I can’t believe that we are less than two weeks away from Happily Never Afterlife being officially published! It feels so surreal to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After spending two years developing this story and these characters, I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am to share them with the world.
When I set out with the idea to write this story, I only knew that I wanted my protagonist to be an elderly woman. While she may not look her age when she arrives in the Afterlife, it was important to me that our narrator spoke from a rich, long life. I see many books on the shelves these days that focus on young female protagonists in their teens and twenties, and I wanted to create a character that stood out against the sea of youth.
And so, our grumpy grandma, Mae, came to be. She is an 86 year old Southern woman that has strong opinions and very little filter. She is stubborn and set in her ways. After all, why shouldn’t she be? She’s lived a long life on earth, and with those years of life experience, it’s afforded her a sense of wisdom that one can only get with age.
Enter Mr. Rand Blakely, the shaggy haired hippie that’s here to show Mae she’s not as wise as she thinks she is.
Let me just say right now that I have a bit of a bias as the author, but I truly love Rand with all my heart. My Golden Retriever darling who is just full of life and puns. I absolutely adore him and how he interacts with Mae. His zest for life contrasts with her stubborn drive to pursue her own goals.
I really enjoyed watching their dynamic unfold as I developed the story and seeing how these oddballs compliment each other with their differences. I’ve always loved movies – in particular romcoms – where the main characters have insane banter with each other. Think of films like “When Harry Met Sally” and “Mr. Right.” I love watching the characters exchange barbs with each other and seeing the chemistry and softness build as the plot progresses. I wanted to put that feeling into Happily Never Afterlife and build my characters in a way that brought up those nostalgic feeling of watching these films I’ve loved so much over the years.
So who exactly are Mae and Rand?
Without giving away spoilers, these are two characters with flaws but ultimately are good people trying to figure out how to navigate eternity.
Mae arrives in the Afterlife rather unexpectedly (from her perspective) and has a difficult time accepting that she’s dead. Not only is she dead, but she looks 50 years younger than how she woke up that morning. It’s a shock to the system and a lot to process. She had a whole life. A daughter. Grandchildren. A son-in-law she hates. Suddenly, she’s dead and away from everything she’s ever known. Her only source of comfort and hope is the expectation of being reunited with her husband, Harold. It doesn’t go over well when she’s told that Harold isn’t her soulmate and that her soulmate is someone she’s never met.
Realistically, I don’t think anyone would take that news well. You spend your life with someone and you hold onto that hope of one day reuniting with them in paradise. Being told that’s not the case, I’m not sure anyone would just accept that without trying to argue their case or set things right by your own means. That’s exactly what Mae sets out to do. All she wants to do is find her husband while navigating her afterlife.
In contrast, Rand gets caught in Mae’s crosshairs immediately when they are introduced. He’s not at all what she would have picked for herself for a partner in life or afterlife. His hair and beard are long and scraggly. His clothes are worn and dirty. He’s rough around the edges. While he tries to be his warm and friendly self, Mae just isn’t having it. She only begrudgingly asks for his help to find Harold because he is her only option. Rand’s existence annoys her immensely for one simple reason: he’s nothing like Harold.
Rand has been in the Afterlife for quite some time. He’s learned to navigate the dangers and enjoy his eternity by traveling around to see everything he possibly can. Even though a considerable amount of time has passed since his time on Earth, there are some things that Rand hasn’t let go of – and it takes someone like Mae to show him those parts of himself he needs to address.
As I was writing this story, I instantly fell in love with Mae and Rand. She’s the grumpy old lady and he’s the sunshine hippie. What’s not to love? I couldn’t wait to have my friends read my drafts and get their thoughts on my characters. I got some mixed results.
One of my girlfriends was gushing about how much she loved Mae. She loved her attitude and sass. I was on Cloud Nine! I felt like I had done something right if someone was loving and connecting with Mae. And then one of my guy friends had some less than favorable things to say about Mae. In his eyes, she was unlikeable and difficult. Instead, he argued with me that Rand deserved to be treated better. It turned into a discussion about how much he actually liked Rand, and I was back on Cloud Nine.
It’s been really eye opening to see the first bits of commentary about these characters and how different people interpret them. And both of my friends are right and valid. The consensus so far is that everyone loves Rand, but Mae doesn’t get that universal love. Maybe she isn’t meant to, and that’s okay.
Without getting into spoilers, I didn’t want to write Mae as a perfect character everyone would love. She goes through a big transformation in a very short period of time, and I can’t expect someone to go through that level of self-discovery without some mess and ugliness. There are themes of grief, regret, rebirth, and second chances in this story. Mae goes through a lot in processing her own death and grasping to hold onto anything that makes her feel okay. We all know from our own dealings with grief and growth that healing is not always pretty. Mae’s journey highlights the messiness of life and these big concepts, and we are experiencing it in real time as we navigate the story with her. To me, Mae feels real because I thought about my own messy healing journey as I was writing hers. I feel her as part of myself, and maybe that’s why I love her flaws. They feel relatable and raw.
Whatever you think of Mae by the end of the book, I hope to hear all about it. Mae and Rand have become so special to me, and I cannot wait for you to meet them on May 15th.
