Chatting with the author Amy Fellner Dominy:
Introduce us to Grace and her
mother, Janelle.
Grace is 17, an aspiring photographer who
prides herself in finding beauty in the world. Her mother is one of her
favorite subjects. Janelle Pierce is glamorous, sophisticated and ambitious—she
raised Grace all by herself while building a successful financial business.
Grace loves her mom more than anything, and she knows her mother loves her. A
mother always loves her daughter. Doesn’t
she?
What would be your
elevator pitch for The Fall of Grace?
The Fall of Grace is an adventure-suspense-survival-road-trip-romance.
What sparked the idea of
writing The Fall of Grace?
It started with Bernie Madoff. I followed
the story of the Ponzi scheme he ran—the biggest financial fraud ever that
destroyed thousands of lives. I
couldn’t imagine how someone could do that. Then I read that one of his sons
committed suicide. That stuck with me—the thought of a child discovering that
their parent was a monster. What would that be like? The shame. The sense of
betrayal. And what about guilt by association? How would you survive that?
Fast forward a few months.
A flash of a scene came to me: A girl
getting on a bus, carrying a knife and a backpack with her father’s ashes in
it. She’s desperate. She’s on a journey. She’s hated. Where is she going? What
is she looking for?
That image eventually lead me to The Fall of Grace, and a first scene
where a girl is at the bus station, carrying a knife and a backpack. She’s
desperate. She’s on a journey. She’s hated. The issues with a father became
issues with a mother who was not yet dead…but perhaps dying.
Ultimately, it became a book about family
and trust. About how we go on when the people who should love us the most,
betray us.
Did you do any research for this book? If so, how
did you go about it and why did you feel it was necessary to do so?
As the book began to take shape, I knew I
was going to have to do a lot of research. There were so many things I knew nothing
about—photography, strokes and comas, the FBI, financial crimes (or financial
anything.) The one thing I thought would be easy was the hiking part. Wrong!
Even though I’m a hiker, I needed to be familiar with a specific hiking trail.
That meant researching mountain trails. Once I settled on Blue Lakes in
Colorado, I had to do the hike myself, following Grace and Sam’s path—including
taking a wrong turn.
I actually like the research part because I’m
learning about interesting things. I about got myself arrested taking pictures
of the US Marshals office (not a good idea), but it was very cool meeting with
a Federal Prosecutor. The things I learned helped shape the book and I hope
that comes through on the page.
Photography plays a crucial role in the book. Are
you a photographer yourself? If not, why did you choose this particular talent
for Grace—and Sam?
I’ve always loved photography though I
didn’t know much about it other than “point and shoot.” Doing the research was
fun but I also discovered there’s a lot of math to it. I struggled to
understand f/stops and apertures.
I really wanted them to be photographers
because it fit with the greater themes. Grace prides herself on seeing truth in
the lens of her camera—but she doesn’t see the truth of her mother. It got me
thinking about what do people hide from us—what do we hide from others? I also
loved that photography is about the balance of light and shadow. It felt like a
perfect fit because Grace and Sam are both dealing with the fact that this is
true of people, too.
What was most challenging part of writing THE FALL
OF GRACE? Why?
This book goes back and forth between two
different time periods. It starts in August, when Grace is leaving town and
cuts back to May, when the first news about Grace’s mother comes to light.
Weaving in details from two different timelines turned out to work really well,
but it was much harder than I expected. Remind me never to do that again. J
The title is perfect. Did you
know what you were going to call the book immediately, or did the title come
later in the process?
When I started this book, the main
character’s name was Eva. I ended up having to change it because, well, I have a
weird thing for vowel names. I didn’t realize it until I looked at the names of
all my main characters. Ellie (OyMG); Tatum (Audition &
Subtraction—this is the one book where my daughter named the character); Abby (A Matter of Heart); Emma
(Die for You). Starting to see a pattern here? So I realized
I couldn’t do Eva. Even after I’d
come up with Grace, I’d titled the book Half
a Step from Heaven. It was my editor who suggested The Fall of Grace. (Thank you, Krista!)
Share a bit about you with
us. Have you always wanted to be a writer? What kinds of books do you enjoy
reading? What are your hobbies? What is your go to book/music/movie
recommendation of the moment?
I’ve been writing since I was a
kid—probably because I loved reading so much that I wanted to make up stories
of my own. I’ll read anything if the characters draw me in—I’ve had to stop
saying I don’t read Sci Fi or horror or thrillers. I read about people I care about
whatever the setting and situation (and whether they’re actual people or
not.)
When I’m not writing or reading, I want to be outside. I play tennis and golf.
I run, hike, and bike. Pretty much anything that doesn’t require snow or
speed—I’m a wimp who is always cold.
Book of the moment: I just re-read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Amazing!
Have you been betrayed? If
so, how did you come to terms with it—or the person who betrayed you?
I never thought of it as a betrayal—not
until I wrote this book. But I always had an uneasy relationship with my
stepmother who raised me. I had an idea in my head of what a mother-daughter
relationship was supposed to be. I read about them every year on Mother’s Day when
I went to buy a card at the store. And as much as I wanted a loving mom, I
didn’t have that with my stepmother. It’s something I struggled with. They say
writing can be therapy, and I think that’s part of what drew me to this story.
Grace thinks she has a loving relationship with her mom, but discovers that
perhaps she never really did. How does she come to terms with that? How do any
of us handle imperfect family relationships? After all, these are the people
who are supposed to love us the most. In writing this story and letting Grace
and Sam work through those questions, it allowed me to do the same. Without
giving away the ending, I hope this is a journey that will help readers who
grapple with the same issues.
Where can readers find you
online?
Instagram is my new favorite hangout:
amydominy. Look for me there! I’m also on Twitter (@amydominy), Goodreads, and
Facebook (amyfellnerdominyauthor.)
Book Excerpt :
Cecily leads the way
to the small waiting area outside the ICU doors. My heart thrums with a quiet
happiness in the middle of all this fear. Gabe is here.
I find him sitting in
the waiting area. His head is back against the wall, his long legs stretched in
front of him. Belatedly, I smooth a hand over my hair and say, “Gabe,
hi.”
He turns to me, the
expression on his face so strange my steps falter. “Hey, Grace.” Then he
stands and I see that he’s not alone on the bench.
“This is my dad,” Gabe
adds. His eyes shift, careful not to meet mine.
His dad? My training kicks in and I nod as he
stands beside Gabe.
“Hello, Mr. Woods.”
He’s handsome—tall and blond. I see where Gabe gets his looks.
“How is your mother?”
Mr. Woods asks.
“Not very good. She’s
had a stroke.” I try to catch Gabe’s eye, but he’s got his hands stuffed in his
jeans pockets and his gaze trained on a sign that says no visitors after 9:00
p.m. I feel like I’m missing something. Like I’ve turned on the TV in the
middle of a movie.
Mr. Woods steps
forward. “Well, we’re very concerned. I realize this isn’t the best time, but
there are reports.”
Gabe is still staring
at the sign.
I look to Cecily and
she asks the question for me. “What reports?”
“About the Family
Fund.” Mr. Woods hooks his thumbs in the pockets of his pressed khakis. “We’ve
invested, along with many others in this community. Because of Gabe’s
connection to you, Grace, we recently increased our commitment.”
Money? He’s here
because of money. My
head is shaking and I can’t seem to close my mouth. “I should get back,” I
finally manage, my voice cool. “Thank you for stopping by.”
Mr. Woods’s face
blotches red. “You’re her daughter. You must know something.”
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