The Second Daughter
by J. Jeffrey
Genre: Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Word count: 95,000
It had started out well. Umbrellas tangled. A storybook romance followed. A wonderful wedding. A beautiful, sweet first daughter. They were complete, a family, happy.
And then they went and had another daughter.
Her charming fraud of a father starts disappearing, then worse, coming back. Her once sweet older sister resents her, and the sisters are at constant war. Her poor harried mother is so busy what-iffing about the life she might have had that she overlooks the life she is actually having. Everyone blames younger daughter Debra for everything as the family disintegrates. Along the way there are secrets and lies, heartbreaks and betrayals, plus the dramatic unexpected death of a central character at a pivotal moment. Debra, now a young woman, finds herself living awkwardly alone with her embittered mother when the phone rings—and her mother’s secret past suddenly crashes back into the present. Their life may be about to change forever; or rather, perhaps, revert back to what it should have been all along.
But not because of that phone call, as it turns out.
Because of the remarkable second daughter. For what Debra Gale has is unyielding determination. What she has is an irrepressible capacity to love.
And now at last what she has is a chance.
The complex dynamics of a changing family. Mother, daughters, sisters, and the father who both divides and unites them. A fair amount of banana cream pie. The Second Daughter: a funny but poignant, unusual but beautiful love story.
This book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
How did you come up with the title for your book? Does it have any special meaning?
The Second Daughter is in the end (but not in the beginning) about the second daughter. The title nicely reflects the novel’s main themes (mother, daughters, sisters, family) as well as reminds the reader to interpret the story’s earlier events in terms of their eventual impact on the second daughter.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Theodore, the father, was the most fun to write, as he is quite larger than life in every respect (including physical!). But Debra, the second daughter, is the most admirable person: someone who does not give up and who overcomes quite challenging obstacles in order to turn out, well, normal.
Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
The Second Daughter grew out of an image I had one day yelling at my kids: that later I would regret how much I yelled at them (even when they so deserve it!). The pressures of parenting can turn you into somebody you don’t want to be, and a central theme concerns this kind of parental regret.
What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
There’s a sense of humor throughout the novel, even through the less happy parts of the story. This has a very specific purpose, one the reader discovers toward the end; and recognizing the humor throughout is key to realizing how uplifting the story actually is (despite some sad parts).
Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
“This is a truly unique love story. Oh, there is love between husband and wife, between parents and children but it’s the love between a mother and her second daughter that’s the highlight here. And it’s achingly sad in its beauty.”
Where can people learn more about your writing?
www.theseconddaughter.com
I’ve just read it, it’s awesome! … Lots of great Amazon reviews too, hope this book gets discovered ….