Ask the Author: Laura Nowlin
Answered Questions (25)
Laura Nowlin
I never will, because that story is done for me. It's hard to explain, but the story is out in the world and no longer in my heart. However, I always knew all of the things that Finny reveals to Autumn on that last night, and if you keep those things in mind as you reread, you'll see lots of hints about Finny's true feelings that Autumn doesn't pick up on.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but sometimes, less is more.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but sometimes, less is more.
Laura Nowlin
First of all, thank you for reading and letting me know that the book touched you; it means the world to me. Second, I'm sorry, but I will never write anything else in Autumn's world. There simply isn't anything more to say.
As you reread the book, keep in mind all of the things that Finny reveals to Autumn the last night of his life; I knew all of those things as I was writing the story, and if you keep those things in mind as you read, you'll see lots of hints about Finny's true feelings that Autumn doesn't pick up on.
Again, thank you for your question. I'm sorry to disappoint, but on the other hand, what are the odds that the story I would write from Finny's POV would match what you have in mind? Sometimes, less is more.
As you reread the book, keep in mind all of the things that Finny reveals to Autumn the last night of his life; I knew all of those things as I was writing the story, and if you keep those things in mind as you read, you'll see lots of hints about Finny's true feelings that Autumn doesn't pick up on.
Again, thank you for your question. I'm sorry to disappoint, but on the other hand, what are the odds that the story I would write from Finny's POV would match what you have in mind? Sometimes, less is more.
Laura Nowlin
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Laura Nowlin
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Laura Nowlin
This is a difficult question to answer. I definitively drew inspiration from my own life, but not everything that happened to Autumn happened to me. There were Steps to Nowhere at my high school, but my friends and I didn't hang out there. My parents are happily married and my father is wonderful, but I did grow up in (the now famous) Ferguson, MO.
I did have a friend die expectantly but he was just a friend. He had Finny's sweet nature, but that's the only similarity between them.
Sorry if this answer is inadequate. In the end, yes, this book should be considered fiction; but all authors draw inspiration from their lives.
I did have a friend die expectantly but he was just a friend. He had Finny's sweet nature, but that's the only similarity between them.
Sorry if this answer is inadequate. In the end, yes, this book should be considered fiction; but all authors draw inspiration from their lives.
Laura Nowlin
That varies from book to book, author to author. For me, about a year for a first draft of a novel.
Laura Nowlin
I am mildly dyslexic. I was a slow and reluctant reader until I was 9 years old. That year, my family moved from a small town in Arkansas to St. Louis, MO. I made a few friends in my neighborhood, but none in my class, and halfway through the school year, the girls decided that I was to be mocked and ostracized. I discovered that if I concentrated on reading, I wouldn't hear them mocking me, and my lack of reaction took the fun out of teasing me. No one would be my friend, but no one would make fun of me anymore, because I would just pull out my book. They redrew district lines, and I moved to a different school where I had lots of friends from my neighborhood in my class. I'd caught the reading bug though, and it never left me.
What made me write IHHBWM? My first novel had been rejected again and again, and I was giving up hope that I would ever be an author. I was severely depressed, so much that I was briefly hospitalized. During my recovery, while I was still an outpatient, I dreamed that I was a girl whose friend had died. She knew that if he had just been with her, he would still be alive. I woke up shaken and depressed still, but also inspired. I got up, wrote the first chapter of IHHBWM and went back to bed. The next morning, I looked over what I had written and realized it was the best thing I had ever written. Writing that book gave me purpose again.
What made me write IHHBWM? My first novel had been rejected again and again, and I was giving up hope that I would ever be an author. I was severely depressed, so much that I was briefly hospitalized. During my recovery, while I was still an outpatient, I dreamed that I was a girl whose friend had died. She knew that if he had just been with her, he would still be alive. I woke up shaken and depressed still, but also inspired. I got up, wrote the first chapter of IHHBWM and went back to bed. The next morning, I looked over what I had written and realized it was the best thing I had ever written. Writing that book gave me purpose again.
