Friends with a Brick Wall,
my first stand alone novel:
Part way through my journey of writing my Fleeting Distress series, I found it was difficult to sometimes find motivation, especially when I was stuck with how I wanted the story to continue. To help with writer's block, I dabbled with the concept of a stand alone story. Although I had a plot idea in my head, I only ever wrote the first page of this story.
Once I finished my series, I revisited this story concept and ended up busting out a completed book in only a matter of months. Again, I chose to go the route of self-publishing for the same reasons as before, but also because I had such success with my series. I completed everything to self publish it, but then just never released it. I think by this time I was starting to question if I wanted to take my writing more seriously. Several years later I ended up just releasing it, since everything was finalized, but looking back I wish I would have waited and polished the book more.
Like my series, this book is likely still floating around on the internet. It's undeniably better than the first couple books of the Fleeting Distress series, but it stills lacks some key elements. I think this novel's biggest downfall is it's pacing, as I feel the ending is a bit rushed. There's also, of course, a few pretty cringey scenes since it was written by a teenager.
PLOT
The story follows the lives of two sixteen-year-olds. Andrew is flunking out of school, suffering from a lack of care due to his less than fortunate home life, and his stepmonster (stepmother) has convinced his father to send him to military boarding school should he flunk out. He moves schools to get a fresh start on his last chance, but finds things aren't any better. Except there are rumors of a girl in his grade named Peyton--who seems like a god among students--and an advice giving brick wall downtown that might just be able to help him.
Peyton is the mayor's daughter, and the mayor is a horrible father. She ran away from home and lives on the streets of downtown. Small local business owners and homeless men take her in under their wing. She only goes to school once a month to take her exams, always passing with flying colors, and her peers are all jealous of her independent lifestyle. Peyton is mostly intrigued by the new boy Andrew, who she nicknames Boring Boy, because he is, quite literally, boring.
Andrew gets attached to Peyton, thinking she's his only saving grace to avoid boarding school, and she does her best to help him learn the importance of living life, not just getting good grades in school. Their lives are further complicated by a new guidance counselor the mayor appoints to specifically get Peyton back in school, and Sophia Pearl, another girl in their grade who seems to have a crush on Andrew and a were fixation on Peyton.
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Things go downhill quickly as we discover Sophia Pearl has sociopathic tendencies, a long, complicated relationship with Peyton, and a taste for revenge. The guidance counselor finds an awe in the way Peyton lives and views the world, and agrees to cover for Andrew and Peyton when they flee the city after Sophia Pearl threatens to kill them.
Unfortunately, this story has a rather bitter end. Andrew learns more about the real meaning of life, but never gets a real redemption arc. And Peyton, who has the potential to go on to a great career, ends up living her life as a truck stop hooker (not that there's anything wrong with sex work!).
THEMATICS
My main inspiration point for writing this story was that I was feeling unbelievable pressure from school. As we neared the end of high school, all my classmates and I were fighting for perfect GPAs and good ACT scores. I've always been frustrated with the grading system in America, and how grades don't really define you as a person. I wanted to write a story to reflect how there is more to life , something so many students and adults seem to forget.
I also wanted to toy with the idea that not everyone has to be born to be a leader. In education, every advisor is always shoving down your throat that you need to be a good leader, that colleges want leaders, yadda yadda. Leaders are important, but I think people tend to forget that not every leader needs to look like a manager, or a president, or a CEO. There are small ways in which you can be a leader. Also, sometimes one's role in life could be to influence and inspire another person, who will then go on to become a leader themselves.
This story was written during a time in my life when I had more of a taste for darkness and death in my stories. I don't think the character deaths in this story are misplaced, I think their deaths are actually very powerful, but again I think I rushed it too much.
FUTURE
What does the future hold for this novel, then? I do still rather like this story. I think out of all my old novels, this is the one I'd be most likely to someday rewrite. It might not be for many years, however, as I have a lot of other stories on my plate right now. But someday I would like to revisit this story.
Any updates on this will be announced on this website, so if you're interested, keep an eye out.
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