I am thrilled to have interviewed author Ivy Logan, who shared with us details of her writing life, her book ‘And Then You Were Gone‘, which will be released on 10th December 2024, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Ivy is passionate about stories, both writing and reading them. Her stories often blend fractured fairy tales and dark fantasy but are always full of love and light. She can’t always promise you’ll find the ending you’re looking for. And Then You Were Gone is her first foray into contemporary women’s fiction.

Ivy adores writing about strong women and girls who are far from perfect. Her characters are fighters, but they love, cry, hurt, and bleed. They believe in family, friendship, and sacrifice. They are authentic, fragile and vulnerable, while being strong as you and I. On Facebook and Twitter (X), Ivy is a big supporter of books based on strong women real and fictional and she is a huge cheerleader of the Twitter (X) writing community.

The inspiration for my book came from something pretty personal. While my daughter was studying, she went through some degree of conflict with her friends because she was isolated from them for almost a year. She used to go out and come back sad and lonely and often shed a few tears. As a mother this affected me terribly and I often wondered what might a mother in a similar situation do? What were the boundaries that she might push to make her daughter feel better? To protect her. From these emotions flowed And Then You were Gone.

The initial part came to me easily. But it was the second half that I was stuck on. You could say I was facing a bit of a writer’s block. But as I read other books, watched shows, every night, I gave some thought to my book and here and there clarity began to emerge.

I’m not one to plan and jot down notes I literally write by the seat of my pants and let the thoughts come to me. The second half of the book has a situation which is very difficult to resolve and I was stuck on it unable to move ahead for a long time. But I finally did and the outcome was excellent.

Initially I had another title in mind for the book. But somehow it did not gel. I wasn’t happy with it. Then one night when I went to bed I was ruminating over titles in my head and then this one came to me and I knew it was perfect – And Then You Were Gone. There are at least 2 instances in the book which fit with the title and it could denote any one of them or both.

For many of the characters I chose the names of author friends from Twitter (X.) But for the main character Sophie I chose the name my daughter loves – Sophie.

I’m based in Mumbai and the book is set in Austin. So, I researched online and with the help of a friend based in Austin I researched the content for the book.

When I finished the book, I wasn’t sure of the genre. I thought it might be YA but beta readers were of the opinion that it wasn’t. I took the opinion of other writers in writer’s groups and arrived at the conclusion that since the most dominant voice in the story is the mother’s voice it would be women’s fiction or contemporary fiction.

Can’t really put a timeline to it. But if I had to, I would say with the gaps in between writing at least a year.

Very difficult. But I would say… Consequences of a Mother’s Love.

The research, making sure it is accurate. Secondly putting yourself in the shoes of varied characters. And above all ensuring that you are listening to your character’s voice.

First of all – And Then You Were Gone is a very short read. The readers should be able to finish it in one to two sittings. It’s a unique take on a mother – daughter relationship and how a mother’s love can turn dangerous. The ending is literally explosive and unexpected. For that alone I’d recommend you read this book.

If you need anything else to recommend it, there is also the fact that the book delves into the psyche of a bullied student, how they think, feel etc. Then we also have a very lovely supportive character called Nick who is almost perfect but suffers from something called dyslexia- a difficultly with numbers. Everyone who reads the book wants a friend like Nick. The characters are very real and the plot is very engaging. That’s the feedback that’s come in from early readers. They all say it is a must read.

I would love to play the role of the mother, Nina or the book agent, Beth. Because despite what she did I identified a lot with Nina.

If the Talking Owl finishes my book, I bet his first words to me would be ‘I won’t tell.’ You will have to read the book to find out why.