Introducing My Novel: She’s Our Escape

June 15th, 2020

I recently thought up a new idea for a story, in which a girl named Bailey Duke and her childhood best friend Sebastien Miller attempt the Pan-American highway from Toronto to Buenos Aires in a converted Kombi Camper. The Pan-American Highway is a stretch of road that connects Prudhoe Bay, Alaska all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina. It’s known as the longest road in the world.

So, personally, I have a big problem with only writing the bits I want to write, and then giving up on the story altogether, which has happened with at least 3 books now. Partly because my crazy mind loves sci-fi and coming up with plots that can’t actually be scientifically justified… anyway, that’s a story for another day. I began writing this novel as I believed it was a good break from unrealistic plot lines, and is actually something I personally would love to do if I ever got the chance.

You may be reading this thinking, well hey, if she hasn’t written anything, and has a habit of giving up, then why is she writing this post? Because I swear I’m determined to finish this one.

It’s been three years and eight months since I wrote this post on one of my old blogs, but I did it. I finished the book. Looking back on what I originally planned to write is so wild, and I am so proud of the way that the book has bloomed into what it is today.

It’s grown from a basic road trip novel that I began as a way to get out of the science fiction realm-of-unfinished-drafts into my way of processing my own past.

The Synopsis

As outlined above, I’d originally planned on the novel being about two friends driving a regular old VW kombi from Alaska to Argentina. As I developed the characters and crafted a backstory and their reasons for the road trip and how they managed to get their hands on a van – the story quickly became a lot closer to my heart than I had anticipated. It also didn’t take long for me to realise that writing a complex story about a fragile friendship along with countries I’ve never been to and languages I didn’t speak would prove very hard to do.

So I tweaked the timeline a little bit. Bailey and Seb both travel from Portland, Oregon, to Tampa in Florida on an epic cross-country journey. The reason for this journey: losing their best friend. Selena, who is very close to both Seb and Bailey. She has a passion for cars, and purchases the kombi van to turn into a campervan for the three of them to road trip America. However, before the main plotline takes place she moves back to her hometown in Florida, passing away four years later.

Due to restraints on space, Bailey is left with the van, unable to take across the country to be with Selena. In a last hurrah to her memory, Bailey suggests to Seb that they drive it back to Selena’s hometown to honor her memory before selling it on. Seb agrees, and they very quickly find out that they’ve healed in two very different ways.

The Mood Board

On to my favourite part; the mood board. I have a particular passion for organized pinterest storyboards which help me visualize my story in my head, all the books I have in draft have a board each. From here I can develop preferences, mannerisms and begin to craft a storyline.

A lot of what I’ve written is a result of my daydreams whilst writing, where I put myself into Bailey’s shoes, look around in the fictional realm and think, how would she react to what’s going on around her? This not only helps me to describe Bailey accurately and apart from myself as the writer, but also helps me to describe the environment.

Bailey can’t react to a pretty sunset if there isn’t a pretty sunset in the first place. How did they get to where they’re watching the sunset? Are they at the beach? In the forest? By a stream? What is Seb doing? Burning some cooking on the burner? Probably.

Q&A with Seb and Bailey

– BAILEY –

What is your full name? Do you have a nickname?

My full name is Bailey Duke. I don’t have a middle name, but my Dad used to call me Duchess, and sometimes Seb used to call me Daisy, after Daisy Duke. Hilarious, I know.

Where and when were you born?

I was born in Portland, Oregon on the 16th of September, 2001.

Is the glass half full, or half empty?

It all depends on your perspective…Though I guess that is the purpose of the question isn’t it? To find out my perspective? I’d like to think I’m a realist with a foot on the positive side. The glass is a glass of water, maybe with a dash of lemon juice.

Do you like to read? If so, what do you like to read? Do you have a favourite book?

Of course! Reading relaxes me so much, I don’t know what I’d do without books. Personally I’m a fan of realistic fiction, with a hint of sci-fi. Anything to do with space I’m interested in, but it can’t get too impossible, or I start to lose interest. I think I imagine best when I can see the situation actually happening in my mind.

In terms of a favourite book, I have to say I really enjoyed The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, I think those two tie for first place.

Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

I wouldn’t say that I’m spontaneous, I get a little too stressed out for that, but I don’t mind deviating from the schedule a little. I think travelling with Seb helped me realise that. And also attempting to rely on a sixty-year old VW.

What was your favourite thing about travelling with Seb and Val?

There’s too many to count, honestly, but I really enjoyed the diversity within the places and people. It made me realise how many different types of places we can travel to within a week. There was some really incredible things that I experienced and people I met of which I would never have come across if I’d stayed home.

Do you have a favourite memory from the trip?

I think that day we arrived at the waterfall. Spending the afternoon next to Selena’s tree with Seb, Val parked nearby really helped to close that chapter. And I was grateful to be there with my best friend.

Okay, maybe that night in Memphis. But don’t tell Seb I said that or I won’t hear the end of it.

– SEB –

What is your full name?

The names Miller, Sebastien Harley Miller. Everyone calls me Seb though. It’s funny, I don’t think anyone except my mother calls me Sebastien frequently, but I think that’s simply because that’s what she calls me when I get on her nerves…

Where and when were you born?

I was born on the 8th of January, 2001. Born and raised in Portland.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I have an odd memory of wanting to become an astronaut, I used to draw them all the time, but I think that’s before I realised becoming one meant excelling at the two subjects I couldn’t pass to save my life in. Math and science.

Are you right or left handed?

I’m left-handed. Pain in the butt for writing, but I have a steadier hand for drawing with my left. I think I read somewhere once it means I’m supposedly more creative, but honestly there are some days I really question that theory.

What is your favourite memory from travelling with Bailey & Val?

Dancing with Bailey in Memphis. I don’t remember much of the minor details, as Jack had challenged me to a beer tower, and you KNOW I wasn’t about to let a local beat me. But I do recall how I felt. I’ve got half a sketchbook filled with watercolour fragments from that night. The blue and orange lights on Bailey’s face, her hair glowing under the lanterns hanging from the trees. The way the feeling of her hand touching my face painted my world with vibrant pinks and purples, drowning out everything around me.

*cough* But you didn’t hear that from me.

If there’s one place you could revisit, where would you go back to?

Not so much for the place, but I’d love to visit Charlie again in Stovepipe Wells. When I saw him last he bet me 50 bucks I wouldn’t sit down and read ‘All The Pretty Horses’ by Cormac McCarthy, because I hadn’t read since high school. Well I did. The writing style threw me off a bit, but who doesn’t love a good ol’ cowboy adventure. I’m kidding, I only kept reading because of Alejandra.

If you had one tip to give people for van life, what would it be?

Bring a spare pot in case it gets a leak when it rains. Take it from me.

Wrapping Up

This post feels like such a fever dream to write. ‘She’s Our Escape’ has been the first book I’ve finished, and now that it’s in the final editing stages, everything feels surreal. It definitely deserves a permanent place in my bucket of creativities, so here we are – four years later.

One of my favourite additions is the poetry within the book – a lot that are featured on this blog are embedded within the story. You can read some of these here.

I’m hoping to finalise the editing by the end of 2024, so here we are again, writing an accountability post! It’ll be fun looking back on this in a few years’ time, who knows where we’ll be at by then!

Here is the link to the pinterest board where I saved everything that gave me inspiration for the story —–>