Felix is your darkest hero yet. What drew you to his character?
James Nealy, my beloved OCD hero in The Unfinished Garden, came from my darkest fear as a mother: What if, when my young son grew up, no one could see beyond his quirky behavior to love him for the amazing person he is? Since James, I’ve wanted to go deeper and darker, and that desire led to Felix. Felix is ruled by a rigid personality that makes him hard to like sometimes, but Eudora’s right—he’s a good man. I love that contradiction.
Tell us about Harry and Max’s relationship, which seems unusual for two teenage boys.
My son and his BFF—“Thing One and Thing Two”—have been best buddies since they were toddlers. Nothing and no one comes between them, and I’ve always been extremely grateful for their bond. All is well in my world when those two are together, and man, are they a creative force! They used to build huge worlds out of Legos, make movies, and go on epic adventures in the forest. Now they write and perform music that inspires me. I firmly believe they will change the world. (I think Max and Harry will, too—Max through his music, Harry as a psychologist.)
Where did Eudora come from?
She popped up in my head one day, wearing that hat from the final scene. I put her aside for a future novel, but when I was spewing out my stream-of-consciousness first draft, she appeared in Ella’s garden with a pair of pruning shears. Given my love of gardening and eccentric characters, I knew she had to stay.
Do you have a favorite scene?
Not really, but I’m quite fond of the moonshine scene, which came out fully formed. As a reader, I love secondary characters who steal the show, and that scene belongs to Eudora and Max.
Why do you include a listening guide with your novels?
I started writing seriously as a mother on the go, which meant I had to learn how to tune out the world instantly. Music allows me to do that, but only if the song speaks to me of my point-of-view character’s emotional state. With my iPod and earbuds, I can write anywhere. Huge chunks of The In-Between Hour, for example, were written in the child psychologist’s waiting room and in a parking lot during my son’s Tuesday night guitar lessons. Because of that training, I managed to write a very difficult chapter of The Perfect Son on a transatlantic flight. (The wine may have helped.)
If I had to pick one song to listen to over and over while reading this novel, it would be “The Kids from Yesterday” by My Chemical Romance. The reference to lights makes me think of Ella, and the line about how your heart has to break before you can hear the music always says Felix to me. The hardest part of writing this novel was figuring out Felix’s relationship to music. I knew he would ask Harry for a playlist, but it took a while to figure out when and how. That’s the best part of writing—finding the pieces and watching them fit together.
LISTENING GUIDE
My Chemical Romance, “I Don’t Love You”
New Order, “Bizarre Love Triangle”
Coheed and Cambria, “The Afterman”
U2, “Ordinary Love”
Coheed and Cambria, “Pearl of the Stars”
Tears for Fears, “Woman in Chains” (with Oleta Adams) U2, “Every Breaking Wave”
The Arcadian Project, “Hey There, Pretty Girl”
Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
Everything But The Girl, “I Don’t Understand Anything”
The Airborne Toxic Event, “The Fifth Day”
Gnarls Barkley, “Smiley Faces”
The Airborne Toxic Event, “This Is London”
My Chemical Romance, “Planetary (GO!)”
U2, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own”
The Airborne Toxic Event, “The Way Home”
Coldplay, “Fix You”
The Strokes, “Reptilia”
Simple Minds, “When Two Worlds Collide”
The Smashing Pumpkins, “1979”
The Arcadian Project, “The Windmill”
Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”
My Chemical Romance, “The Only Hope for Me Is You”
Heaven 17, “Let Me Go” (extended version) Our Last Night, “Skyfall”