Book Nook: Despicable Lies - A Novel

Peggy Chernow recently published her debut book, “Despicable Lies: A Novel,” which introduces Danielle and Darcy Coulter, enchanting twin sisters who were psychically and emotionally torn apart after a despicable incident occurred at their boarding school.
Fifteen years have passed and the once inseparable sisters from a rich and powerful New York family are now estranged and living separate lives in different cities. Strange coincidences begin to unfold, causing the twins to finally acknowledge the anger and hurt they have been internalizing. These coincidences lead Danielle and Darcy to meet face-to-face at their father's deathbed where they must confront their past. “Despicable Lies” showcases the power of forgiveness and resilience in family relationships and brings to light that not everything is what it seems.
Why did you write Despicable Lies?I wrote the book because I have always been fascinated by twins and their special connection. I imagined how that special relationship could play out if the twins were separated for a long period of time. (fifteen years in my story). Then I drew from my life's experiences, and my imagination, to form the core of the plot. As I penned more and more chapters, I actually began to see the two girls, Darcy and Danielle, as real people and friends. When I finished the Despicable Lies manuscript, I was very sad because I missed my daily contact with “the girls”. They had become so much a part of my life and I was not ready to let them go. My solution was to write a sequel to their story. Second Chances should be out this fall.
Why are forgiveness and resilience so important in relationships?Misunderstandings, whether derived from circumstances or from deliberate lies, wrecked the close relationship between the two central characters in my book, Darcy and Danielle. The twin girls went from being able to finish each other's sentences and acting as one entity, to a complete separation, both physical and emotional. Foolish pride and fear of rejection stymied their chances of a reconciliation. When one was finally able to forgive herself, she was able to forgive her twin.
Without forgiveness and the resilience necessary to put events and hurts in the past, the girls could not have gone on to live their successful and happy lives. The plot of the book concentrates on how the twins eventually discover hidden truths and learn to forgive each other. But other characters seek forgiveness too. The girls must find a way to forgive their father for his hateful acts. Their Father must try to forgive and deal with his wife's treachery. One of the twins must seek out and forgive her former school's headmistress for an act that caused serious consequences to everyone in the book.
Forgiveness and the joy and peace that come with it are central to the book and the lives of Darcy and Danielle.
What do you think readers will take away from the book? It is my hope that my readers will finish Despicable Lies and feel a genuine affection for, and understanding of, Darcy and Danielle. The twins have shown how lies and deceptions, no matter how well intended, can affect and even ruin lives. Hopefully, if I did my job as a writer, the take way lesson from this book is that good people can do bad things for the right reasons...and be forgiven.