Behind ‘Ignore Gravity’
Ignoring Gravity is a novel about thinking you know yourself, then finding out that what you know is wrong. Yes, Ignoring Gravity is my first novel, says author Sandra Danby (BA English, 1982). It is about a journalist, Rose Haldane. Yes, I was a journalist. Therefore I must be Rose? Wrong! Yes, Rose finds out she is adopted. Therefore I must be adopted? Wrong!
So many debut novelists ‘write about what they know’ and I guess that’s what I did subconsciously when I started to write Ignoring Gravity 12 years ago. But quite early on, something magical happened. Rose stood up off the printed page and became real and the world I had created for her became real too. So Rose is herself, not a shadow of me. She reacts in a dramatic way to finding out she is adopted, there is no right or wrong reaction in this situation. I don’t think anyone can know how they would react unless it happens to them. I wanted to explore how we get to be ourselves, what makes our identity. How much of that is genetic and how much are our life experiences, our choices and our family influences? Nature versus Nurture.
Ignoring Gravity is about a young woman looking for a place in this world, a world which overnight becomes strange and empty, where she doesn’t know a single person who shares the same blood as her. So Rose sets off on a quest in search of herself, and along the way she finds friendship, romance, and the real meaning of family. It is an adoption story, but the underlying theme is identity.
To get a feel for the story, watch the book trailer for Ignoring Gravity. This was filmed on a cold windy day in March in Leicestershire.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/jpzWKR4gx8I]
I’ve been asked a lot to explain the significance of the front cover design. Trees for me are symbolic of the family, our history, our roots. Many of my readers are interested not only in adoption reunion and tracing lost relatives, but also in researching their own family tree. The cover illustration was inspired by an afternoon stroll on Wimbledon Common, where I was living when I was writing the book. This is the tree that got me thinking.
Guest post by Sandra Danby (BA English, 1982). Sandra lives in England and Spain. She is a tennis nut, a tea drinker and proud Yorkshirewoman. When not writing her own fiction or reading someone else’s, she can be found playing tennis or watching it on television.
You can buy Ignoring Gravity at Amazon. Connectedness, second in the series about ‘Rose Haldane: Identity Detective’, will be published in 2016. For more about Sandra Danby and the character of Rose Haldane, visit her website, follow her on Twitter or like her on Facebook.
What book bloggers are saying about Ignoring Gravity
“I devoured the book in one go, unable to put it down despite the tirade of emotions it brought to the surface.” BestChickLit.com
“This is an extremely emotional book that kept me reading until the end. The author deals with adoption and infertility in a very realistic way, with strong characters and good writing. This is the type of book I could read again and again.” Jessica, The Modest Verge
“I absolutely loved this book. I am usually very wary about reading books by new authors, especially ones which I haven’t read any reviews on previously, however, I was pleasantly surprised with Sandra’s book. From the very first page, I was hooked. It started off exactly how you would expect it to – calm and simple – however, as the story unfolds we are introduced to a series of constant enigmas.” Jenny, SmallGirlBigDreams1993.com
“The remarkable first book of an intriguing series.” Karen Oberlaender, My Train of Thoughts
“A wonderful page turner. I was rooting for Rose through the whole book.” Isabell Homfeld, Dreaming With Open Eyes
