Wicked Good - 2 sisters, 2 states and Asperger's Syndrome

My sister and I have written a novel called Wicked Good. It's the story of a mother and her son with Asperger's syndrome. People frequently ask how it came to be that two sisters wrote a novel together while living in different states.

It was March. The snow was dirty brown and the sun was absent here in Bangor, Maine. I was spending a lot of time on my sofa, channel surfing and landing nowhere.

Joanne called from her home in Florida. “Wanna write a book together?” she asked.

I wrapped the afghan around me tighter and yawned from lack of blood flow to my brain. “Sure,” was the best response I could muster.

I am a lawyer by day and single mom to two teenage boys by day and night. My oldest is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism which has been of mixed blessings to my life.

Joanne is the literary brains behind this outfit. I can only write based upon my life experiences. Without Joanne moving the plot along, we would be nowhere. On the other hand, I have the experience.  My son is now 19 years old.  Life has been a challenge for both of us.  The incidents in our novel Wicked Good are fiction. But many of the characteristics of the mother and son have basis in authenticity. For example, once my son gets an idea in his head, it is tough to dissuade him otherwise. The teenage character Rory in Wicked Good is the same. As another example, juggling my son's needs with my job truly does stress me out and the bathtub is a frequent refuge; just like it is for Archer, Rory's mother in Wicked Good.  However, my son has never hit me and I do not have a drinking problem.

I don’t think I ever imagined we'd actually get a book written or that it would be published. But now that we have done it, I've found another way to deal with the stress of raising a child on the autism spectrum - writing. Of course, it wouldn't be as much fun with anyone else but my sister.

We are so excited that Wicked Good has been published and is available as an e-book on Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for Nook and other e-places. The bound novel will be out later this summer. Let us know what you think about Wicked Good. Visit our website at www.amyandjoanne.com and e-mail us at amyandjoanne@gmail.com

BUY WICKED GOOD HERE: Wicked Good


All my best, Amy

Wicked Good - Happy Father's Day

As Rory would say - I really really love you, Dad.

Happy Father's Day.

Amy and Jo

Wicked Good - More Noise and Props for Indie Publisher - Trestle Press

     I know we've been quiet on the blog for the last couple of weeks but a lot has been happening behind-the-scenes. Wicked Good continues to sell well as an e-book on Kindle, Nook and other places. Wicked Good has been in the top 100 on Amazon for Kindle books dealing with special needs issues. The hardcover has not been released yet but we are hoping by the end of the month it will be ready.

    Wicked Good has been acknowledged on various sites (see Events/Media on our website at www.amyandjoanne.com) but the real exposure will be when the hardcover comes out. CNN reported recently that e-books were selling better than bound books on Amazon however people keep asking me when will Wicked Good be available to purchase as a book I can hold in my hand. Guess my independent research doesn't beat out Amazon's statistics but I feel pretty confident Wicked Good will get a lot more exposure once the hardcover is ready.

    That's it for now except congratulations to my nephew Brendan for graduating from high school. We are very very proud of him.

     And thanks for the latest shout-out for Wicked Good in the blog article "More Noise and Props for Indie Publisher - Trestle Press". See  http://gelatisscoop.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-noise-and-props-for-indie.html

    And finally, thank YOU for your continued faith in Wicked Good and in us.

All our best for a great weekend, Jo