‘It feels like a character just drops into my head’

Rachel Geertsema asks, Where do you find inspiration for your books?

Jennifer Close replies, For me, I always start with a character and the story builds from there. Usually I know just a little bit about the character— with Beth, the first thing I knew about her was that she moved to DC and was unhappy. After that, I started learning more about Matt’s character and then Jimmy and Ash. It’s hard to explain where I get my inspiration, because sometimes it feels like an idea or a character just drops into my head and then I have to write to figure out more about them and what’s going to happen in the story.

Kelsey Drummond asks, Politics is a very rare topic for fiction. How did you come up with it as an idea for a novel?

Jennifer Close replies, When I first moved to DC, I got to see a lot of it close up, especially the world of Advance and the young people working at the White House. I found it fascinating and I thought it would be a great backdrop for a novel. It’s something most people don’t really get to see and I wanted to give people a peek into the world of politics.

Penny Brown asks, Have you personally experienced campaigning with a candidate?

Jennifer Close replies, No, I haven’t. I had to do a lot of research for the Texas section and thankfully I found someone who had run for the Railroad Commission and was very generous sharing his experience.

Linda Cupido asks, Why did you not give any idea of a relationship building up between Jimmy and Beth until close to the end of the novel?

Jennifer Close replies, I always knew that something was going to happen between them, but the way that it all took place was very sudden and reckless. I don’t think anything would have happened between them if they hadn’t been in this exact situation — living in the same house, dealing with the campaign, struggling with their spouses. The reason that there wasn’t anything building in the beginning is because nothing was happening between them.

Sonya Parboodial asks, Why did Beth remain so passive throughout the novel? How did you determine that this was an important part of her character rather that being more assertive?

Jennifer Close replies, Beth’s passiveness was a really important part of the novel. I don’t think she would’ve ended up in the situation she did if she was more assertive. I thought it was interesting to have a character like this, who just sort of lets things happen to her but wishes she could do more. Her unhappiness with her career and her inability to do anything about it was part of the tension of the book— she’s jealous of Matt in a way because he has something that he’s passionate about and she’s still searching. Maral Chouljian asks, Where does your story end and Beth’s begin?

Jennifer Close replies, Beth is a completely fictional character and everything that takes place in the novel is also fiction. People are always disappointed to hear that! Really the only thing that Beth and I have in common is that we both moved to DC because of our partner’s job and that we both hated it. That was the jumping off point for the novel, but everything that came after that— the friendship, the competition, the campaign— was all imagined.

Jan Chepesiuk asks, Are you working on another book?

Jennifer Close replies I am! I’m working on a novel about a family owned restaurant in Chicago. I don’t have much of it done yet, but I’m excited to write about this world. I think restaurants are always full of drama and tension— or at least this one is! After writing a novel in first person, it’s been really nice to explore these new characters and get to jump around instead of writing from the point of view of one character.