{"id":6791,"date":"2021-04-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crazy4fiction.com\/?p=6791"},"modified":"2021-09-28T20:12:03","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T20:12:03","slug":"qa-with-under-the-magnolias-author-t-i-lowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/crazy4fiction\/qa-with-under-the-magnolias-author-t-i-lowe\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Under the Magnolias author T. I. Lowe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Q&A<\/p>\n

The new Southern fiction novel Under the Magnolias<\/em><\/a> by T. I. Lowe tells the story of Austin Foster, a young woman trying to take care of her family and keep family secrets from seeing the light of day on her family’s South Carolina tobacco farm. In the following Q&A with the author, discover what she hopes readers will take away from the novel and why she’s said this is the most important book she’s written to date.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Q. Under the Magnolias<\/em> is different from your usual romance novels. What compelled you to deviate from your usual subject matter in this book? How was your writing process different?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. I always write what I\u2019m led to, and I really never want to limit my stories to a certain genre. With romance, there\u2019s typically a loose formula to follow\u2014boy meets girl, they fall in love, something gets in their way, they overcome it for their happily ever after. But with this book, I just wrote it like no one was looking. I wasn\u2019t even sure where it would end up until I reached the ending. It challenged me as a writer and I loved it!<\/p>\n

Q. You\u2019ve said that this book is the most important book you\u2019ve written to date. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. The subject matter of this book, even though it\u2019s fiction set in the eighties, is so relevant today. Everyone hurts. Everyone struggles. And everyone hides their truths to some degree. I was led to write this book in a way that I hope readers will realize it\u2019s not so healthy to hide, that it\u2019s okay to seek help no matter what they are going through.<\/p>\n

Q. You used to work on a tobacco farm. What made you choose this setting for the book? How did you draw from personal experience to create the setting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Working tobacco was my first job and my hardest job. This job taught me that everyone has to do their part. It cannot be put on the shoulders of one person. It\u2019s quite symbolic to the story. Austin tried taking care of her father and siblings all on her own, but the burden was too heavy and came close to ruining them until the community stepped up to take a part in helping.<\/p>\n

Q. This book is very raw and real, as told from Austin Foster\u2019s point of view. Did you draw from personal experience in writing her character?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Austin and I both lost our mothers, so I shared in her grief. And we both had a parent who was sick and we felt helpless when we realized we couldn\u2019t fix it. I drew many parallels with my mother\u2019s battle with cancer and Austin\u2019s father\u2019s battle with mental illness. Both illnesses need treatment and can be life-threatening when undiagnosed. I also think it\u2019s important to point out that both patients are the main victims of their disease, but their loved ones endure suffering as well.<\/p>\n

Q. Chances are readers are going to have a love\/hate relationship with Vance Cumberland. He\u2019s different from the male love interests we\u2019ve seen in your other books. What do you love about Vance? What irks you about Vance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. Vance is different from most of my male leads because we meet him in the beginning as a privileged kid. Just as we go on the coming-of-age journey with Austin, we get to do the same with Vance. That boy had a lot of growing up to do. I love his determination, but he irked me when he succumbed to those socially labeled boxes in his younger years. He eventually gets it right, and I think he\u2019s pretty swoon-worthy at times.<\/p>\n

Q. What do you hope your readers walk away with when they\u2019ve turned the last page of this book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. My hope is that they say, \u201cDang, that girl can write!\u201d Ha! Just kidding. Kinda . . . No, seriously, I want them to get to the end of this book and find their own sense of freedom. To bravely go out and live without putting on airs. To exercise their compassion and empathy muscles more.<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new Southern fiction novel Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe tells the story of Austin Foster, a young woman trying to take care of her family and keep family secrets from seeing the light of day on her family’s South Carolina tobacco fa...","protected":false},"author":1266,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,216,19],"tags":[5,6,7,8,14,20,21,24,30],"yoast_head":"\nCrazy4Fiction | Q&A with Under the Magnolias author T. I. Lowe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/crazy4fiction\/qa-with-under-the-magnolias-author-t-i-lowe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crazy4Fiction | Q&A with Under the Magnolias author T. I. 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