When Winning The Lottery Changes Far More Important Things Than Financial Status
Ridgewood, NJ, – At some point in our lives, we’ve all wondered what it would be like to win the lottery. You Never Know (Wheatmark, Inc.) is an extraordinary novel by Lilian Duval that shows us it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. Her story draws a parallel between two families who are friends; one has suffered great tragedy and struggles financially, while the other has enjoyed an affluent lifestyle. Little did they realize that everything in their worlds would change when one decides to buy a lottery ticket.
Having struggled through his young life with a condescending father, alcoholic mother and an artistically gifted younger brother, Tobias Hillyer’s life changes forever during a Christmas visit home when a tragic automobile accident leaves both parents dead and his younger brother Simeon seriously injured. Tobias, always the one to do the right thing, abandons his dreams of finishing college to take care of his brain-damaged sibling. He gets stuck in a low-paying job and marries a nurse he meets while visiting his brother at the hospital.
On the other hand, Martin, his college roommate, seems to have everything going his way; he finishes college, marries well and lands a high-paying job with Lehman Brothers in New York. In spite of their differences in incomes, the two couples and their children stay in touch.
When Tobias buys a lottery ticket on a whim – and wins – he believes his problems are finally over. Strangely, as the roles are reversed, Tobias and his wife now get to live out their fantasies and Martin now faces bankruptcy.
As problems surface and life gets more difficult and less predictable for Tobias, who nearly loses everything he holds most dear while trying to get his head around this staggering amount of money, it is Simeon who surfaces as the unexpected hero by realizing his own happiness and success as a result of his own efforts. As ‘Simmy’ sets out on his own personal life journey, he leaves the family with a gift that brings them full circle and grants Tobias inner peace.
You Never Know is more a story of triumph than defeat, and what stems from that winning ticket makes for an exciting and surprising read that is filled with unexpected twists and turns to the very end, proving that while chance can change lives in a split second it’s the results that can last a lifetime.
While Lilian Duval implies in her novel that her characters may be impacted by the eventual terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Towers in 2001, she and her husband are actual survivors of this attack and know first-hand how this experience forever changed their lives.
For more information on Lilian Duval and her extraordinary novel, please visit her website at: www.lilianduval.com.
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TIP SHEET:
Charles Ashbacher: “Tobias is a very talented college student in anthropology… The family goes out to dinner and Tobias is behind the wheel when another vehicle slams into them, killing his parents and giving Simeon a severe head injury. Blaming himself for the tragedy, Tobias is forced to cancel his participation in the research trip to take care of his brother…he meets a young nurse named Carmela and she helps guide him through the very difficult first years. They are married and together they take care of Simeon … they have twins and while Simeon eventually is able to work at simple tasks, his ongoing recovery remains expensive. One day…Tobias, missing a train, buys a lottery ticket. His willingness to aid others is rewarded as he is the winner of …in excess of $100 million. This is a story of struggle, major achievement and then struggle again with a completely different set of problems. Tobias demonstrates …that he is a very good person; he retains a loyalty to people, even when they are unable to repay their loans. Duval keeps the action going in a smoothly consistent manner…everything that happens to Tobias and his group is believable consequences of winning a lottery at that level. While bad things often happen to good people, this is an uplifting story of the good being triumphant over the bad and well as the good.”
Alan Caruba of The National Book Critics Circle: “You Never Know…explores what happens when extraordinary things happen to ordinary people. The author is a survivor of the 9/11 attack and lives in New Jersey where the novel’s protagonist, Tobias Hillyer, has a life filled with both tragedy and extraordinary luck…the characters intertwine in an ever-changing landscape of events, capped by Hillyer’s win of a MegaMillions lottery that, despite the millions involved, evoke a whole new set of problems. It an intriguing story filled with unexpected twists and turns.”
Emily Truman, Esq., Asst. Municipal Prosecutor, City of Newark: “Have you ever read a book you didn’t want to finish simply because it was so good that you didn’t want the experience to end? It’s a rare find, and one to be treasured. You Never Know is one of those books—it’s a book to be devoured in one night, but also a book you want to cherish and read slowly.”
