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G A M E T H E O R Y

What kind of wedding do Lynn and Niall have?

Small, just immediate family and close friends. Its what Lynn wanted and Niall was 100% okay with that for two reasons: 1) he just really wanted to marry Lynn, so whatever she wanted, he wanted. 2) he already went through the hell of putting together a wedding. It happened in the spring after the engagement and took place at Jace's parent's cabin. The exchange of vows was outside by the lake with the mountains behind them, and everything else was inside. The song playing for the first dance would be "Start of Something Good" and then later in the hotel room, Niall would play Lynn the song he wrote her.

Do they have kids?

Of course they have kids! A girl named Leandra and a boy named Leo, their names both meaning "lion" to take after Lynn's mother's obsession. Niall would insist on putting them in soccer, but later on in life, one takes up art and the other chemistry. And Lynn and Niall are totally okay with that.

What is Anders doing? Is he still with Matt?

They are still together, making it work long distance as Anders teaches in Italy and Matt is playing in London. As soon as Anders has the opportunity to move, he wouldn't hesitate to go to Matt.

How did Niall leave Elise?

I had this written in chapter in 117 but had to cut it off at the very end for spoiler reasons. How I had written it was that it was a mutual decision; Niall was really only with Elise because it was safe and secure. Elise then explained that she had felt the same way - that she loved Niall, but it was more platonic and she never really knew that until Niall said it. That's pretty much what I had written.

What happened to Elise? Where is she now?

I imagine her living her life to the fullest. Settling down with someone she wasn't truly in love with probably scared her into being free and unattached. She's single and she has never been happier. Eventually she would find someone and settle down for real, but it will take some time.

What is Harry doing?

Harry and Jillian are both living together in a small town outside of London. They keep in touch with Lynn regularly and even attended her and Niall's wedding. They both have proper jobs and duet together at local pubs and coffee shops on the side.

What is Grandma up to?

She's got a cat, a calico named Patches. Still tends to her garden and picks up odd hobbies. Right now she is learning how to carve soaps. She enjoys the time when her grandchildren visit, otherwise she spends her days playing poker with her friends.

W R I T I N G

When did you start writing Game Theory?

Sometime around August of 2014.

How many pages and words is Game Theory?

I write each chapter in different word documents, so I had to go in and add everything up. Game Theory is 959 pages and roughly 415k words long.

What inspired you to write this story?

A lot of things. It first started when I read a book about a girl's dad being a soccer coach and he had recruited a player on the team and the girl wasn't supposed to get involved with the player (for a reason I can't remember now). I took that forbidden idea, as well as the new player, and made it into something my own. Some chapters were inspired by shows I might have been watching, like The Fosters and Shameless. Some of you have figured that out already.

What difficulties did you face while compiling the book?

Lots. The main one I'm sure every writer faces is writers block. It was also hard sometimes to find motivation because some chapters were just not fun to write, but they were necessary so I had to pull through. Time is another one, just simply finding time around my studies, friends, and family was tough.

Which chapter(s) do you connect personally with and why?

Probably the hospital chapters, when both Lynn and Morgan. I was a patient in one on multiple occasions and it was a hard time in my life so I kind of applied my personal knowledge of what I went through into that. Fun fact: I might write a fanfic based on my time in the hospital.

Why did you end Game Theory there?

I'm going to answer this as if it ended on chapter 118 because that was my original plan. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to end the story the same way it started: Lynn's name. Since I didn't do much plotting when I first started, I didn't really know how it was going to end exactly. This was just the outcome. I couldn't think of anything else.

Is there anything about the story we don't know about? Some fun facts?

I'm sure there are a lot, but the only thing coming to mind right now are the names. It wasn't my intention to keep Lynn's name as it was. Lynn is my middle name so I had used it as a placeholder to change later. Eventually I fell in love with it so I kept it. Jamie's name was originally my own, Jessica, for the same reason as Lynn's. I was going to go back and change it. This time I did, but I didn't know what to change it to. So I used my brother's name, Jamie. The fact that Lynnette and Leander names both have "lion" meaning was a total coincidence. I figured that out like half way through writing and I just knew I needed to put that in there somewhere.

