The inspiration for my novella Why Aurora Ran came from an interest in controlling family relationships and the codependent behavior that often accompanies them. Having encountered some of those dynamics myself, I wanted to explore how families can create environments where conflict attracts attention while independence goes largely unnoticed. Rather than write about personal experiences, I chose to examine these behaviors through fiction, using mystery, humor, and characters with complicated relationships.
. The story begins when Aurora Larrimore, a wealthy North Carolina society bride, slaps her wedding planner, punches her florist, steals a van, and disappears. Her family insists she's unstable and wants her returned before the wedding. But Lou Jenkins, the skip tracer hired to find her, asks a question nobody else seems interested in considering: Is Aurora missing, or has she simply chosen to leave? That distinction became the foundation of the mystery, along with the question of who gets to decide what constitutes acceptable behavior within a family.
Creating Lou was particularly enjoyable. I've always been fascinated by neurological conditions and the different ways people navigate everyday life while living with them. Lou has Tourette's syndrome, but I didn't want her condition to define her character. She's intelligent, observant, sarcastic, occasionally outrageous, and exceptionally good at recognizing dishonesty. Her Tourette's adds another dimension to her interactions, sometimes with unexpected consequences, but her personality and investigative abilities are entirely her own.
Humor was equally important to me. Controlling people can be astonishingly ridiculous, especially when they're convinced that their behavior is perfectly reasonable. Aurora's mother, Celeste, is a prime example, and Lou's blunt observations provide a counterbalance to Celeste's elaborate attempts to maintain appearances. I wanted readers to enjoy the absurdities of human behavior while recognizing the serious issues beneath them and how destructive they can be.
Once the novella was completed, adapting it into a feature screenplay seemed a natural progression. Its length was appropriate for a film, and the story already contained strong dialogue, distinctive characters, confrontational scenes, and a mystery that unfolded through investigation. One significant change was the opening. The novella introduces Lou at her workplace, while the screenplay begins with Aurora's spectacular departure, allowing audiences to witness the incident that launches the investigation. It was an opportunity to tell the same story through a different medium while preserving the characters and humor that made writing the novella so enjoyable.
Why Aurora Ran is the first in my planned Lou Jenkins Why Mysteries series, which I intend to develop in both literary and screenplay formats. The novella is published through Raven's Wing Books, and the feature screenplay is complete. For me, both versions reflect the same creative interest: exploring the complexities of human behavior through entertaining mysteries and characters who refuse to accept appearances at face value.