Lucas Maxwell’s debut novel A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once is an emotional read that is sure to resonate with young people at secondary school. Set during a harsh winter in Nova Scotia the it tells the story of one boy’s heartfelt school and family experiences. Lucas has very kindly written for us about his own journey bringing his debut novel to life.
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I am very excited that my debut novel, A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once will be published in April. It is a surreal experience to approach publication day, it is a story that took me several years to complete and is very close to my heart.
I wrote the first line of the novel, “I got kidnapped when I was four years old” when I was nineteen. It was part of a short story that I had written as part of a creative writing group I was a part of in Nova Scotia. I remember writing the story and handing it in to the instructor, a Canadian poet named Heather Pyrcz who ran classes at night for university kids who wanted to perform poetry and write short stories.
She held the story up in front of the group after she’d read it and said “This will be published in a novel one day.” I never forgot that, and I’ll never forget reading that story aloud in (what was then) a grimy student bar called The Anvil to a small crowd of people as part of an open mic event.
I tried very hard to get that story published in dozens of North American literary magazines to no avail. When I moved to the UK, I decided to transform it into a novel. The plot shifted a lot, but I kept that first line both because I really liked it and because I felt like it was keeping it connected to that moment with Heather holding it up in front of the group.
A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once
Lucas Maxwell
ISBN: 9781917171397
Being a teen’s a tough gig, but what if one gig could save your family? ‘Gorgeous and sensitive, incredibly thoughtful to its characters who are full of life and colour and vivid detail … a truly special debut.’ MARGARET MCDONALD ‘… has a subtle power. Honest, engaging and warm, Elias’s story will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page.’ SARAH CROSSAN ‘The most gorgeously written and heartfelt debut in years. Breaks your heart into a million tiny pieces all at once and then puts it back together again – a marvel.’ PIERS TORDAY Elias’s brain is a swamp of fears and bad things. His once-loving brother Bo has become a stranger, and his parents are at breaking point. When Bo falls in with dangerous people, Elias decides he’s the only one who can bring his family back together. But what begins as a simple pizza-night plan quickly spirals into chaos. Can Elias find a way to reach the people he loves the most before it’s too late? The stunning debut novel from Lucas Maxwell, winner of the Times/Chicken House Competition 2024 Set in wintry Nova Scotia, Canada and inspired by the author’s childhood, this special novel explores themes of family addiction and growing up neurodivergent Perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Orbiting Jupiter For readers aged 13 and up ‘Emotional gut punch, beautiful setting, and HD real characters’ NATHANIEL LESSORE ‘Very occasionally I read a book which I know is going to stay with me for a very long time … I loved it very much.’ SIMON JAMES GREEN ‘I was gripped from the very first line. Wonderful.’ LISA THOMPSON ‘I read it in pretty much one sitting … flawless’ JASBINDER BILAN ‘Unimaginably good … a work of utter genius’ TIA FISHER ‘I highly recommend this lovely read’ SUSIN NIELSEN
It took a long time for me to get it published, I have around one hundred rejections from agents around the UK from the past five years. When I submitted it to the Times-Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2024, I did not have much hope and decided that if I did not win it, I would stop torturing myself.
But then I won it. I still can’t really remember what I did or said when I went on stage after they announced my name, I felt my brain leave my body and I just stood there, stunned, I’m sure. It was a moment that changed my life.
The story is based on my real life experiences growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada. In it, a autistic fourteen year old named Elias, tries desperately to prepare for an upcoming talent show because he feels that by winning it, and the free Pizza Hut dinner prize, it will help bring his crumbling family back together. I set it during a Nova Scotian winter, which can rage from November to April, with the wind creating temperatures that can go well below negative twenty degrees and the snow can pile up over the vehicles. I wanted the weather to become a character of its own and to demonstrate how brutal it can be.
As I said, it’s a story that is very close to my heart and I still can’t believe that I’ll be able to walk into a bookshop and see it on the shelves. I hope that if you do read it, you will enjoy it and that you’ll see the hope and grit and determination that is inside Elias. Thank you!
