Toni M. Andrews - Heartache, Love, Anguish and Forgiveness

Toni M. Andrews developed her love for creative writing in elementary school with the encouragement of teachers and classmates. In college, she shifted to journalism and is currently a communications and public relations professional working in higher education.Her professional career has included work on a local newspaper, governmental affairs, as well as media relations at The White House. She owned and operated a full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations firm for over twelve years and served as vice president of communications for a community bank. She has served on a variety of business, educational and community organization boards.She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government & Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a minor in journalism and contemporary U.S. History. She worked on a weekly newspaper and as a freelance writer for a magazine. Two of her creative works have been published in The Washington Post.Toni is the founder of the Facebook Group, The Baby Boomer Experience, which explores the political, social, and cultural events of that era and their impact on the “coolest” generation. She currently resides in Virginia where she has been active in the community while raising her two children. She loves sharing stories and songs from her youth with her granddaughter, Tillie.The Road to Second Chance is her first novel. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about it.Please give us a short introduction to what The Road to Second Chance is about.The Road To Second Chance tells the emotional journey of an American family from JFK to 9/11. Set in 1962 in the dying coal mining town of Second Chance, the story follows Laney Mae Martin, whose happy childhood is shattered following the tragic death of her father in a car crash on an icy mountain road. But he is not alone; beside him is a woman, also dead. Who was she? Why was he out with her? This emotional upheaval ignites a profound journey of self-discovery as Laney struggles with her loss and the chaotic environment created by her mother, Faye, who is steeped in bitterness, convinced her husband was cheating on. her. Family dysfunction, emotional abuse and unanswered questions about her father impact the girl who finds solace in a portrait of President Kennedy, and other imaginary father figures. As a divorced, single mother, Laney Mae must now contend with her mother's pending death, hoping for answers about her father before it is too late.The Road to Second Chance explores themes of grief, family secrets, and resilience. What inspired you to write this story?I was inspired by my father's life and the tragic outcome of incorrect assumptions which have lifelong repercussions. I was also inspired to tell a story about the poor and disadvantaged. As a student of contemporary history, I have always been fascinated by President John F. Kennedy's life and impact. I weave his campaign and victory in the West Virginia Primary of 1960 into the story, along with his death. My goal was to correlate the sudden, shocking death of the president with the sudden, shocking death of this family's father. How do we cope with dark days? How to we gain a "second chance" when all seems to be lost?The novel is set in both a dying coal town in West Virginia and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. How did these contrasting settings shape Laney Mae’s journey?The contrast makes her aware of the "haves" and the "have nots." She and her family are often bullied and teased as "hillbillies" when they arrive in the DC suburbs. Back in Second Chance, some relatives feel left behind when Faye relocates to make a fresh start with her nice home, color TV and job at the Pentagon. Overcoming stigmas and stereotypes is a theme throughout the story -- particularly with the character Harriet "Harrie" Hartman, Laney Mae's aunt, who has Down syndrome and yet, is the heroine of the story.Laney Mae’s grief is intertwined with national tragedies like the assassination of President Kennedy. Why did you choose to connect her personal loss to historical events?I love this question. National events impact us all. They trickle down into our lives whether a policy or a war (Vietnam), etc. JFK's murder was like a psychological tsunami. It was the first televised "death." It was my first encounter trying to comprehend death (at just 3-1/2 years old). My goal was to show that we will always have dark days like his death, like the terrorist attacks on 9/11 -- even following joyful ones -- and it is how we cope and sustain our beliefs and let our light shine, that allows us to carry on.The mystery surrounding Laney Mae’s father is a key driving force in the story. Did you always know how the mystery would unfold, or did it evolve as you wrote?I always knew why Gil Martin had the other woman in his car, but I did not plan on the connection to another character, Matt Gray. That evolved beautifully.The novel features complex family dynamics, including an emotionally detached mother and an abusive stepfather. How did you balance the portrayal of trauma with the theme of hope and healing?One way was to inject the character Jake, Laney Mae's cousin. He's unique and humorous