Two Like Me and You by Chad Alan Gibbs
Publication date: May 20th, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Edwin Green’s ex-girlfriend is famous. We’re talking cover-of-every-tabloid-in-the-grocery-store-line famous. She dumped Edwin one year ago on what he refers to as Black Saturday, and in hopes of winning her back, he’s spent the last twelve months trying to become famous himself. It hasn’t gone well.
But when a history class assignment pairs Edwin with Parker Haddaway, the mysterious new girl at school, she introduces him to Garland Lenox, a nursing-home-bound World War II veteran who will change Edwin’s life forever.
The three escape to France, in search of the old man’s long-lost love, and as word of their adventure spreads, they become media darlings. But when things fall apart, they also become the focus of French authorities. In a race against time, who will find love, and who will only find more heartache?
~AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Chad Alan Gibbs~
1) What gave you
the inspiration for the storyline?
This book is a bit
of a mashup of two stories I’d been kicking around in my head for a while. I’m
not sure where the idea of two teens taking a WWII veteran back to France came
from, maybe binge watching Band of Brothers at 3 AM when our oldest son was an
infant. But the famous ex-girlfriend
story came from American Idol. I remember watching the show years ago, like
season 2 or 3, and there was a contestant who always wore a flower in her hair
for her boyfriend back home. Then one episode the flower was gone, and when
Seacrest asked her about it, she said they broke up. Since then the idea of a
boyfriend or girlfriend left behind after the other became randomly famous has
always intrigued me.
2) Are there any hidden themes in the book that you hope readers will discover?
Yeah, there are
themes and symbols in the book that I think readers will catch. Some on
purpose, others happy accidents that even I didn’t notice until re-reading a
late draft. I’m not sure if I could talk about them without spoiling a lot of
the story, but there won’t be a quiz, so don’t worry if you miss them.
3) Are any of the characters based on real people you know?
Loosely, I suppose.
Edwin Green has a lot of me in him, but all the characters are just inventions
of my imagination sprinkled with the occasional character trait that I’ve
observed in real life.
4) Who has influenced you most as a writer?
The Great Gatsby is
my favorite novel, and I read it every December. Unfortunately, my writing
doesn’t resemble Fitzgerald’s whatsoever. I’d say I’ve always wanted to write
books like Nick Hornby.
5) If you could have any three literary characters over to your place for game night, who would you invite, what would you play, what would you serve, and why?
Fun question! I’ll
say Hermione Granger, Jay Gatsby, and Ignatius Reilly. For game night we’d play
quidditch because if there is a witch in my house, I’m not going to miss the
chance to fly on a broom because we were playing Monopoly. We’d leave for
dinner, a super nice restaurant since Gatsby is paying, and we’ll probably get
kicked out before dessert because Ignatius will cause a scene.
6) Do you feel that you can ever have too many books?
No, you can never
have too many books! But in a few years when you see the head headline “Alabama
man crushed in an avalanche of books,” you’ll know that I was wrong.
Author Bio:
Chad Alan Gibbs lives in Alabama with his wife, two sons, two dogs, and an embarrassingly large collection of Star Wars action figures. Two Like Me and You is his first novel.
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