Take 5 with Kathleen Bolton

Blog mama Kath is gearing up for the release of the next title in the First Daughter series (written as Cassidy Calloway).  SECRETS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER releases September 1 by Harper Teen.  We asked Kath to do a Take 5 to share with WU readers a little bit more about the National Disaster known as Morgan Abbott, the President’s daughter. 

Q: What’s the premise of your new book? 

SECRETS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER picks up where CONFESSIONS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER leaves off.  Morgan Abbott is daughter of the President of the United States, who also happens to be her mother  Morgan is still grappling with living within the caldron of celebrity while trying to negotiate all the problems of a typical senior in high school: trying to keep her grades from being embarrasing, romantic complications and deciding which college to go to.  Meanwhile, she’s harboring a few secrets that could derail the plans her Mom has for her as the First Daughter.  In typical Morgan fashion, she tries to live a double life between normal and celebrity, and screwing it up in the process.

 Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself? 

In SECRETS we see Morgan grow up and own who she is. Of course, Morgan isn’t your typical teenager.  As First Daughter she feels the weight of expectation.  Morgan has to make some uncomfortable decisions about her life….and that includes in the romance department.  The story moves from Washington D.C. to London, and we revisit some old friends who appeared in CONFESSIONS.  Morgan’s nemesis Brittany Whittaker also reappears and wants revenge for Morgan ousting Brittany as senior class president. Morgan’s penchant for screwups means she’s fodder for the paparazzi and gossip press.  Being a typical teen is hard enough, but being a perfect First Daughter is nearly impossible.

Q: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?

Morgan is keeping a number of secrets, from her mother, the President, from her boyfriend, former Secret Service agent Max Jackson, and from herself.  Meanwhile, her bff Hannah experiences heartbreak in her romance with Prince Richard, heir to the British throne.  Hannah turns to Morgan to help her get Richard back.  Of course, anything involving Morgan means disaster is in the offing!

Q: What unique challenges did this book pose for you, if any?

Writing a sequel has its own set of problems.  Although the characters were already created, one can’t assume that the reader knows anything about them or the previous story.  Couple that with trying not to info dump the reader about the last story, I found myself editing and re-editing those passages heavily. 

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?

I love love LOVED writing Morgan Abbott’s story.  She’s a character who is close to my heart.  It was also fun to delve into the high-powered world of Washington D.C. I was also able to write about London and re-imagine the Royal Family.  Best of all, I was able to give Morgan and Max their happy ending.

SECRETS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER is available at all booksellers September 1.

Writer Unboxed

Writer Unboxed began as a collaboration between Kathleen Bolton and Therese Walsh in 2006. Since then, the site has grown to include ~50 regular contributors and a variety of guests on rotation throughout a given year.

In 2016, the Writer Unboxed team published a book with Writer’s Digest / Random House. AUTHOR IN PROGRESS: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published is a comprehensive guide focused on helping writers over/around/through hurdles faced at every stage of the novel-writing process. It’s received some ***** reviews; we hope you’ll check it out.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about the next Writer Unboxed UnConference, which will likely tie-in with WU’s 20th Anniversary celebration, please sign up for our mailing list!

Write on!