Let's talk about Dragon Boat racing first. What is this sport? Who does it? How does it work?

Why was Dragon Boat racing the right occupation for Tripp Avery? What is it about the challenge of Dragon Boat racing that requires more of Tripp than anything else he's done? He worked his way up from poverty to prosperity, became a 'someone' out of 'no one' roots, so how is Dragon Boat racing a different kind of challenge?

We all write what we know. Some of Tripp is some of Roger -- just as some of Brian Listo from After December is part of Kasie -- so how protective are you of Tripp as a character? I am fierce about Brian (flaws and all) so I imagine you're especially attached to Tripp. What made you decide to go first-person narrator with Tripp and put us in his head for the entire book?

Some of the book takes place in Charleston. A city you know well. What opportunities did setting the book there give you to celebrate (or maybe question?) Charleston as you know it? How important is setting to the story?

There are some great characters and relationships in this book. Among them are Amy, Tripp's wife, with whom he has a special bond celebrated through their mutual love of flowers. Amy is the one who encourages Tripp to coach the Dragon Boat in Beaufort. It's a devastating loss in a previous coaching life that makes Tripp reluctant to compete with such fragile athletes. How important is Amy's encouragement to get Tripp to take another risk like coaching the Dragon Boat? What does she know about Tripp that he doesn't know (or believe) about himself?

Tripp questions (in Chapter 12) if his commitment to the Dragon Boat work is his own love of turning underdogs into champions. There's a kind of selfishness to the undertaking, which he seems acutely aware of, and which he battles with throughout. In his "pep talk" he reminds the athletes that cancer is not an excuse and warns we will not allow them to humiliate themselves or each other by not giving all they have to the undertaking. What is it about a cancer diagnosis that brings this kind of determination to the front of any character?

The Final Victory is a difficult book, one that looks at mortality with eyes wide open and challenges readers to make the best of every minute they've been given in this life. Said one reader, "I had to put it down for a while." The journey for Tripp and his boat mates may hit a little close to home. But through its grief and triumph, the spirit of the novel is to be encouraging, to be certain good things can come from bad circumstances. Buy it local here.

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