Meg Donohue
Here's the answer I recently gave on bookriot.com regarding the inspiration for YOU, ME, AND THE SEA:
Wuthering Heights, with its wild landscape of mist-strewn moors, has always felt like such a transporting reading experience for me. It’s a novel I’ve loved since I was a teenager, but over the decade plus that I’ve lived in Northern California, I’ve found myself thinking back to it more than ever. The landscape here–the soaring cliffs, the pounding sea, the thick, ever-moving fog–is incredibly evocative; I can’t help but be reminded of Bronte. The other piece of Wuthering Heights that has haunted me all these years is a particular plot point from the novel. When Heathcliff returns from a long mysterious absence, Catherine falls sick and dies before she is forced to choose between him and her husband. I’ve always wanted to know what would have happened if Cathy had lived. Who would she have chosen–the forbidden love of her childhood, or her patient, wealthy husband? What would have been the repercussions of that choice? Bronte is never going to answer these questions, so I thought it would be fun to answer them myself in a novel inspired by her work.
Wuthering Heights, with its wild landscape of mist-strewn moors, has always felt like such a transporting reading experience for me. It’s a novel I’ve loved since I was a teenager, but over the decade plus that I’ve lived in Northern California, I’ve found myself thinking back to it more than ever. The landscape here–the soaring cliffs, the pounding sea, the thick, ever-moving fog–is incredibly evocative; I can’t help but be reminded of Bronte. The other piece of Wuthering Heights that has haunted me all these years is a particular plot point from the novel. When Heathcliff returns from a long mysterious absence, Catherine falls sick and dies before she is forced to choose between him and her husband. I’ve always wanted to know what would have happened if Cathy had lived. Who would she have chosen–the forbidden love of her childhood, or her patient, wealthy husband? What would have been the repercussions of that choice? Bronte is never going to answer these questions, so I thought it would be fun to answer them myself in a novel inspired by her work.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more