Chapter 30

Thoughts on Chapter 30:

• Believe it or not, my original outline for The Island of Forever didn’t have these trials in it! 

• These trials, to me, were so important because much of Max’s anxiety stems from his past - he blames himself for his father leaving and holds a lot of himself away, including opening himself to love. The third task has him overcoming both to confront and come to terms with himself.

• The Other Max is not only shapeshifting, but he’s opening Max’s wounds. Things people have said to him that have hurt. He needs to overcome these words to be stronger. Every time he breaks through, his shapeshifting powers become easier because the Other Max is using the prior tasks to ensure he is stronger because of them

• The last iteration of the shapeshifting is a snake, constricting him. To me, this represents his anxiety and becoming one with himself

• My goal with writing this book was that I was annoyed at the time of so many books being true “coming out” stories. Where the main characters come out to their friends and family, while dealing with the repercussions with that choice. While I know there’s a place for those type of books, I liked fantasy and wanted to see more LGBT+ characters in the books I was reading. I also got tired of the same formula for the coming out books and had the realization that coming out and accepting yourself is, many times, harder. I think many come out to their friends and family in hope that it strengthens their relationship with themself when, in reality, it takes so much work to fully be comfortable in your own skin, especially after the trauma Max has been through