The story of Julie and Luke, and Terrence, began one morning on a family vacation. Out of the blue, the idea an average wife, employee, and daughter disappearing came to me. What would the aftermath be? What ripples of repercussions would there be? What was hidden that would come into the light? All of these questions began with one scene: a young woman on her way to work in Colonial Williamsburg.
As I began writing this story on the floor of a hotel room next to my baby, I didn’t know where it would take me. Fortunately, this story began to write itself. While some books start out with a basic outline start to finish and many of the characters are planned out, In an Instant came piece by piece. I “met” the characters along the way and much of the story developed itself.
One of the most important themes that developed was that of family. While they mystery of Julie’s disappearance is the forefront, the aftermath of her vanishing impacts her direct family, her friends and their families, even the detective (Terrence) and his family relationships. We get to see Julie work through the current and past tragedies, her husband cope with revelations and his relationship with his mother and mother-in-law, and Terrence work on his relationship with his mother and other people.
In an Instant is a mystery intertwined with people stories that will hopefully both entertain and help encourage readers to foster healthy relationships.
Tracy Wainwright
