Author Guest Post with Lisa Fellinger: The Serendipity of Catastrophe

A mother defeated by anxiety. A daughter determined not to become her mother. Can one month in Europe reunite them?

Welcome to the April 23rd stop on the blog tour for The Serendipity of Catastrophe by Lisa Fellinger with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

How Do You Get the Characters in Your Head to Behave?

This is a great question, and one I’d like to know the answer to as well! It’s funny because as the author of a story, you’d think that you would have full control over the story and the characters, but that’s not always the case. I still remember the day several years ago when I was talking to my mom about the manuscript I was working on before The Serendipity of Catastrophe about a family of four. I was telling her about the young boy who was being bullied at school and I told her “I really hope he doesn’t end up committing suicide at the end.” She looked at me like I had three heads and asked why I didn’t just not let him do that. It sounds simple, but as writers, we know that we don’t always have complete control over where the story ends up and what the characters do.

In The Serendipity of Catastrophe, I initially imagined Carrie as a hippie-type of person. She was going to be very much a “take things as they come” kind of character, the complete opposite of her mother who always planned everything. My thought process in having her as this type of character was that having them be so vastly different would allow for a lot of tension between them. But as I started writing, it was clear that Carrie wasn’t that kind of person. Instead, she was much more like her mother than she wanted to acknowledge. And, interestingly, I think the fact that there were so many similarities between them ultimately led to more conflict. Carrie told me who she was as I started writing her story, and I’m grateful I listened and didn’t try to force her to be someone she wasn’t.

As writers, sometimes we need to let go of our own ideas of how a story looks in order to best serve the story. We might begin a story with certain ideas of how a character will be or what they’ll do, but if allowing them to do something different serves the story better, then trying to force our original ideas will make the story feel contrived. I believe that when our characters “misbehave” and do things we don’t expect them to, that’s a writer’s own instincts kicking in and telling them that their original idea isn’t working. A good writer knows to trust those instincts and follow the characters.

About the Book

The Serendipity of Catastrophe
by Lisa Fellinger

Published 19 March 2024
Bailey Marie Press

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Page Count: 266
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

A mother defeated by anxiety. A daughter determined not to become her mother. Can one month in Europe reunite them?

Anita Lorello is paralyzed by grief. When her husband dies in an accident the night before a long-awaited retirement trip, she’s devastated by the loss of her partner and once again shelves her dream to finally visit Europe. But when her estranged daughter agrees to accompany her nearly a year later, Anita is eager for the opportunity to repair their relationship.

Carrie Lorello’s life is crumbling. After a night of clouded judgment ends in her being fired, her mother’s offer of a one-month paid vacation seems like her best option. But she refuses to get caught up in her mother’s irrational worries and critical comments, and under no circumstances is she to learn what a failure Carrie’s proven to be.

Desperate not to lose her daughter again, Anita fights to conquer her anxiety and become the mother Carrie always wanted. But as Carrie’s life grows more and more complicated, her mother is the last person she wants to confide in.

Without anyone else to hold them together, can Anita and Carrie overcome their differences, or will the secrets between them derail their trip and destroy their relationship for good?

The Serendipity of Catastrophe is an emotionally compelling work of women’s fiction. If you enjoy travel stories, complex mother-daughter relationships, and lovably flawed characters, you’ll love this hopeful story of resilience and second chances.

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Excerpt

“Welcome to London,” the officer said.

Anita smiled, then pushed her way through the turnstile where she was reunited with Carrie.

“Ready?” Carrie asked, tucking her passport back into her purse.

She straightened as she fell into step beside her, full of resolve. She was through the flight, and immigration was less intimidating than she’d expected. Maybe this wouldn’t be so challenging after all.

Carrie led the way outside to the taxi stand, the crisp air and sunshine welcome after the stuffiness of the plane and airports. They slid into a waiting cab, Carrie gave the driver the hotel address, and they settled in for the half-hour cab ride.

Out her window, Anita took in her first glimpses of Europe as the sun began to fade into evening. She was in a country hundreds of years older than the United States, yet it didn’t feel old. There were old buildings, but more modern ones filled the spaces between them. Pedestrians passed by one another on the sidewalks, dressed much like people back home, checking their phones as they walked. Public buses exhaled to a stop in front of designated signs. New moms walked along with their strollers, couples passed by with dogs, and life continued on much the same as in Buffalo.

Anita smiled to herself, unable to believe she’d expected this to be terrifying. It was different, of course, but she was overcome with excitement, not fear. But wasn’t this precisely what she always did—built things up in her mind to the point she had no choice but to be terrified?

About the Author

Lisa Fellinger writes contemporary women’s fiction with lovably flawed, relatable characters. When she’s not writing her own stories, she’s helping others achieve their writing dreams as a book coach and developmental editor. She lives in Buffalo, New York with her husband, son, and fur babies.

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Giveaway Alert!

Lisa Fellinger will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

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