About the author… Kiley Reid

She was raised in Arizona and studied acting in New York, and then creative writing in Iowa. She is now an assistant professor at the University of Michigan and this is her second novel. This novel was inspired by… I was teaching at the University of Iowa and I knew I wanted to write about young people and money. I came upon a book called Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality by Laura Hamilton and Elizabeth Armstrong, both professors of sociology. I was very inspired by the dialogue of the students – their goals, obstacles, jealousies and frustrations – as well as how young people navigate money.

The most fun/challenging thing about writing it was… I spoke with several resident assistants and directors while researching the novel, as I wanted to make sure I was shaping the world of student housing correctly. I also spoke to an optometrist, professional dancers, alumni of Southern universities, baton twirlers, journalists, a Starbucks manager and several college students. These perspectives were vital to how the plot and characters moved. I’m always incredibly inspired by real life dialogue and circumstance. And yes, I learned lots of things that surprised me – among them how dangerous baton twirling is and how many of the young women competitors endure the same major surgeries! My writing habits are… I’m at my best when I can just go into my mind palace wherever I am – in the car, in a waiting room... I typically write by hand. I like smaller notebooks that you can fill up quickly.