Laura Nowlin
First of all, you are not bothering me! I love talking with my readers! Second of all, thank you for reading and letting me know that the book touched you; it means the world to me. Lastly I'm sorry, but I will never write anything else in Autumn's world. There simply isn't anything more to say.
As you reread the book, keep in mind all of the things that Finny reveals to Autumn the last night of his life; I knew all of those things as I was writing the story, and if you keep those things in mind as you read, you'll see lots of hints about Finny's true feelings that Autumn doesn't pick up on.
Again, thank you for your message and your question. I'm sorry to disappoint, but on the other hand, what are the odds that the story I would write from Finny's POV would match what you have in mind? Sometimes, less is more.
Best wishes,
Laura
As you reread the book, keep in mind all of the things that Finny reveals to Autumn the last night of his life; I knew all of those things as I was writing the story, and if you keep those things in mind as you read, you'll see lots of hints about Finny's true feelings that Autumn doesn't pick up on.
Again, thank you for your message and your question. I'm sorry to disappoint, but on the other hand, what are the odds that the story I would write from Finny's POV would match what you have in mind? Sometimes, less is more.
Best wishes,
Laura
Laura Nowlin
Hi Karmen,
Thanks so much for your question. I'm thrilled that you loved the book so much. The idea of turning IHHBWM into a movie brings up a lot of mixed emotions for me. I hate seeing a movie that doesn't depict the book correctly. I can't imagine what it would feel like to experience that not with a book I loved, but a with a book I wrote. However, if the movie was done right, it would be amazing to experience my story in a new medium.
In the end, if someone wanted to buy film rights to IHHBWM, odds are I would let them. It would be an opportunity to gain new readers, and I'm a starving artist. It would be very, very hard to turn down that kind of money considering that my husband and I share a car and live in a small apartment with very little money in our saving account.
Let's both hope that someday someone comes along who wants to make this movie- the RIGHT way.
Thanks so much for your question. I'm thrilled that you loved the book so much. The idea of turning IHHBWM into a movie brings up a lot of mixed emotions for me. I hate seeing a movie that doesn't depict the book correctly. I can't imagine what it would feel like to experience that not with a book I loved, but a with a book I wrote. However, if the movie was done right, it would be amazing to experience my story in a new medium.
In the end, if someone wanted to buy film rights to IHHBWM, odds are I would let them. It would be an opportunity to gain new readers, and I'm a starving artist. It would be very, very hard to turn down that kind of money considering that my husband and I share a car and live in a small apartment with very little money in our saving account.
Let's both hope that someday someone comes along who wants to make this movie- the RIGHT way.
Laura Nowlin
Hi Kimaya,
Sorry it took me so long to answer this. In terms of IHHBWM, I was significantly inspired by a dream I had. I also took a lot from my own life, but it's almost like a took different elements of my life and put them in a blender. There is no one to one correlation with anything in my real life. Sorry to be so vague, but the creative process is kind of a mess!
Sorry it took me so long to answer this. In terms of IHHBWM, I was significantly inspired by a dream I had. I also took a lot from my own life, but it's almost like a took different elements of my life and put them in a blender. There is no one to one correlation with anything in my real life. Sorry to be so vague, but the creative process is kind of a mess!
Laura Nowlin
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for your question, I love interacting with readers!
Sorry to disappoint, but I am done writing about these characters. I don't have anything illuminating to add to the narrative. One can sense what Finny is thinking and feeling by reading text. To rehash the whole story out again would be wallowing. As for Jamie, I don't know if I have enough to say about his character to fill a whole book.
It means so much to me that you loved the book enough to want to explore it more. Thanks so much for you question.
Thanks for your question, I love interacting with readers!
Sorry to disappoint, but I am done writing about these characters. I don't have anything illuminating to add to the narrative. One can sense what Finny is thinking and feeling by reading text. To rehash the whole story out again would be wallowing. As for Jamie, I don't know if I have enough to say about his character to fill a whole book.
It means so much to me that you loved the book enough to want to explore it more. Thanks so much for you question.
Laura Nowlin
Well, I'm a very emotional person. I hang on to feelings for a long time too. It's healing for me to be able to put all of these emotions down in writing, then I don't have to carry them anymore.
