At Bromsgrove North High School, I remember Miss Jones asking us to debate this in class. Without parroting our parents, following political party lines or the rhetoric of the religious right(eous). I remember heated name calling, raging against each other, not the clear compassionate conversation she hoped for.

I don’t remember my thoughts at the time.

Now though is a different matter. I’ve had some intense personal experience with the question. Who decides to take a life? At what point is the machine unplugged and the spirit set free? Or do you see it as murder?
I’ve taken a moment, a question, a memory from my life and I sowed that seed in my protagonist Lucky and watched to see what Lucky would do. It’s not my story but it began with me. Now I ask the readers to let me know what they, you, would do in Lucky’s situation? Run away? Stay? Move into a longterm facility? Call the lawyers or the pope?

It’s not easy, none of it is. Lucky Shot  brings up hard questions for the protagonist but there is also some laughter amongst Lucky’s friends both new and old, there’s a journey across country, desire and the start of new relationships, and throughout Lucky finds a sense of community’s strength to relax into.

The novel hopes to start more open hearted thoughts for this taboo subject, lets talk, lets listen to each other’s stories. It’s not pretty, but death isn’t. It just is part of life. yet no one likes to talk about it and that’s hard, horrendous, when faced with these choices and you’re alone with them.