Wednesday Women: Ann and Chrissie McCoy

Today's Wednesday Women are my own, from my latest novel Amber Alert. 

Ann McCoy faces enough trouble as it is: Her affair with a married man is going nowhere fast, and worse, he has the power to keep her away from the most personal case of her career: The kidnapping of her two-year-old niece Rosie.

While Ann definitely shares some traits with my other leading ladies, this detail is different: For the first time, I wrote a book with a straight main character. How did that happen? I’d say she came to me like all the others did, demanding for her story to be written, of course, but there was also some deliberation. And as always, those choices make even more sense once the story unfolds.

I knew that it would revolve around the abduction of a child from lesbian parents, but I didn’t want either of them to be the investigator. Thus, the straight sister, Ann Mc Coy, was born, and I believe she offers a different perspective on the events.

We still hear about a staggering amount of homophobia on a daily basis, sadly, often from people in power or those who want to claim their fifteen minutes of fame. Some of it is so bizarre that it’s hard to believe anyone would fall for the theatrics and lies. Ann is someone who has never had to deal with this depth of homophobia until she investigates these kidnappings. She and her sister have always been close, but they both learn that a lot remained unspoken over the years.

Chrissie is the opposite of her somewhat reckless sister. She always wanted a family with her long-time partner, now wife, Rachel, and her dream came true with the birth of Rosie two years ago.

Her family must navigate their greatest nightmare in a world where everyone feels like they have a right to an opinion on their lives. When she and Rachel go public with a plea to the kidnappers, they receive encouragement and prayer as well as condemnation.

Chrissie and Rachel are us, the people who want to bang their head against the nearest wall when we hear about the latest politician/pastor/TV or radio personality who tell the most offensive lies about LGBT people, seemingly without any consequences. The ones who have to find a way to say, yes, it’s really still that bad, even with all the amazing victories of the past years.

Understanding this is a learning process for Ann, while she juggles her professional and her private relationship with the leading agent on the case. But make no mistake: This is her family. And you don’t mess with the McCoys.

Eventually, even the most powerful bigot has to learn that lesson.

You can find Amber Alert here on Amazon, $2.99 for an ebook and $12.95 for the paperback (my publisher, Caliburn Press, has set all ebooks to $2.99, and the older paperbacks are going to be reduced as well over time. Happy browsing!).