and perpetually hopeful in a matter-of-fact way. Another was to show how Laney Mae develops coping mechanisms (imaginary fathers, focusing on her son and his future) despite all her challenges. One of my favorite parts of the story is when 10-year-old Laney Mae stands up to the "prissy" girls at school who bully her. They follow her home from school one day and taunt her, calling her a hillbilly and Laney Mae takes a stand. Loved writing that scene!Laney Mae’s longing for a father she never knew leads her to create an idealized image of him. How does this shape her decisions and emotional growth throughout the book?Her imaginary father "Dandy" becomes her conscience. He guides her and encourages her and of course, this is really Laney Mae coping in her own way. He stays with her throughout her childhood and nearly to the end of the story.Faye is a deeply flawed character, but she’s also a mother dealing with her own pain. How did you approach writing her character?Interestingly, Faye was probably one of the easiest characters for me to develop because of her complicated personality. She's a definite narcissist and I think we've all probably encountered at least one person with this personality disorder in our lives. But I wanted Faye to be a bit more complex. She's someone who professed to be righteous but one who ignored her own children's pain in favor of her own needs too often. She's religious but sees right through the TV evangelicals who use God to raise money. She is often hard on Laney Mae but soft with her grandson, Christopher.The book includes a cast of colorful and sometimes difficult characters. Were any of them particularly challenging to write?Actually, not at all. I love them all and developed a character inventory so I had basic bios for the key characters. There were a few characters I had to do away as an editor wisely told me I was going off on an unnecessary tangent that wasn't moving the story forward.The novel explores the impact of childhood trauma. What do you hope readers take away from Laney Mae’s story?I hope they take away the fact that we are all vulnerable and that emotional abuse is abuse, period.Forgiveness is a central theme in the book. Do you believe all characters in the story find redemption, or are some wounds too deep to heal?Yes, forgiveness is the ultimate second chance. When we forgive, we give the person we are forgiving and ourselves a second chance. Sometimes the person we have to forgive, is ourself. Yes, Laney Mae, Neal, Christopher, Frank, Harrie, all are "redeemed" in the story. And Laney Mae's mother, Faye, and her father Gil, posthumously in the eyes of their family. Gladys is too, more so indirectly, as she is able to acknowledge her fear over her daughter ever having a relationship with Neal due to their race.The title suggests that second chances are possible. What does a “second chance” mean for Laney Mae and other characters in the book?Forgiveness and the chance to start again. Laney Mae is able, with encouragement from her mother's friend, Gladys, to ask Faye for forgiveness, despite carrying so much anger toward her for so long. It's an incredibly healing moment. Faye is just hours away from death and Laney Mae is not certain that she even hears her.You spent decades developing this novel. Can you share what that journey was like?Ernest Hemingway said, "If there's a story inside you, it's got to get out." I think that's very apt. The story took various forms. There were a lot of stops-and-starts. When the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened, I was greatly impacted emotionally. I could not write -- nor read a book -- for a long time. It all felt trivial and relatively unimportant given what happened. So, I ended up weaving 9/11 into the story. Also, it's really hard when you are writing a novel and no one cares if you finish it or not -- no one except you. When I shook off all the self-doubt and decided this was my story and I was going to write it how I wanted to write, and it only mattered if I liked it, that was freeing. Having encouragement from a terrific editor really helped.How did your background in journalism and communications influence your writing style?I loved writing from an early age. Because of my love of history, I knew it had to be a story with a backdrop of some critical era in American history. The period between JFK and the 9/11 terrorist attacks is one of tremendous change in all areas: political, social and cultural. The journalist in me wanted to incorporate the realism of that but take it and create a fictitious family whose own drama and dysfunction played out against that backdrop. Having the Hartman family meet and connect with JFK as he campaigned in the West Virginia Primary is a good example of this.What’s next for you as an author? Are you working on another novel?Currently I'm trying to proactively market this novel. When The Road To Second Chance published, I was really sidetracked with work and going through a divorce and not able to focus on promoting the book much. I have just starting working with a marketing consultant who has been amazing, and it's renewed my excitement despite all the challenges of being an indy published author. I do have another novel in mind but need to put an outline on paper.