The "What Ifs" of Writing

I am often asked I how come up with my story ideas. In Many a Sudden Change the story started with a simple "what if" from my daughter. One day while enjoying an afternoon together the conversation veered toward her autistic son and the challenges of raising him. She asked, "What if" something happened to her and her husband, who would take care of him? In my mind there was no question. I knew I would be willing to take on the responsibility. But, would every grandmother? At the time he was still very young, and a handful, often prone to raging fits. He was a big boy and very strong. Raising him was not for the faint of heart. The challenges would need to be balanced with love and acceptance. In my book, Many a Sudden Change, the grandmother Clarice does not feel capable of raising her grandson Eric on her own when her daughter dies, nor does she understand his special needs. She convinces herself it would be best to contact his estranged father in hopes he will want to raise the boy. So that's how I started. Stay tuned to find out how the character of Matthew, the father, turned out to be a Marine serving in war-torn Afghanistan. The book is already available on Amazon in paperback and for those of you who read ebooks it is available for pre-order and will launch on July 19th. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C4V3BKF?pf_rd_r=2KRQKVFWMPW0N5TSEQPX&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee