Today I’m happy to welcome Heather Duffy-Stone to my blog, to tell answer a few questions about her recently released debut novel This is What I Want to Tell You.
Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.
A: There is a scene, I don’t want to give too much away, but where one of my narrators is just completely broken. She’s just out of her head and broken—and yet she is telling the story. So I needed her to have some clarity for the reader and at the same time show how absolutely just gone she was. It was really hard, and certainly draining, but also incredibly rewarding!
Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why?
A: I’m not very up on myths and fairy tales… I remember the first time I read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology… I was about 14 and I was completely hooked. I think I loved the idea that everything could be explained through the emotional whims of these divine beings—gods as human as we were whose indiscretions and battles and celebrations defined why we have four seasons or sadness. It made perfect sense.
Q: What has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?
A: Just this weekend I had my launch party at a little bar in Brooklyn. My family came and some of my best friends from out of town, in addition to my community here in New York. My friends made food and temporary tattoos… it was such an amazing afternoon and I felt so much support and joy… reading from my book in front of all of these people was a really surreal and wonderful experience. I’m still reeling from this!
About This is What I Want to Tell You
The stories people tell are always about the things we left behind, and about the things we wish we could do again. The real story isn’t about what you know; it’s about what you wish you knew then. When my brother and my best friend fell in love—that was the end of everything I knew.
Fraternal twins Nadio and Noelle share a close connection—and as Noelle’s best friend since they were five, Keeley Shipley fit perfectly into their world. But everything changes after Keeley spends the summer before junior year at Oxford. When Keeley returns, Nadio falls in love with her. Noelle, ripped apart by resentment, sees her as an ungrateful rich girl. But Keeley has a painful story that she can’t tell yet. As Nadio and Keeley hide their romance, Noelle dives into something of her own—a destructive affair with an older boy.
Beautifully presented by dual narrators in a haunting stream of memories, this is the deeply moving story of how secrets can consume a friendship—and how love can heal it.
About Heather Duffy-Stone
Heather Duffy Stone writes stories and essays that are mostly inspired by high school—either her own or someone else’s. This Is What I Want to Tell You is her first novel. She has lived in Vermont, England, Los Angeles, rural New York and Rome, Italy. For now she cooks, sleeps, explores, writes and teaches in Brooklyn, New York.
You can visit Heather at her website.
This is What I Want to Tell You is available now! I encourage you to buy online at Powell’s Book or shop at your local independant bookseller.
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