“The cafeteria smelled exactly the same. The pungent odor of old food and industrial disinfectant recalled the memory of rectangular pizza on a greige tray; two perfectly centered pepperonis staring deep into my soul, criticizing me for all my poor choices.”
- Opening lines, first draft, Fall 2019

“The invitation was royal blue cardstock with a white vellum overlay fastened by a small white bow. I squinted to make out the tiny print: ‘Cheers to 25 years! Join your former classmates on September 15 for the Class of 1992 Reunion.’”
-Opening lines, final pass, Spring 2023

How did a snarky comedy about high school become a Women’s Fiction novel about reconciling the fantasy of “what if” with the reality of “what is?” Read on to learn about the influences behind SOMETHING BETTER.  

The Pandemic (aka “The Plan Has Changed”)

Picture this: It’s Autumn, 2019, and I am working part-time setting up book fairs for Scholastic at elementary schools across the Triangle. Inspired by my literary surroundings, I start playing around with the idea of writing a comedic novel about a group of four friends attending their 5th, 10th, 25th and 40th reunions. I begin writing a little every day and by New Year’s, I have the first third written, and am about to start working with a writing coach.

Enter 2020, and a worldwide reorganization of priorities. My job is gone. Everyone is home. I have a LOT of free time. Writing became my lockdown coping mechanism and what started as biting comedy mellowed out and turned into a woman’s search to define herself in the changing landscape of middle-age life. An increased appreciation of the small moments that connect us inspired a layer of depth to this book that would have otherwise been missing.

There are still funny moments (at least, I hope so), but the sharp corners have been tapered, and the reader wades into the small victories and injuries of married life from zero entry rather than jumping off a high dive as I originally planned.

The Skeleton Twins (2014)

A criminally under-appreciated drama starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as estranged twins trying to repair their relationship.  There are so many small, beautiful moments in this movie that hint at a shared past. I wanted that same feeling in SOMETHING BETTER. So many choices in our most important long-term relationships are ambiguous: What is right? What is wrong? Only the people in the relationship can decide.

Trivia: Additionally, Luke Wilson as Kristen Wiig’s husband was a reference point for Corinne’s husband, Sean. And Beth, Corinne’s best friend, has a touch of Bill Hader energy.

“Start a War” by The National (from their 2007 album Boxer)

A friend I’ve known since middle school once remarked to me: “I’m never going to piss you off because you remember everything.”

Flashforward thirty years to the first draft of my reunion comedy, entitled “I REMEMBER EVERYTHING” (thanks for the idea, Don!). However, once the plot shifted, the title no longer fit. Then I happened to hear this song used in another show (the fun-but-short-lived “Imposters”) and the opening lyrics jumped out at me:

“We expected something, something better than before, we expected something more.”

For me, this song is about navigating your way through the rough times, and either deciding to face it together, or to walk away. It’s the perfect summation of how we meet Corinne, a woman at a crossroads.

Melissa McCarthy in Spy (2015)

Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper was both my physical and emotional inspiration for Corinne.

Hear me out.

While Corinne is not a secret agent trying to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring, McCarthy’s portrayal of Susan’s resignation and fear before she comes into her own perfectly embodies how I pictured Corinne at the start of the book. Both characters are living on the sidelines, fantasizing about all the chances they’ve missed, all the things they believe they will never experience. They each embark on an emotional journey to find themselves. Both end up in a better place than before. One is a foul-mouthed super spy and the other is Melissa McCarthy… juuuuuust kidding.

Stephen King’s (use of italics) writing

I have been a Stephen King fan since middle school (growing up in the 80s, there was a distinct lack of middle grade books; once you aged out of SUPERFUDGE, there was really nowhere to go but Derry, Maine) and I have read almost everything he has written - some great, some good (some I would rather forget). But in every book he has (a tell) a literary device that he uses to signal that we are getting some interiority (usually character development or thematic relevance) that is out of time with the plot.

Just as I did not write a spy saga, I also did not write a horror story (or is marriage its own type of horror) but I riffed on Mr. King’s device and used italics to highlight Corinne’s story-within-a-story, the double life she is leading in her mind.

And, of course… John Hughes movies (the aforementioned ‘predictable’ sixth influence)

There’s a bittersweet ambiguity implied in the ending of all of Hughes’ movies: all the characters have been paired up neatly, but even as the credits roll, it's hard not to wonder how happy they will be and for how long. I mean, Blane certainly wasn’t following Andie to fashion school. And Cameron was probably shipped off to military school the day after the Ferrari went out the window, never to see his best friend Ferris again (unless of course, you buy into the whole Reddit theory of Ferris being a figment of Cameron’s imagination, but I digress…).

Say what you will about the problematic themes in John Hughes’ scripts (and I acknowledge there is plenty to say), but he made the heartbreak of an impending goodbye just as delicious as the excitement of a first kiss. And that is the space I wanted my characters to live in.

In conclusion, SOMETHING BETTER started as an exercise in exorcising high school demons, and wound up being about the stories we tell ourselves and how we cast ourselves in them. I am grateful for all the unexpected people, places, and circumstances that changed the course of my book and made it into (you bet I’m gonna say it…) something better.