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COMMUNITY Oakville author to speak about new novel at library event May 23 A car accident kills a young man, and forever changes the lives of 3 people Supplied photo Oakville author Hannah McKinnon's second novel has been published. She will speak about the book - The Neighbors - at an upcoming event at the Oakville Public Library on May 23. JULIE SLACK jslack@metroland.com Author Hannah Mary McKinnon thinks she's got the easy job writing nov­ els. "I get to make stuff up and do these cool things to characters. My publisher does the hard work like de­ signing the beautiful cov­ ers and develop plans to market the books," the Oakville resident said. Surely an understate­ ment, but now that her sec­ ond novel has been pub­ lished she's getting the swing of things. She'll talk about the book and writing it during an Oakville Public Library event, An Evening with Hannah Mary McKinnon and Karma Brown, on Wednesday, May 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Central Branch auditorium. Tick­ ets are $15, and are avail­ able at all branches. McKinnon said The Neighbours is her second book and the first in a two- book deal with MIRA (HarperCollins). So far, re­ views are amazing -- she's received more than 185 five-star reviews on Goo- dreads already, and re­ ceived a starred review from Booklist (American Library Association). Writing a novel is far from what she did prior. McKin­ non, who was born in theU.K., grew up in Swit­ zerland and moved to Cana­ da in 2010, left a successful ca­ reer in recruit­ ment to pursue her true passion. Now, the married moth­ er of three sons, is thrilled to see her work in print. She shared how she came up with the idea for the book. "The Neighbours start­ ed with the question: what if an ex-boyfriend moves in next door?" she said. "That could be really awkward. What if I had a couple of characters, who don't tell their new, respective part­ ners that? And, why wouldn't they tell them? What could they possibly have to hide? "Then I made their lives miserable," she laughed, adding, "Dance, puppet." She said it turned out even darker than she imag­ ined when she first started writing. She blames Game of Thrones for that. McKinnon, 47, said the feedback has been great. She summarized what the book is all about: Abby looks forward to meeting the family who just moved in next door -- until she realizes they're the one couple who could expose her deepest secrets. After a night of fun back in 1992, Abby is responsi­ ble for a car crash that kills her beloved brother. It's a mistake she can never for­ give, so she pushes away Liam, the man she loves most, knowing that he would eventually hate her for what she's done, the same way she hates her­ self. Twenty years later, Ab- by's husband, Nate, is also living with a deep sense of guilt. He was the driver who first came upon the scene of Abby's accident, the man who pulled her to safety before the car erupt­ ed in flames -- the man who could not save her brother in time. It's this guilt, this regret, that binds them together. They understand each other. Or so Nate believes. In a strange twist of fate, Liam moves in­ to the neigh­ bourhood with his own family, releasing a flood of memories that Abby has been trying to keep buried all these years. Ab­ by and Liam, in a complicit agreement, pretend never to have met, yet cannot re­ sist the pull of the past -- nor the repercussions of the terrible secrets they've both been carrying. Her first book was an electronic one, and she's happy she chose to go the traditional route of pub­ lishing her second. "I wanted the agent and the publisher," she said, noting that her third book, Her Secret Son, comes out next spring. McKinnon said each novel goes through dozens of drafts before the final version, but said her editor and agent are terrific. And as for her book be­ coming the subject of a movie, that's something she dreams of. "It would be a dream to have it made into a movie," she said. " It was a dream to get an agent, then a book deal." To learn more about her work, visit www.hannah- marymckinnon.com. "'The Neighbours' started with the question: what if an ex-boyfriend moves in next door?" - Hannah Mary McKinnon, author Graham Paine/Metroland Grade 6 Sunningdale Public School student Mea Hultzer shows off a colourful piece she created with fellow student Alissa Qu. The Sharpie and pencil crayon art was one of many pieces on display at the Halton District School Board's 15th annual elementary art show. | O akville Beaver | T h u rsd a y, M ay 1 0 ,2 0 1 8 insidehalton.com mailto:jslack@metroland.com http://www.hannah-marymckinnon.com http://www.hannah-marymckinnon.com