In her newest novel, The Ocean Inside, Janna McMahan examines contemporary Southern life. While family and home will remain a hallmark of Southern fiction, today's characters have developed a wider world view. No longer a sleepy, insulated South, children here grow up too fast, adults are preoccupied with their own dramas, and morals are sometimes deemed old-fashioned. McMahan will speak to the challenges of developing authentic, sympathetic characters in a world where anything goes.