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Behind The Book With Christine Pride

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Behind The Book With Christine Pride 

I’m delighted to be reunited with editor, and bestselling author of We Are Not Like Them, and You Were Always Mine (both coauthored with Jo Piazza) Christine Pride! In this Behind The Book Q&A we are going to discuss Christine’s debut solo novel All The Men I’ve Loved Again which I was grateful to get a copy of and read. All The Men I’ve Loved Again will be available on July 8th wherever you get your books! 

Q: Christine, would you please give a brief description of All The Men I’ve Loved Again? Where did the idea for the novel come from?

A: I would love to! The novel centers on a woman named Cora who falls for two men in her twenties and then falls for the same two men again as she approaches forty.  And lest you think that premise is too wild to be true, it was inspired by personal circumstances (though very much fictionalized!)  

I wanted to write a coming-of-age love story that captures the intense, incredibly impactful experience of first love, but also explores, over time, all the ways that we follow and fail our hearts in our efforts to decide who (if anyone!) to give it to.  

Q: Which scenes did you enjoy creating the most? My favorite scenes to read were the pen pal letters between Cora & Aaron, Cora’s trip with Aaron in Paris.  & I love the close father daughter relationship Cora has with Wes. 

A: I love that you love the letters, that’s one of my favorite parts of the story, too. I miss the lost art of letter writing, which is just so different from emails or texts. It’s easy to forget that before relatively recent technology it took so much more effort and intention to find or stay in touch with people.  In the ‘90s, when the first part of this story took place, texting wasn’t an option and international phone calls were very expensive, hence, the letter writing between Cora and Aaron. I also think we can sometimes feel more open and uninhibited writing letters and that was the case for Aaron, who’s a more guarded introvert—he reveals things to Cora that he might not have otherwise or would have struggled opening face-to-face. 

The father and daughter story are also such an important part of the book in that it’s an homage to my father, who like Cora’s father on the page, is endlessly supportive. I lost my father this past year; he won’t get to see the publication of this book. So, it means even more to me when readers are touched by the novel’s father-daughter relationship—a bittersweet way to honor his legacy and I know he’d be proud. 

Q: Was it an easy transition going from writing 2 novels with Jo Piazza to then writing All The Men I’ve Loved Again by yourself?

A: Nothing about writing is easy!! Writing alone versus collaborating is just hard in different ways…and rewarding in different ways, too. I missed having a creative partner in the trenches day-to-day, someone to bounce ideas off of and commiserate with and have an on-going gut check—is this/that working? But it was also freeing in a lot of ways to write solo, to have the ownership and control of the whole story and all the narrative decisions, and also to work completely at my own pace and timing and not be accountable to another person’s schedule and timing.  Both have their challenges and rewards—I feel fortunate to have been able to have both experiences, because they’ve each taught me different lessons about productivity, creativity and, honestly, myself. 

Q: How long did it take you to write the book? Are there any messages you want readers to take away from the novel as well as any emotions? I do like that Cora chose to follow her heart in the end. 

A: In 18 months, it took me to write this story, I thought a lot about what I wanted people to take from it. At the top of that list: I always want people to leave my stories feeling hopeful and positive.  I hope it’s satisfying to see Cora’s emotional arc growing from a shy, naïve and overwhelmed college student into someone who trusts herself and learns about vulnerability and courage, as it pertains to her love life, but also everything else.  So many of the messages we get in life, and especially as we approach our ‘40s, 50s and beyond are about how timing is running or has run out, all the doors are closed, all the decisions have been made.  But that’s just not true—Cora’s story (and my own) is a reminder that it’s never too late to find your person—or yourself.  And that there will always be new jobs, hobbies, adventures, friends… and great loves awaiting us.

Q: If you were to write a sequel to All The Men I’ve Loved Again, what would Cora, Lincoln, Aaron & the other characters be doing right now?

A: Oh, I can’t really answer that without giving away spoilers. But by the end of this story, everyone has landed exactly where they should be—there IS something to that cliché adage, everything works out as it should.  Also: timing is everything.  Both hold true for the characters in this story.  So, I’d like to think it’s more of the same for each of them, which is to say, after a lot of searching they’ve each settled into paths that suit them, and I hope those paths continue to reward them in all the ways they’d hoped.  

Q: Whether Hollywood has the rights to All The Men I’ve Loved Again, who would be your perfect cast to play Cora, Aaron, Lincoln and the rest of the characters?

A: Oh, how I dream of a television adaptation—so I’m very much manifesting. Everyone, join me? The casting is tricky because the story is in two time periods, so we would need “young” and “old” versions of each character.  But some options keep popping into my head…Damson Indris, Sterling K. Brown, Daryl McCormack, Michael Ealy, Lovie Simone, Megan Goode.