WHY DID YOU SET THIS BOOK IN RURAL MINNESOTA?
A few reasons, I guess. One, I wanted to write a book for all the women out there who love characters like Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones but don’t live in a big city and wear Manolo Blahniks. You can live in Wisconsin and drink Pig’s Ear beer and still be fun and fabulous. It’s all in the attitude! Also, I’m lazy. I went to college in a small town in Minnesota, loved it, and used that town as the inspiration for the fictional setting of Lindbrook. Finally, I needed it for the plot. How else was I going to work in scenes like “Free Beer ’Til Somebody Pees”?
TEENAGERS IN LOVE: CAN IT REALLY LAST?
There’s something special about first loves—something pure and intense and kind of obsessive—and maybe that’s why they don’t usually endure into adulthood. First loves embody a kind of innocence that we can’t take into adulthood…and most of us wouldn’t want to! When you’re seventeen, you’re not thinking about whether the hot guy who asked for your phone number has commitment problems, mother issues, or a good credit rating. You’re just starry-eyed and awash in endorphins. And afterward you grow up, smarten up, and get all world-weary and suspicious about dating.
Though I don’t personally know anyone who married her high school sweetheart, I do know a few couples who broke up, went their separate ways, and then reunited as adults. Isn’t that part of the reason why we attend high school and college reunions? We have to find out what happened to our old flames. Did your evil ex-boyfriend get his just desserts (i.e., a raging case of herpes and a yearly IRS audit)? Is that guy you admired from afar in biology lab still cute? And if he is, is he single?
BUT, AS YOU SAY, MOST PEOPLE DO EVENTUALLY GET OVER THEIR FIRST LOVES. WHY DIDN’T FAITH AND FLYNN?
I would agree that most people eventually move on after their first serious relationship. But the idea of reuniting with our first love is a pretty widespread fantasy. Books and movies like The Great Gatsby, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Persuasion, and The Big Chill all focus on the desire to track down old loves and resolve emotional issues from the past.
As to why Faith and Flynn had so much trouble letting go of their relationship and moving on to other partners, the tattoos pretty much sum it up. Those monogrammed hearts are the physical manifestation of the marks they left on each other. Neither had the heart removed—though it’s possible with laser technology—but both of them hid it from view. Sometimes our romantic mistakes push us forward to the next stage in our lives, but sometimes they hold us back. By keeping those tattoos, Faith and Flynn were signaling that they weren’t ready to let go of the past, even though they were angry and hurt. Nothing like a good dose of emotional ambivalence!
FLYNN AND LARS BOTH QUALIFY AS THE STRONG, SILENT TYPE, WHILE IAN, THE ARTICULATE MAN OF LETTERS, IS A TOTAL JACKASS. CARE TO COMMENT?
As someone who’s dated her fair share of jackasses, I learned the hard way that actions speak louder than words. It has been my experience that men who are prone to making flowery speeches about how your eyes remind him of the sun rising over the Seine are trouble. Ditto for men who need half an hour every morning to put exactly the right amount of gel in their bangs. I like ’em stoic and sincere. No primping or posturing. As my brother put it, “A good guy only needs seven minutes to buy a pair of pants: one minute to locate them in the store, two minutes to try them on, and four minutes to leave.”
WHY DIDN’T FAITH AND FLYNN GET MARRIED AT THE END OF THE BOOK? DO YOU THINK THEY EVER WILL?
They didn’t get married because, quite frankly, they weren’t ready. Faith, who started the story in complete isolation—almost self-imposed exile—managed to surround herself with a close-knit community of friends and family by the end. I think that’s a pretty drastic change in and of itself! The story focuses on their romantic reconciliation, but before Flynn gets up the nerve to propose again, they’ve got a lot more rebuilding to do. You know, boring stuff like doing the laundry together and having stupid little arguments over who used the last coffee filter and forgot to buy more. Ah, true love…
Will they ever tie the knot? Probably. I can see it all now: a small outdoor wedding, maybe by the river, Faith in a simple white sheath dress, Skye in the frilly pink bridesmaid dress she’d insist on wearing, Leah and Stan providing a wedding cake complete with a little Cubs cake topper. (Flynn, of course, will be wearing a white T-shirt with his tux.)