Aycee Lucy Talks Half of a Second Child and Slow-burn Romance
We have another author interview here at BookishEnds. Aycee Lucy is a new author and one of my clients who I somehow convinced to be my friend. I asked her about her latest book Half of a Second Child, worldbuilding, romance, and more. Keep scrolling to read the full interview.
What inspired you to write Half of a Second Child?
So many things! Witchy stories, portal fantasies, Dungeons and Dragons, and a love of slow-burn romances and found family. I’ve also described Half of a Second Child as a darker version of Halloweentown, which was one of my biggest inspirations at the time I decided to write it. I really love the premise of a young person being transplanted to a brand-new world, and all the risk and adventure that happens alongside themes of self-discovery and personal growth.
What was the process of writing Half of a Second Child like? How did you approach worldbuilding?
It was a long process. I rewrote the story a few times before I felt confident enough to publish it. For the worldbuilding, I took different approaches depending on the aspect. One of the first things I planned was the magic system. That led into planning the different jurisdictions for each type of magic. Other aspects just evolved as I was writing and brainstorming ways to create or fix problems.
The magic schools in Half of a Second Child play a major role in the book. Can you tell us more about the schools?
Not without spoilers! Ember will make a choice in the beginning of the second book that determines which school(s) will be explored more in-depth!
Half of a Second Child has a wonderful slow-burn romance. Did you ever find yourself struggling with the pacing of the romance to ensure it wasn’t moving too fast or too slow?
Yes! Constantly! I really wanted Ember and Leland’s relationship to develop slowly but couldn’t stop them from flirting in my drafts. I edited a lot of it out because it didn’t feel authentic to where they were at emotionally, and I wanted them to overcome their insecurities and respect each other before they started anything too romantic.
Did you edit out any scenes that you wished had stayed in Half of a Second Child?
I did edit out a lot of scenes, but I’m really happy with the final version! The scenes I cut were fun but didn’t fit the tone I wanted for the part of the book they appeared in, or weren’t super necessary, and I really wanted to keep the book around 450 pages.
What do you want readers to take away from Half of a Second Child?
I really wanted to write a story about someone with so much potential to change the world, except all these crushing things that keep happening to her leave her feeling like the best thing she can do is just step out of the way.
I get emotional every time I read the last page of Half of a Second Child because it makes me so happy that Ember finally connected with people who want to uplift her. And now that she has a community and support, she can grow more secure in her place in the world, reciprocate care, and hopefully make the world better.
Did you come up with the title before or after you wrote Half of a Second Child?
The placeholder title was “Second Child” for the longest time. “Half of a Second Child” clicked pretty late in the process, but once it did, I knew it was perfect!
Did you always know Half of a Second Child was going to be part of a series?
Yes! I planned it as a four-book series before I started writing it. I really wanted to create a world I could get lost in for a long time.
What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Were there any books, articles, or other media that inspired you?
I did a lot of research on worldbuilding and fighting. The On Writing and Worldbuilding books by Timothy Hickson, and Fight Write by Carla Hoch were amazing!
What are your favorite romance tropes?
Fake dating, love triangle, and forced proximity!
What is your writing schedule like? How do you manage your time?
Good question! I try to write 10,000 words per week, but that’s about all the structure that I have. Being a pet-sitter, I have so much flexibility in my schedule, but finding the confidence to start writing is where I struggle the most with my time.
What’s the last book you read that you would recommend?
The book I’m currently reading! Superstring by Victor Cabinta has everything I love! Victor is such a talented writer, and the book is thrilling and has a great cast of characters.
Do you have any books in the works or upcoming that you can tell us about?
Yes! I’m currently editing a Romance about a Las Vegas-based massage therapist and an NFL quarterback. It has fake dating, a friendship breakup, and it explores chronic pain from a spinal fusion for scoliosis, which is super personal to me. Once I’m finished with that, I hope to get back to editing the second Half of a Second Child book.
Half of a Second Child Description
For fans of “Zodiac Academy,” Aycee Lucy’s Half of a Second Child is a fantasy with romance about a half witch struggling to adapt after being thrust into the dangerous witch-world of Everden.
Ember Blackburn is the second child her mother never wanted, a rejected half witch with a dangerous gift for lies—and ruining lives when she tells them. Ignored by her witch relatives and shut out of Everden, Ember settles for a magicless existence, taking care of her human father on a quiet cul-de-sac in Pennsylvania. Then, a mysterious male witch is ordered to retrieve her, and Ember’s dragged to the picturesque world of witches where she knows she isn’t wanted.
Lethal, truth-telling, and devastatingly handsome, Leland Stray is bound to protect the half witch—an impossible task in a realm taught to despise her for her human breeding. Soon after Ember’s arrival, innocent witches start to go missing, and Ember, the target of every witch with a vendetta against humans, becomes the prime suspect in the disappearances.
A life-or-death entanglement with Leland means Ember must find a way to convince Everden she isn’t a threat, or Leland will suffer. But, haunted by a feeling that something is incalculably wrong with her, Ember will first have to stop being her own worst advocate and convince herself—then the realm—that she belongs.
