Luanne Rice talks about LAST KISS
The landscape you love best, the one that tells you who you are and always welcomes you home...Hubbard’s Point is that for me. I’ve written about this beach town in many books, including BEACH GIRLS, and have returned there for LAST KISS. It’s a place of peace and beauty, but it’s not immune to real life, to the bad things that can befall good families.
The novel began long before writing, with the idea of a poster taped to a wall in New York City. A yearbook-looking photo of a handsome, bright-eyed, future-ahead-of-him teenage boy along with the words “Have you seen this boy?” Someone’s son didn’t come home. Who was he, what happened, who loved him?
In LAST KISS, an old friend returns to find out what happened to that young man. I wanted to ask the questions…How far would you go to help a friend? What if a mistake you made long ago contributed to a boy’s disappearance? How deeply are you willing to look into your own life, into your own past? Are you brave enough to face the truth, or would you rather hide?
Hiding places are there for all of us, in our everyday lives. The sanctuaries we find to escape every painful thing. I know them well! Sometimes we need to be eased out…and that’s what friends are for. In LAST KISS old friendships are renewed, and my characters discover—as I have in my life—that friends are literal lifesavers. They hold our hands and help us walk the scariest paths. They stand by our sides and help us face the demons.
Who has done that for you? I have a list of my own. I’m so lucky to have such amazing friends. This includes my readers. Some of you have asked when I’m bringing back Nell, Jack, and Stevie from BEACH GIRLS. You’ll find them here.
In LAST KISS I started with that missing boy and worked backwards, until I knew who he was, who was frantic to find out what happened to him, who would go to the far limits to help his family find answers. I wanted to explore what friendship means to my characters, what it means to me. And I found out. Sometimes friendship leads to love.
No, scratch that: it always does.
Have the best summer ever. I hope you’ll visit Hubbard’s Point!
Love,
Luanne