Read page one of Favorite Daughter
Meet Mickey, the messiest kindergarten teacher there ever was
Today I get to introduce one of my favo(u)rite people.
At thirty-three, she’s a successful kindergarten teacher—she manages to keep the lights on and a small fern alive, so she must be succeeding at life, right?—who lives for her work. She’s caring, generous, funny, and wise in pretty much all matters but one. Her personal life is something of an apocalyptic wasteland, you see, and it’s all because she has an issue she’s not quite ready to face.
Her name is Mickey, and she’s one half of the sister duo at the center of my debut novel, Favorite Daughter, the first page of which I’m sharing below!
We first meet Mickey at work, where she’s in a bit of a pickle. Little does she know her problems are only just beginning.
Later in this chapter, she inherits a spectacularly large fortune from her estranged father. But there’s a catch: to get the money, she must first attend seven sessions with a therapist her father selected before he died.
That therapist is Arlo, the half-sister Mickey has never met and doesn’t recognize. Reeling after being cut out of her father’s will with no explanation, Arlo doesn’t recognize Mickey, either. Needless to say, things get weird.
Without further adieu, here’s page one of Favorite Daughter, out in spring 2025 in Canada, the US, and the UK. I hope you like it! (The font might be a bit small if you’re reading on mobile, but you should be able to zoom in.)
Phew! Sharing that took some courage, not going to lie. Even after years of participating in writing groups and submitting my work for critique, I still get a bit anxious when people read my stuff. On that note… here are seventeen thoughts I’m having about my book at any given time:
What if no one reads it? I’ll die.
What if people read it? I’ll die.
Did I put in too many F-bombs?
Is it too commercial? Is it too literary? Where does it fit? Should I have written something about dragons instead?
I’m a genius! This is the best book ever!
I’m a moron! This book is trash, and my editors are all going to get fired for buying it!
How am I going to keep myself from checking the Goodreads rating every seven seconds until forever?
I’m never going to enjoy Goodreads ever again.
How am I going to convince my family and friends that this book is entirely fictional and not in the least about them?
Wait—is it about them?
No. It’s not. Mostly. I think.
I definitely put in too many F-bombs.
There’s also too much crying. And em-dashes. Way too many em-dashes.
How am I still editing this thing? It’s been literal years. And how am I still finding so many problems with it?
Why did I use the word “shirk” so much? What does “shirk” even mean?
Does this book feel so familiar because I wrote it or because I accidentally plagiarized the entire thing without realizing?
I hope I get to keep publishing books forever.
End notes
Currently reading: The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, which is about two siblings, each floundering in adulthood, who must return home and reckon with the strange upbringing they had at the hands of their wacky artist parents. It’s hilarious and whole-hearted and so far every bit as good as Nothing to See Here, which I also loved.
A bonus: I bought my copy secondhand, and every so often I’ll come across a note the previous owner scribbled in the margins. This is one reason why I love buying used books—you never know what little gifts you’ll find inside. Once I picked up a copy of Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and brought it home only to discover twenty bucks tucked between the pages!
Now tell me: What did you think of my first page? What questions does it raise in your mind about the protagonist, Mickey? Hit reply or leave a comment to let me know. And thanks as always for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider forwarding it to a friend. I’ll be sending these letters a few times per month in the lead-up to my book’s publication. Find me at morgandick.com or on Instagram @morgandick_author for more.
Thanks for sharing your 17 thoughts. I can relate to most of them although I haven’t even started querying yet. I hope when I finish Draft 8 it’s good enough to start that process this summer. I’ve been writing my novel since Nov. 2019 and I totally get the critique jitters but I’m glad you didn’t shirk—love that word, and em dashes—them because their feedback makes our work stronger.
I LOVE YIUR FIRST PAGE. And I’m not your mom so you must believe me! And that first sentence is one f-ing hook! (The F word is one of my favorite words.) There is so much to love about your fist page. Conflict and intrigue. What happened to her relationship with her dad? Why were they so estranged that she learned about his death from the obits? And the therapist she must see is her unknown sister? Excellent and funny twist. The kindergarten setting is hilarious. The pace keeps me reading. It’s very visual. I can see that boy in the floor. Your first page tells me I’m in for a twisty and witty family drama. Can’t wait to preorder! Congratulations on making it to publication! I’m sure you’ll write books forever!
I really enjoyed reading the first page of your novel. The sense I got about your protagonist was that she was a dedicated, efficient teacher and a kind human who compartmentalizes well. Taking Ian’s creation seriously ( or as seriously as is humanly possible) and not leaving him in the front office even though it’s 45 min past school letting out says a lot about her.