Laura Nowlin
I don't, but my publisher might be able to help you with that. Sorry for the late answer, I didn't seen this question until now.
Laura Nowlin
I have not, and I will not.
I know many readers want this, but Autumn's story is done. My time with her is finished. She's on her own now, and I'm through messing with her life. I've put her through enough. She'll be fine. Research Ariel Gore.
I know many readers want this, but Autumn's story is done. My time with her is finished. She's on her own now, and I'm through messing with her life. I've put her through enough. She'll be fine. Research Ariel Gore.
Laura Nowlin
I am okay.
I don't think you meant this question in an existential sense, but that is how I read it at first.
Anyway, my MS treatment has been working and I and learning to trust myself again. I am putting the pieces of my life that got jostled back in place. I am writing.
I don't think you meant this question in an existential sense, but that is how I read it at first.
Anyway, my MS treatment has been working and I and learning to trust myself again. I am putting the pieces of my life that got jostled back in place. I am writing.
Laura Nowlin
This isn't something I've thought about for awhile! I think I would have gotten a Master of Library Science degree. I loooooooove my PT job at the local library. I love helping people find books and work on computer problems. I love helping parents get their kids excited about reading. I am a big believer in the public library system, and if I hadn't caught the writing bug, I would have still wanted to be as close to books as possible! Thanks for the fun question Belinda!
Laura Nowlin
Hey Glo, if you want to send me a private message here on Goodreads, I would be very happy to answer any questions! :D
Laura Nowlin
This question is always hard. What if I don't provide you with the right answer and you give up on your dream? What if I tell you to do something, but it's the wrong answer for you? With all of this responsibility hanging over my head, I feel that the best thing for both of us is to keep it simple. So... READ AND WRITE!
Are you reading enough? If you could possibly read more, than you aren't reading enough. YOU MUST BE READING AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER. Read whatever it is you want to write, read poetry, read children's lit, read nonfiction. This is how you learn, by studying others. If you want to be a writer, then you have to read. You cannot write if you do not read.
When was the last time you wrote? There isn't any reason to not be writing NOW. It doesn't matter if you are still in school. It doesn't matter if you don't know what you want to write yet. Don't "save" your writing for later, Good Writing begets Good Writing. You need to start practicing now.
The last time I wrote was the day before yesterday, so today, I feel guilty. I also haven't read enough books so far this month. This is the writer's life. If you are a real writer, than these will be constant obsessions.
Are you reading enough? If you could possibly read more, than you aren't reading enough. YOU MUST BE READING AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER. Read whatever it is you want to write, read poetry, read children's lit, read nonfiction. This is how you learn, by studying others. If you want to be a writer, then you have to read. You cannot write if you do not read.
When was the last time you wrote? There isn't any reason to not be writing NOW. It doesn't matter if you are still in school. It doesn't matter if you don't know what you want to write yet. Don't "save" your writing for later, Good Writing begets Good Writing. You need to start practicing now.
The last time I wrote was the day before yesterday, so today, I feel guilty. I also haven't read enough books so far this month. This is the writer's life. If you are a real writer, than these will be constant obsessions.
Laura Nowlin
1984 is the most terrifying book I have ever read. This dystopian government is believable, realistic even, but also the most brutal and dehumanizing government ever imagined. The following quote sums it up:
"We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power... The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”
― George Orwell, 1984
The text is also some of the most lyrical and beautiful writing I have ever read. There is a moment in this book, when the lovers are interrupted, that is so surprising and so terrifying that it made me literally drop the book.
And that last line. God, that last line.
"We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power... The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”
― George Orwell, 1984
The text is also some of the most lyrical and beautiful writing I have ever read. There is a moment in this book, when the lovers are interrupted, that is so surprising and so terrifying that it made me literally drop the book.
And that last line. God, that last line.
Laura Nowlin
Thanks for asking! "This Song is (Not) for You" is a book about music, self-determination, graffiti art, and love without limits! There will probably be people who loved "If He had Been with Me" who won't like "This Song is (Not) for You," but probably vice versa too. I never want to be the kind of writer who writes the same thing over and over. I wanted to push myself as an artist, and I am very proud of this book.
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