Unsound (A Lei Crime Companion Novel) (22 page)
Read Unsound (A Lei Crime Companion Novel) Online
Authors: Toby Neal
The "pit" deep into a lava tube.
The cave where Russell and Dr. Wilson build a fire.
Silversword in bloom.
Wild endangered nene pose.
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knowledgements:
Some authors don’t do acknowledgements. Personally, I love them both as a reader and as a writer. It’s my chance to talk directly to my readers and explain a little about the book, where and why and what the heck for. Readers have let me know they like this too.
I’ve known since Dr. Wilson first appeared in Blood Orchids that I wanted to do a book with her as the protagonist, something more personal than the Lei books, something that revealed a “glimpse under the robes” of a working psychologist and showed more of the spunky, conventional yet unconventional woman she is.
In Jungian dreamwork, all the figures in a dream are thought to represent aspects of self—and in my writing, my characters, particularly my main characters, have been a chance to “actualize” different aspects that never will be shown in real life (and thank God for that). I think every writer will acknowledge that writing gives voice to imagined worlds within and that’s one of the reasons we write.
Dr. Wilson, however, is more personal and close to the “real me” than other characters, probably because she’s in my profession and near my age. Sometimes, when she talks it’s directly me speaking—for instance when she talked about joining clients in their pain. “That’s it exactly,” I said aloud, as Caprice Wilson put words to the unique calling of therapy and how it costs—and how it gives back. Her dry humor is also a bit how I roll in real life.
But, lest I start rumors: I am happily married for twenty-seven years to the amazing Mike Neal and I’m the oldest of four sisters in a wacky and wonderful family, the mother of two awesome well-adjusted twentysomethings (not twins!), and a social drinker who wishes she didn’t have to count calories every minute.
I was also excited to be able to use a fuller range of concepts, ideas, and vocabulary. Much as I love Lei, she’s more of an intuitive than intellectual character, and Dr. Wilson, with her degrees and expertise, was fun to write from without worrying about notes from my editor like I get on the Lei series: “Lei would not say “gloaming. She probably has never heard of it.” Boo.
I greatly enjoyed this foray in a different direction, while being aware it’s a risk and not all of you are going to love it. That said, I wanted to explore some deeper themes in this book. If any book clubs get inspired to read Unsound, here are some questions I was
exploring through this story that you might consider discussing:
*
What is the nature of psychopathy and is it inherited?
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Is anyone really “good” or “evil”?
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Was Russell Pruitt a psychopath or was Dr. Wilson wrong about him?
*
Why did Dr. Wilson become attached to Russell?
*
How are ideas both like free radicals or viruses?
*
What is the nature of hope, and how it can chain us to a certain longed-for outcome?
*
Why is an extreme setting like Haleakala Crater a good place for a book like this?
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How do you feel about addictions and the people who have them?
*
What do you think of the feeling Caprice had that she was the “copy” identical twin?
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How did the complication of Caprice’s grief for her lost twin add to her character?
These companion books each have their own flavor and feeling, one that the main character dictates. I definitely plan to do more with Dr. Wilson and her clients. I think they have a lot to teach us.
With much aloha,
Toby Neal, August 2013
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http://www.tobyneal.net/
:
Lei Crime Series:
Blood Orchids
(book 1)
Torch Ginger
(book 2)
Black Jasmine
(book 3)
Broken Ferns
(book 4)
Twisted Vine
(book 5)
Shattered Palms
(book 6)
Companion Series:
a Lei Crime Companion Novel (Marcella Scott)
Unsound:
a novel (Dr. Caprice Wilson)
Wired in
Paradise:
a Lei Crime Companion Novel (Sophie Ang)
Middle Grade/Young Adult
Path of
Island Fire
Women’s Fiction/Romance:
The Waiting Room
Sign up
for news of upcoming books at
http://www.tobyneal.net/
Toby Neal was raised on Kaua`i in Hawaii. She wrote and illustrated her first story at age five and credits her counseling background with adding depth to her characters–from the villains to Lei Texeira, the courageous multicultural heroine of the Lei Crime Series. “I’m endlessly fascinated with people’s stories.”
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