Eliza, Anne, and Penny have followed three very different paths in life. Are they inspired by women you know? Do you see yourself in any of them?
While my real-life relationships and experiences have always inspired my work, I tend to avoid having a single person in mind as I create my characters. I like them to be unique individuals, a combination of traits from people I’ve met or read about over the years. I fill in the rest with my imagination.
If anything, I see myself in my characters more than any other person. Little bits, here and there. Penny’s dreamer-like attitude. Anne’s hectic mom-life. Eliza’s desire to work hard and succeed. I hope many women can relate to at least one of the characters in Three Single Wives, if only a glimmer.
Anne’s postpartum depression is integral to the way that other characters treat her. Did you do much research on the topic?
I did do a fair amount of research prior to writing Anne’s character. Postpartum depression isn’t something that is discussed a lot publicly, but it is a very real, very scary illness that affects many women. I think by talking about it and researching it, we can bring the subject to light. The end goal is to bring awareness to women and help one another recognize that there is help available.
When you started writing, did you know who the murderer was? How did you map out the courtroom scenes throughout?
I thought I knew who the murderer was when I started writing, but as it turns out, I didn’t! The first ending I wrote isn’t the same one that is in the book now. After writing the first and even second draft, I did a hefty set of revisions that included changing the murderer, and I feel the book is much stronger now.
As for the courtroom scenes, I added those in after the rest of the novel was complete. I mapped out a chronological timeline of the events as they unfolded and then peppered in little bits of information each time we visited the courtroom.
Do you have more fun writing righteous characters defending their own, like Anne, or characters who take whatever they please, like Roman?
I think it’s important to have a wide mix of personalities. If everyone were the same—in reality or in fiction—life would be boring! By having a slew of characters with various motives and dirty secrets and differing moral codes, and then mixing them all together—it creates quite an explosive plot.
With Three Single Wives following Pretty Guilty Women, you seem to a have a flair for ensemble casts of women. What draws you to those kinds of stories?
I find fascination in how we, as women, deal with the issues we are faced with every day. Between societal pressures, our roles as wives, mothers, caregivers, employees, chefs, etc., there’s an almost suffocating list of things expected from us. Each woman handles these pressures differently, and I think we all long for others who understand what we’re going through—not only the good, but also the bad and even the ugly. Who wouldn’t want to have a group of friends who have their back…no matter what?
Where do you start a book? A scene, a character, a corpse?
I start usually start a book with a title or a question. In the instance of Three Single Wives, however, I started with characters. I started with Penny moving out to Los Angeles, then Eliza and Roman. Anne naturally fitted into the equation, rounding out the three perspectives I wanted to explore in the novel. I built the story around each of their secrets.
You chose an apt setting for this story. What drew you to LA?
I’m fascinated with LA and Hollywood, and the fact that the entertainment industry seems to exist in a world of its own. I moved to Los Angeles after college and lived there for six years, and it does feel different to live in the middle of it all. There’s a very eclectic, creative ambiance, and I credit living in Los Angeles for kickstarting my desire to write. I now live in Minnesota with my husband and family, but I will always be grateful for my time spent on the west coast. Not least of all because I met my husband there and brought him back to Minnesota!
Are you a self-help reader yourself? What kinds of books appear on your bedside table?
I don’t read a lot of self-help, but I have read a handful over the years. I read across almost every genre. As I have an eleven-month-old son, I currently have a couple of parenting books on my nightstand. I always have a slew of mystery and suspense books that I’m trying to catch up on, though my TBR will be forever endless!
What’s next for you?
I am currently working on my third suspense novel that will be in the vein of Pretty Guilty Women and Three Single Wives. You can expect more bodies, more secrets, and more women with complicated lives and even more complicated decisions before them. I have several additional series that are currently available, and you can find my entire catalog at ginalamanna.com. There, you can also join my newsletter to be kept up to date on cover reveals, news, and release dates.