I know what you’re thinking. What’s a Midwestern mom doing writing about a male hedge fund manager who lives in Brooklyn with a dysfunctional young artist?
Maybe I’m not who you think I am… (ooh, foreshadowing of Left on Blue… but I digress).
Let me ask you this: Have you ever noticed how some people don’t ever act their age? There are men and women whom I know, who absolutely never act their age ~ some act older, some act younger (even MUCH younger). I call it a person’s “Emotional Age.” Do you know what I’m talking about? Some call it being “an old soul,” or “young at heart.” My husband, for instance, whom everyone loves, I could swear his emotional age is about 16. Don’t get me wrong, he’s wise and intelligent and successful and kind, but he always lives in the moment and he’s kinda goofy. And I have a friend who’s nearing 50, but she acts like a fun-loving 28-year old. Then there’s me. I’m 47, but I think I’ve been 35 for about the last 30 years. Even when I was in college, I never behaved like a college kid.
Ok, so the same goes for logistics. I live in Iowa, lived here for 22 years now. But my “Emotional Home,” if you will, is New York City. If you are so inclined, you might think I was reincarnated from a soul who died in NYC at the age of 35. (OOH, creepy… I think I’ve just found my next novel!) Once, several years ago on a trip to NYC to visit my artists (remember I was an art dealer for 8 years), dressed in my typical head-to-toe black, hailing a taxi at LaGuardia, a man asked me, “Feel good to be home?” (Ooh, double creepy: maybe he knew me from my previous life!) Anyway, almost every day for the last 3 or 4 years, I’ve watched CNBC. It’s even on now, as I type. My alter ego lives in New York, probably somewhere in the Village. My husband and I even got married at the Plaza Hotel in NYC.
And writing from a male point of view? Hell, that’s nothing. I have a husband, four sons, a father, a brother, an ex-husband, and even a male dog. I’ve got no problem writing a male POV. And, the inspiration for this novel hit me like lightning one day when I was on a walk, listening to my iPod, when David Gray came on singing “This Year’s Love.” Know the song? If not, take a listen. My kids don’t appreciate David Gray (yet), but his music is so deep and so raw and so masculine, that I knew I could write an au courant, fact-based, yet deeply emotional novel that would appeal to both men and women. There’s one line from David Gray, “won’t you kiss me, on a midnight street?” that hit me so hard it absolutely inspired a story-line so powerful that I had to write it down immediately. In fact, for most of the past year, the working title for That Changes Everything was Midnight Street. But, true to the title, my characters took over and changed everything, including the title.
Ultimately, the only way you’ll know if I am/was successful with this novel is to read it. I think you’ll find it accurate, compelling, and worthy. And, thank you, David Gray, for the inspiration.