“Stand up, Jean Louise. Your father’s passin’.”

Atticus Finch is number one on my list of perfect fictional fathers. When I wrote the script for The Hepburn Girls, I wasn’t sure how to write an older, male, father figure for the main character, Katherine. He needed to be someone who dispensed wisdom with a firm, yet kind demeanor. Even though they aren’t related by blood, he effectively has a heavy hand in raising her, and shaping her future. I just wasn’t sure how to approach it until…Atticus. I just thought to myself, “How would Atticus handle this situation? ” That was the foundation that I built an entire character on.

Today, news was released that Harper Lee, Atticus’ creator, and author of To Kill a Mockingbird is finally, finally publishing her second book. Really her first book. According to reports, she wrote Go, Set a Watchman first, with a grown up Scout and older Atticus.  During flashbacks in the novel, her publisher was enchanted by the young version of Scout, and encouraged Lee to write a prequel.
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