Sheila Athens joins the blog this week to chat about her latest women’s fiction novel, Neena Lee Is Seeing Things
Author Name: Sheila Athens
Book Title: Neena Lee Is Seeing Things
Book Genre: Southern fiction, Women’s Fiction
Release Date: December 26, 2023
Publisher: Quiet Coast Press
Welcome, Sheila! How would you describe Neena Lee Is Seeing Things?
John F. Kennedy, Jr., asks for Neena’s help. The problem is…he’s been dead for twenty-five years.
What sparked the idea for this book?
I was at a point where I was considering what my next book would be about. My friend Sarah Penner’s debut novel, The Lost Apothecary, had just hit the New York Times bestseller list. I felt that much of that book’s early success was due to its fun, unique premise. It’s about an apothecary in London in the 1800s that would sell tinctures only to women who wanted to poison their husbands. It’s a fabulous book that I highly recommend to others.
It was that great premise and the success of Sarah’s book that told me to let my mind wander as I planned my next book. To go beyond “normal” stories about marriages and family secrets and sibling relationships. To imagine something that might be a little bit beyond reality.
Then one day, I drove past a sign that directed drivers to Cumberland Island. It’s a beautiful, unspoiled National Seashore, and it also always reminds me of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (because he got married on the island, but more on that in the next question). That got my mind whirling…and the rest is history. Or, rather, the rest is between the covers of Neena Lee Is Seeing Things.
How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you do any research?
The book is set on Cumberland Island—the remote island off the coast of Georgia where John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Carolyn Bessette were married in a private, paparazzi-free wedding. Though I live only about an hour from there, I’d never been to Cumberland Island, mainly because the only way to get there is via a passenger ferry that has to be arranged in advance. The only cars allowed on the island belong to the few families who live there. For research, I took a day trip over there that included a full tour of the island, then I followed up with a stay at the Greyfield Inn, which is the only hotel on the island. The mansion that became the Greyfield Inn was built by the Carnegie family and is still in their family. I made up a second hotel on the island for my novel.
What drew you to women’s fiction?
My debut novel was a romance (The Truth About Love, Montlake, 2014), but the stories swirling around in my head always needed a bigger canvas than a romance novel. A romance novel is tightly focused on the two main characters who are falling in love, but my stories always have a lot going on in addition to the love story. That’s how I finally realized that what I write is women’s fiction or Southern fiction or contemporary fiction or whatever you want to call it. My writing could actually be categorized in several different ways. But I still love romance novels, and I think that every book I write will have a strong love story thread in it. Neena Lee Is Seeing Things certainly does.
What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?
I love those days when I get to sit at my computer and let my characters take over. Yes, I’ve planned the book in advance, but when an author gets into “flow,” the characters take over and sometimes do or say surprising things.
What I find most challenging is the balance between writing the stories and marketing the books. Almost all writers have to spend A LOT of time marketing their books, even if they are published by the biggest publishing houses. Finding that balance between marketing and writing the next book is a constant challenge.
If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read Neena Lee Is Seeing Things?
The word “intrigue” has been used by a lot of readers to describe both of my books. I don’t write mysteries or thrillers, but there’s a lot of “intrigue” going on. Neena Lee Is Seeing Things also has a distinct sense of place. It’s very much a work of Southern fiction, set just down the coast from Where the Crawdads Sing and The Prince of Tides.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
That we never know what battles someone else is fighting. That we need to learn to forgive ourselves. That we should treat everyone with kindness and respect.
Any words of wisdom you give your pre-published writer self (or to a new writer)?
When I first started writing, I thought “real writers” just sat down at a keyboard and a perfectly-formed story flowed from their brains through their fingertips and onto the page. I was convinced I “wasn’t a good storyteller” because that didn’t happen when I sat down to write. I now know that every writer has to design their story. They have to think about what events are going to have the most dramatic impact and how certain events will push the protagonist evolve, etc. I guess there may be some writers who can sit down and just write a story without giving it much thought, but I don’t know who they are.
What are your interests outside of writing and reading?
I always feel better after I’ve spent time in nature. You may have seen on social media that I walk with a group of local writers. We call ourselves the Writer Hikers. We walk inland in the winter, when the temperature cools off and the bugs aren’t too bad. In the summer, we move to sunrise walks on the beach. That’s the only time of day in Florida when it’s not too hot to walk, and there’s enough of a sea breeze to keep the bugs away.
I also love spending time with my young grandchildren. I’m lucky that both of my grown sons and their families live within about thirty minutes of where I live.
Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.
I’m doing revisions on Mae Van Dorn’s Perfect Storm, which will be out in September of this year. Here’s a short description of the story:
When Mae’s life implodes, she has no choice but to move to Jacksonville Beach, Florida—a town she’s never been to—to live with the brother who abandoned her when she needed him most. His long-ago estrangement is only one in a long line of lessons that have taught Mae that people are crap. But surely she can hide her misanthropic ways when she goes to work for the founder of the local megachurch, right? Though Mae learns the minister may be less-than-Christian, those in his orbit begin to show her that there really is good in the world.
Between her brother’s mysterious past, the minister’s potentially illicit dealings and the heart-pounding kisses she shares with a possible coworker, Mae’s life spins out of control…and that’s all BEFORE Hurricane Carly makes landfall in Jax Beach.
What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?
I’m about halfway through Hope Holloway’s Seven Sisters series, which is set on Amelia Island (Florida), right near where I live. I’ve loved each series of hers that I’ve read so far.
Where can readers find you?
www.facebook.com/sheilaathensauthor
www.Instagram.com/SheilaAthensAuthor
I’m happy to speak to book clubs who read my books, either in person or via Zoom.
Thank you, Sheila! Neena Lee Is Seeing Things is out now.
Neena Lee Is Seeing Things
When a travel writer haunted by old ghosts comes face to face with a new one-who just happens to be one of the most famous men in the world-she has no choice but to dig into his past … and her own.
Fifty-six-year-old Neena Lee is determined to revive her career as a travel writer. Trouble is, the upstart editor at the travel magazine where she works has fired everyone else over the age of forty. Worse yet, Neena is still plagued by the panic attacks she’s been suffering since her brother’s death.
Despite her fragile condition, Neena’s flatlining bank account means she must go back to work. When the baby-faced editor finally offers her an assignment, she jumps at the chance. Even better: She’s being sent to the remote barrier island off the coast of Georgia where John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Carolyn Bessette pulled off a secret, paparazzi-free wedding.
But when Neena arrives at the tiny church on Cumberland Island where the fairytale wedding took place, she’s shocked to see John F. Kennedy, Jr. himself waiting for her in the back pew…even though he’s been dead for almost twenty-five years. Though Neena is sure she’s hallucinating, John begs her to hear him out-and to help him reunite with his wife.
Thanks to John’s continued presence and trademark charisma, one mission soon leads to another, and soon Neena has befriended a dead man. Nevertheless, she knows she needs to get back to the harsh realities of her real life if she’s going to save her job, her reputation, and her home.
But the more Neena interacts with John, the more he pushes her to confront her own demons-encouraging her to worry less about not having saved her brother…and more about saving herself.
A clever, thought-provoking novel that will resonate with those looking for peace amidst the overwhelm of life.