THE DAUGHTER BETWEEN THEM received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Alretha Thomas.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
THE DAUGHTER BETWEEN THEM, MAY 1, 2024
What’s the book’s first line?
GAZING DOWN, MY EYES FIX ON WORDS THAT CHILL ME.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Two mothers. One missing daughter. One life-changing secret.
In 2019, Leslie Graham is within arm’s reach of her goal to become the news editor at the Dancing Hills Times. At thirty-five, she has it all—a promising career and a close relationship with her two teenage girls, Rhonda and Jillian. But when an old enemy from her past resurfaces, threatening to reveal life-changing information about one of her daughters, Leslie does everything in her power to keep her world from crashing down.
A decade earlier, in 2009, Barbara Morris’s seven-year-old daughter, Nancy, goes missing in Queens, New York. Barbara and her husband frantically search for her. But all is not as it seems in the disappearance of Nancy Morris, and Barbara may not be the innocent victim she’s painted herself to be. After ten years of her life spiraling out of control and Nancy still missing, Barbara decides to head to Dancing Hills, believing she’ll find the answers she’s looking for. Barbara and Leslie’s worlds will collide there, and the secrets of the past will finally be revealed.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Last year I fell in love with the idea of writing a novel from alternating point of views in the past and present, wherein the narrators are mysteriously connected. I used this structure for my novel The Girl in the Blue Blazer and it was well received. With that in mind, I decided to use the same structure for The Daughter Between Them. While thinking about the characters and the storyline, the idea of two mothers came to me. There would be a mother in the past and a mother in the present and the two women would be mysteriously connected. The connection would eventually be revealed.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I hope The Daughter Between Them inspires readers to appreciate and love their family members more. I also want them to become more aware of the importance of good mental health and to reach out to anyone that they feel may be struggling with mental health issues and encourage them to seek help.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
There are two main characters in The Daughter Between Them. Leslie Graham and Barbara Morris. The most distinctive thing about both of them is their love for their daughters. The women remind me of mothers around the world. It is known that a mother would give her life for her child(ren).
When did you first decide to become an author?
I wrote my first story in the fifth grade. My teacher gave the class a short story assignment. I got an idea to write a story about a bag boy in a supermarket who falls in love with a young customer. I guess you could say that was my first romance story. The following day our teacher congratulated the entire class on our work. However, she said there was one story that stood out, and that story was mine. I nearly fell out of my chair. I couldn’t believe it. She read it aloud and the class was riveted. While I was watching the expressions on the faces of my peers, I knew in that moment I wanted to be a writer for life.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
The Daughter Between Them is my fifteenth novel. My first novel, Daughter Denied, was written in 2008.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am a fulltime writer and actress. When I’m not writing, I’m auditioning and/or acting. I am a series regular on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living. I play Anastasia Devereaux. We film in Atlanta at Tyler Perry Studios once a year. It’s an amazing experience.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I usually write six to eight hours a day when I’m working on a novel. The time just flies by.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the autonomy. I call the shots and the only deadlines I have are the ones I set. The hardest part is marketing and selling your work, because you don’t have a publishing house behind you with myriad resources and contacts.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Keep writing and write what you love not what’s trending.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes, I would in spite of being rejected by hundreds of them for over two decades. The agent I had for The Daughter Between Them tried to sell it for a year. She really believed in it and told me not to give up on it. I knew I never would. It’s getting great reviews, and I believe readers are going to turn it into a bestseller. A traditional publisher could get my book exposure I couldn’t, not to mention the advance I could possibly receive, and the other perks that come with a traditional book deal.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I am a very determined person by nature. I love telling stories. I didn’t have the opportunity to have children, so my books are my babies. When I give birth to them, I’m like every other proud mother, I want everyone to love them. I want the world to love them and experience what I experience when reading my work.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I love Toni Morrison.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Becoming, by Michelle Obama. That was one of the most amazing memoirs I have ever read. I experienced every emotion known to man. I cried, I laughed, I got pissed, I was on edge. Of course, I would have had to be the woman President Barack Obama married. Well, I can dream, can’t I? Lol.