Give us your elevator pitch: what’s your book
about in 2-3 sentences?
Mina is staring over the edge of the
George Washington Bridge when a patrol car drives up. She tries to convince the
officers she’s not about to jump but they don’t believe her. Her husband, Oscar
is called to pick her up—the book is about what happens next.
Which character did you most enjoy creating?
Phoebe—The woman who Mina meets in London and
begins to develop feelings for.
Why?
The book fairly closely follows Mina and
Oscar’s points of view. They see Phoebe quite differently. To Mina Phoebe is
new and shining, artistic, and tempting. To Oscar she is a childhood crush who
he is no longer impressed by. Seeing her from both points of view allowed her
to be a full person.
And, which character gave you the most
trouble, and why?
Oscar. I always knew the sort of man he
was—hardworking, loves his wife, but often trying to shut down or look away from
his own emotions. In early drafts, only his strength came through. It was hard
to show the fear and vulnerability of a man who was doing so much to try to
hide those qualities. In the end, I found the best way to do it was to show his
attempts to overcome or to bury those feelings.
Tell us a bit about the highs and lows of
your book’s road to publication.
This book was part of a two-book deal in the
UK so I knew it would have a home somewhere in the world. But I didn’t realize
how hard writing it would be.
In between this book and my first novel, Harmless Like You, I wrote an entirely
different novel. And it just wasn’t working. I sent it to friends, I edited it,
I moved pieces around. Finally, I realized that it wasn’t ever going to be
right. So, I tore it up and began again.
I thought about what questions were most
important to me, what pressed on my mind and wouldn’t let go. From this, Starling Days and its questions about
how to best to love someone who is sick, how to repair a life, and how to hold
onto one another in the hardest times emerged.
What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
Find what interests you. If you find
something boring or stale, then so will the reader. Write towards what excites,
interests, confuses, or angers you. Write to where your energy is.
My favorite writing advice is “write until
something surprises you.” What surprised you in the writing of this book?
I was surprised by how much technology became
part of the book. I realized that because we can always be connected it makes
disconnection a dramatic act in and of itself. Oscar and Mina could
theoretically always be in touch and know everything about each other. Towards
this goal Oscar makes Mina download a tracking app onto her phone. I’d often
been told that phones reduced dramatic tension e.g. Romeo could just have
texted Juliet. But I found that by adding a form of communication I was also
adding a means of miscommunication—of silences, secrets, and half-truths.
How did you find the title of your book?
The title Starling
Days came to me from a particular moment in the book: one when Mina is
looking up into the sky and imaging a new future. But it also symbolizes the
struggle of both characters.
Ancient Roman augurs (religious officials) looked
to the flight of birds as one of the ways to determine what the future might
be. Both Mina and Oscar are both desperately trying to understand what their
futures might hold. Each, in their own way, is looking for signs. Oscar looks
to business plans and to family history. Mina tries to understand moment by
moment, day by day what her brain is doing and to understand this she goes to
medicine, love, and because she is a classicist, she looks to Greek and Roman
legends.
Inquiring foodies and hungry book clubs want
to know: Any food/s associated with your book? (Any recipes I might share?)
An incomplete list of things consumed in Starling Days:
Toast with French butter
Coffee
Hot water and lemon
Ginger tea
Pizza
Endive Salad
A recipe:
Almond Milk Matcha Latte
Ingredients
1/3 teaspoon matcha powder
½ teaspoon honey
40ml boiling water (1.35 fl oz)
10ml cold water (0.35 fl oz)
250 ml almond milk (8.5 fl oz)
Tools
Microwave or stovetop
Whisk
Milk frother (helpful but not required)
1.
In a
large mug or small bowl combine waters so that they are hot but not boiling.
2.
Add honey
and matcha to the water. Whisk until you can no longer see clumps of green.
3.
Heat
almond milk until it’s bubbling on the stove or for 40 secs on high in the
microwave.
4.
Then
froth. I use this milk frother: https://www.bodum.com/gb/en/1446-143b-latteo (You can skip this step for a
smoother less fluffy drink.)
5.
Combine.
*****
READ MORE ABOUT THIS AUTHOR: www.rowanhisayo.com
READ MORE ABOUT THIS PUBLISHER: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/starling-days_9781419743597/
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