Is there anything in the story that never made it into the book? Like deleted scenes?

There are a lot of chapters I've left out! Like one was when there was a lock-in inside an abandoned science building that was known to be haunted. Another, and im really sad that I had to remove this, was some team members and their girlfriends all went to Jace's parent's cabin for a long weekend. The power had gone out so they decided to play truth or dare. Long story short, someone dared Niall to kiss Lynn.

Name the one character in the story you've liked all along. Why is he/she your favorite?

I have about 10 favorites but I'm going to go with... Abby. I feel like Abby is way too underrated. She was just a girl who was overshadowed by her brother, both in school and at home. She just wanted to be loved. I think her growth in the story is the most relatable.

How was the experience tuning and developing the characters who were the villains of the story ie. Ethan and Katie, James and Chloe?

Really Hard. I'm going to be honest, I could have done better when it came to these four. I felt like I could do more with them; develop their stories and give them a proper outlook, but by the time they were exposed as the bad people, the story was coming to an end and I had no more room to expand.

Are any of the characters based on on you or the people around you?

Yes and no. Personality/appearance wise, no. But some of the things that happened to some of the characters were took from me or the people I know. For example: I had an old friend who was good at something and their parents used them for money, kind of like what Niall's dad did to him in GT.

Did you have a personal connection with Lynn and Niall?

Yes, of course. I've made them from just a name to something I myself can relate to, as I'm sure others can, too. They both have something about them, whether it's their family, school, relationship life... there's always something there to connect yourself with.

Which chapter was the most exciting, fun and jovial enough for you to write?

I'm going to be honest with you... the smut chapters. I got real excited when I landed on one of those to write.

Do you like chemistry since there's a lot of it in Game Theory?

I never took a chemistry class in my life. I had the option to take that or take environmental science and forensic in it's place... I ended up doing that instead. So everything science related comes right from Google and my common knowledge.

How did you find/choose the title 'Game Theory' for the book?

I had a whole list of names I had gone through before landing on this one. At first I wanted something science related so I had Chemical Reaction. But then I wanted to change it so it focused more on soccer since that's what the story was about. So then I thought of Game Plan. I still wasn't satisfied with it, but then after doing some research, I found Game Theory because it fits both with science and soccer!

Why are the chapters named after elements?

It's literally because of Niall being into chemistry lol. There's really nothing more to it.

Did you plan on writing 118 chapters or did you choose that because of the periodic table?

I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I first started writing this story. It wasn't until like chapter 30 did I decide to add elements to the chapter titles. After that I HAD to do all 118 because like I've said before; I'm a very consistent person so I couldn't just cut it off at like, I don't know, chapter 70.

P E R S O N A L

If you were to ever meet Niall, what would you do?

Listen. I'd tell you that I would keep my cool, walk up to him and start chatting, possibly make him laugh and get a kick-ass selfie together. Reality? I'd probably be shaking and stuttering all over the place and the selfie would turn out blurry but I would cherish it like a masterpiece in an art gallery.

Edit: I met him on July 26th, 2018 during his Flicker World Tour. I did not blubber like an idiot and I did get a kick-ass selfie with him. I poked his cheeks (his face, not his bum. Let's not be gross)! And my mouse pad is of the selfie, so like a masterpiece indeed.

Is Niall your favorite 1D member?

Yes, right from the moment I saw him.

Who all have you seen in concert?

One Direction twice, 5 Seconds of Summer twice, Demi Lovato, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, PVRIS, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Awolnation, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, and a lot more.

Edit: I've since seen Niall three times. Flicker Sessions and two for Flicker World Tour. (Would have been at least four times if Nice To Meet Ya Tour wasn't cancelled.)

You said you graduated from college, what degree did you get?

Graphic Design!