title character, comes from a diplomatic family, and in the course of the story her father, a retired ambassador, is asked to go to Iraq with a UN team to attempt to negotiate with Saddam Hussein’s government. Julia, unwillingly, is dragged along to a dinner at the White House with President and Laura Bush. It’s an awkward scene, full of hidden tension that most of the characters don’t understand at all, but I tried to focus on keeping it very human and sometimes funny. I really enjoyed writing that one.
Fascinating. I guess that's where your experiences in Iraq come in.
As I writer, I'd like to know if you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?
I tend to get to know my characters as I go along. Sometimes I get surprised, and find out things that I hadn’t planned, and that take the story in a different direction than I originally anticipated. I love it when that happens, though usually that means going back and rewriting early chapters in order to stay consistent.
With Crank and Julia, I knew just the barest sketch about them, from a few paragraphs of Just Remember to Breathe. I knew Julia had defied her parents and ended up managing Crank’s band, I knew the name of the band… and that was just about it. So when I started the story, all I had was a date and two characters. Everything flowed from there.
Thanks so much, Charles and I wish you the best of luck.
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Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a digital copy of A Song for Julia. Winner will be randomly chosen on December 25.
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Tour Schedule
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I like the sound of this- especially how your (very cool) life has colored your writing. Julia sounds like a great protag :)
ReplyDeleteThe dinner at the White House scene sounds interesting. I'd like to read it.
ReplyDeletecatherinelee100 at gmail dot com
This book does sound good. I love hearing how authors' lives influence their stories. Thanks so much for the giveaways.
ReplyDelete