The Goodbyes by Helen Gillespie

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I don’t have an answer to this question. The story needed to be told, so I told it. The genre is where it landed.

What research is required?

I needed to research or confirm the technology available in 1992, when the story I told took place. Also, I needed to refresh my memory about the Webster and Greene County, Missouri area. Specifically, I couldn’t remember if I44 had been completed at the time. And, one thing I had totally forgotten about was that the speed limit in the area, including Interstate 44, was 55 miles per hour.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

If there’s hesitation about doing something, sometimes it is the universe saying, “Don’t do it.” If a person decides to do something anyway and it remains a little creepy, definitely don’t do it. Also, our parents hold secrets too, secrets so painful, they can’t be shared until it’s almost too late.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I often dream up and develop scenes and dialogue while taking a shower or doing other human things. If I recall what I've dreamed up, developed, or refined while doing my human things, I let the information flow through my fingers and onto the computer keyboard. After I run out of words, I go back to the start and fine-tune what I’ve written.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I am more of a pantser. However, as I develop my sequel, I’m trying to be more of a planner, especially when it comes to a timeline. It’s crucial so that my sequel makes sense.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

A whiteboard with various reminders sits directly to my right. Above it, I have a collage of memorabilia from my Army service.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Oh yes! Aside from the gobbledygook I write just to be silly or warm up my brain, I hope to publish a sequel to The Goodbyes. It will contain more emotional scenes and expose more secrets from the core set of characters I introduced in The Goodbyes.

Do you have a question for our readers?

I want to know what the greatest lessons readers learned between the ages of 18 and 25.

Struggling with becoming an adult in a small mid-western town, Dianne must confront family secrets, deception, and discovery during her last year of college. As she cares for her ailing mother, her world begins to unravel and she is challenged to navigate through lies, friendships, love...and murder.

Meeting the wrong person makes it possible for her to recognize the right ones and to find the strength she needs to survive. Realizing that she is responsible for her own destiny, she learns that to say hello to a new life, she must first say goodbye.

Read an Except

Although hesitant, Dianne prepared for her date with more apprehension than she had earlier when she prepared for her first day in the classroom. Weirdly, she hoped she would be stood up.

“Sorry I’m late. The ladies at work needed me to stop by and help them,” Michael told Dianne when she answered the door.

“Hi, Michael. Please, come in. Do people ever call you Mike?”

“Naw, ever since the second grade there was this other Michael, and everyone called him Mike and me Michael. It kinda stuck.”

“Makes sense. I’m almost about ready. I’m going to finish putting these towels away, and I’ll be ready to go.”

“Your momma okay?”

“Yes, she’s in the room sleeping. Thank you for asking.”

Dianne was surprised to hear Michael ask about her mother and not instantly jump into something about himself.

“See, I’m not as bad as you thought this morning.” Michael stared at Dianne as though he expected appreciation for his politeness.

“I hope not,” Dianne said, smiling while placing the last of the towels in a nearby closet.

“Dianne, you leaving?”

“Yes, Mom. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I was getting up and heard Michael come in. Ken should be over in about an hour, and he’s bringing me something to eat.”

Dianne disappeared briefly from Michael’s sight into her mother’s room to kiss her goodbye.

“You going to be okay, Mom?”

“Yeah, my boyfriend’s coming over and bringing dessert,” Katrina said, smiling and forcing her eyes open.

About the Author: Throughout grammar school and college, Helen Gillespie loved developing story sketches or full stories but kept them hidden within herself. That creative spark proved valuable in unexpected places, first on assignment as a musician in the US Army, and after leaving the Army, when she earned a degree in elementary education. After reentering the Army in 1981, she put pen to paper, or rather, “fingers to an Olivetti.” She officially learned the art of journalism to serve the Army, but it quickly became a personal passion. Interviewing fellow soldiers, exploring their jobs and personalities, and publishing useful information for the military community formed the basis of her skill and enjoyment. Those years of thought, training, education, and experience laid the foundation for crafting her first novel, The Goodbyes.

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