Make A Wish For Me was the winner in the Parenting (Child Care/Family) category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author LeeAndra Chergey.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Make A Wish For Me , published November 2015.
What’s the book’s first line?
“It feels like he died.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
By the age of two, Ryan has lost his ability to speak—twice. Sensing it is more than typical “second child” behaviors, his mother, LeeAndra, embarks upon a mission to understand why Ryan has become withdrawn and violent, and is met with a devastating answer: her son is autistic.
After a few months of behavioral treatment, Ryan experiences remarkable success. He begins to communicate, learns to adapt to his surroundings, and after attending a special educational preschool, where he thrives, he seems ready to be mainstreamed into a regular classroom for kindergarten—an exciting prospect for LeeAndra and her husband Dan, since until this point they have been reluctantly resigned to the idea that he will continue indefinitely in special education. But, Ryan’s success is rapidly derailed as he swiftly learns how to manipulate his inexperienced aides through violence and begins to flee school grounds, and LeeAndra and Dan must make a choice: agree with what the system dictates or listen to their hearts and make a drastic change?
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
My son’s diagnosis of Autism and the years that followed for our family.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Since the main character is me, I would say determination.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To see from someone else’s perspective what it’s like to have a child with special needs and what you will do for them.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Reese Whiterspoon (me) George Clooney (my hubby)
When did you first decide to become an author?
When I was in second grade and got an “easy” A on a paper about the Bumblebee.
Is this the first you’ve written?
Yes
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Home Staging and bookkeeping
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
An hour a day.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Being treated like a ‘real’ author and a ‘real’ book
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes, not because I devalue my experience as an Indie, but because it’s still he ultimate dream to be traditional published.