Center of Gravity (35 page)
Book one came out last summer. Book two is scheduled for next month. The cool thing is that I get all of the proceeds, which go straight to my college fund. Mom even takes me to book signings when I'm not in school, and Grandpa Frank usually comes along. He says he's my biggest fan.
Six months ago Grandpa Frank finally sold his house and moved to Mobile. He's so much a part of the family now that I can't seem to remember what it was like without him. Mom's got him volunteering, tutoring elementary school kids in math and science.
I know Isabel loves having him over for dinner because he always cleans his plate. And he's become close buddies with Graham. Every time they're over at the house, it's a contest to see who can come up with the craziest stories. Graham about courtroom drama, Frank about his time in the army.
I hear the pounding of Sam's feet on the wood floor. He runs up, breathless, his green eyes sparkling.
“How about a story?” I ask my brother.
“Superheroes,” he announces.
“My favorite,” I agree with a grin.
I grab a comic book from my room and get us settled on the sofa. Sam snuggles close and I begin to read, though I could recite the words from memory.
As we sit together, my thoughts go back to the past. Through all of the pain, through all of the good and bad. Because of the path my father chose to take, I've learned this much: some heroes are made, not born. They don't wear costumes or special amulets. They are mothers, men, kids, and regular people. They might get bruised, broken, or beaten down.
But they don't give up.
1. Jack is infatuated with all things superhero. Is this a typical phase or an unconscious way of dealing with his mother's death?
2. Ava seemed happy in her role as a student counselor and planned on returning after Sam's birth. Why does Mitchell send in her resignation to Mobile Prep?
3. Graham, as an outsider from Birmingham, seems able to observe the town objectively. How does this help him and hurt him as Ava's attorney?
4. Dr. Bennett is assigned to evaluate the child custody dispute. Is it possible for anyone to remain completely neutral in a case like this one?
5. Ava confesses to her mother that she and Mitchell are having marital problems. Why does her mother dismiss the conversation?
6. Mobile is Ava's hometown, yet she doesn't receive much emotional support from many friends or former coworkers after Mitchell files for divorce. Why is that?
7. Jack finds himself torn between loyalty to his father and love for a stepparent. Have you ever experienced this?
8. Frank Carson is shocked to discover that his grandson believes that he is dead. Why didn't he try harder to find Mitchell and Jack?
9. Mitchell Carson is determined to keep in contact with Jack. What message do you imagine his letters contain?
10. Sam is four years old when the novel ends. How will his father's incarceration affect his emotional growth and development as a young adult?
Deepest gratitude to my editor, Ami McConnell, and my associate editor, Karli Jackson, along with everyone at Thomas Nelson, especially Daisy Hutton, Amanada Bostic, Ansley Boatman, Katie Bond, Kristen Ingebretson, and Kristen Golden. From the moment I arrived in Nashville, I felt like part of the family. I am indebted, also, to my fabulous agent, Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein, for her guidance and advice.
I owe so much to author, editor, and friend Emily Heckman, who believed in Jack and Ava's story from page one. To my early readers, Jen McGee, Doug McCourt, Yvonne Edeker, Kelly McCulloch, Linda Moore, and Laura Pepper Wu, I can't thank you enough for your enthusiasm and encouragement. A Starbucks frappuccino and several lattes to Caroline Steudle for reading and reviewing the revised manuscript in record time on her way to St. Simons Island.
To my author and blogger friends, Tracie Banister, Jen Tucker, Karen Pokras, Jessica Sinn, and Tobi Helton, I am blessed to know you! Hugs to my Mobile, Alabama family: April Sanders, Jenny Good, Tara Jones, Mary Steudle, Chris Hughes, Bob Stewart, Julie Flotte, Ellen Odom, Cecelia Heyer, Simone Armstrong, Valerie Case, Jana Simpson, and Lisa Emanuelli.
Much appreciation to the Friends of the Mobile Library and all of the folks at Page and Palette Bookstore in Fairhope, Alabama who've shown so much support for my work. Much love to my
readers and friends throughout the world. Without you, none of this is possible.
A huge heartfelt thank you to my family. And to Patrick and John Davidâwho mean everything.
Laura McNeil is a writer, web geek, travel enthusiast, and coffee drinker. In her former life, she was a television news anchor for CBS News affiliates in New York and Alabama. Laura holds a master's degree in Journalism from The Ohio State University and is completing a graduate program in Interactive Technology at the University of Alabama. When she's not writing and doing homework, she enjoys running, yoga, and spending time at the beach. She lives in Mobile, Alabama, with her family.