Q&A with Shawndra Russell discussion

Can't wait to answer your questions about my debut novel, writing process, and anything else you'd like to know about my work and life as a writer!

Hi, I saw your virtual book party through a friend, Melissa Pawlack. So exciting! I have a few questions I'm curious about as I am also writing a book. So I'm just going to choose five questions, though I could prob. go on forever.

1) What is your writing process like? Every writer is different, so how long did it take you to write the book, revise, and then publish?

2) Would you classify this novel as "new adult" as it does feature people in their 20s and, if not, how would you classify what genre this novel falls under?

3) People are always saying there's a war going on in the publishing world between self publish and traditional means of publication. What led you to choose the path you did?

4) I"ve heard it's important to have an agent just to have someone who reads and understands all the legal stuff. Do you have an agent?

5) Finally, is there a particular moment or character you connected with in the book that made you feel like this book had to be written?

6) Lastly (because I can't count), some people accuse authors of using their political agenda to write a book. Would you say that you knowingly or unknowingly were trying to send a message through the book? And yes, I know that sounds a little crazy, but I've read so many comments like that that I'm just curious to hear an author's thoughts on this.

Again, looking forward to reading your book. Would love to hear your answers. Hope you get a lot more questions!

Thanks for your great questions Mel!
1. I actually first wrote this book as a screenplay in the spring of 2011. I was a high school English teacher then, and I would write after school, on the weekends, at lunch...it took me a few months. Then, in the summer when I quit my job, it was total chaos and turmoil, so I didn't really write anything long again until I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last November. Once I set down with the intention of making the story into a novel, it only took me 17 days. I wrote 3,000 words a day every morning before I started my other client work. I only had 50,000 words at the end of the 17 days, so I added a second narrator (male/husband Tyler) to the female/wife Kieran's story. This took another 7 days at 3,000 words per day again. His sections are a little shorter and to the point like how men (or at least my man) typically are. HA!

I have some questions regarding the book itself (for our October book club discussion!!!):

1. What relationships in the book do you feel are examples of what you call good relationships (out of all characters we meet) and which would you consider "bad"? Why?

2. Do you think "bad relationship" is synonymous with "non-successful relationship"?

3. In the book do you feel like Kieran helped perpetuate some of the relationships she had with her "friends" like Jane? It is said in the book that she likes to be a little nosy and ask questions other people might not. So do you think by continuing that behavior pattern, the bad relationship was "benefited" by both parties? (I hope that question makes sense --- I know what I mean to ask but it might sound confusing!)

4. It felt like there was a lot of judgement going on in this book, from many different angles. Obviously it is a little part of human nature that most people experience. Do you think judgement has any place in successful couple friendships?

5. Do you think it is ever okay to spy on friends to see if they are potentially cheating on their significant other? If you happen to find out (by whatever means), do you feel that the information must be shared? Does the relationship you have with either party change your stance?


**Just a few questions that I would be thinking would be good for book club discussion. I will be working on more but wanted to throw these out!

2. When I went to New York to pitch my novel to agents, an agent said that internally they sometimes call novels "new adult," but that an author shouldn't classify their work as new adult...so I won't :) I call it women's fiction, which I also don't think encapsulates it because I honestly think that men would/will enjoy it too (my husband does, but I guess that doesn't really count because he had no choice!). It's definitely coming of age in a sense...sort of like Round 2 because you have those teenage years, but then after college, you sort of have to figure yourself out and your identity again...coming into adulthood.

Thanks for the great questions Lynn! Would you rather me answer them now or wait until October?

Mel's #3: When I finished my novel, I told myself that I would pitch it to agents for 6 months and if no one picked me up, then I would self-publish Couple Friends. I'm really happy with my decision because now the book is out in the world where if an agent and then publisher took me on, the book wouldn't be out until 2013, heck maybe even 2014! Although this process has been the hardest thing I have ever done, I am really pleased with the result and feel like I have control over my career. I'm hoping to have my second novel published this year, Keepsakes, plus I am working on three eguides about my "day jobs;" freelance writing, social media consulting, and using Kickstarter to publish your first novel (I ran a campaign in May to raise the funds to publish this novel, which was another awesome part of this journey). Although I didn't do this by myself completely: I hired an editor and a converter, plus my husband edited it probably 15 times :)

Mel's #4: Nope, I do not have an agent. If a publisher approached me and wanted to sign me as an author, I probably at this point would just take the contract straight to a lawyer. But it would be really cool to have an agent that was on my side and fighting for me and help with marketing ideas, etc.

Mel's #5: I was driving home from coaching a volleyball tournament, and the book hit me seriously like a lightning bolt (cliche, I know!). I had to grab my iPod and hit the record button to talk out all the ideas that exploded for this book. It happened right after an eventful St. Patty's Day in Savannah (a HUGE deal here!), which was actually the inspiration for the ending and drove the entire storyline.

Shawndra wrote: "Mel's #5: I was driving home from coaching a volleyball tournament, and the book hit me seriously like a lightning bolt (cliche, I know!). I had to grab my iPod and hit the record button to talk ou..."

I've always wanted to be an author too, and have about 40 other ideas jotted down that I keep in a "dream box"--an idea that was suggested by Claire Cook at the skirt! creative conference I attended last summer which prompted me to quit teaching and start writing and managing social media for clients full-time. Couple Friends just grabbed me first and demanded to be written ASAP. I've got my second novel finished as well and will start the editing process soon!

Mel's #6: I definitely have messages that I want to share with Couple Friends and the other novels I have planned. Not to get too teacher-y, but I want people to think and reflect when they read my books and I hope make changes that are needed in their own lives that will make them happier, such as cutting out negativity and toxic relationships like Kieran is faced with. I also hope that people who aren't currently in their dream profession are encouraged to take a step toward that dream career like I did. And of course, having a strong romantic relationship is very important and should be top priority for people, but sadly we don't always treat the people closest to us how we should and let other priorities get in the way. So, I hope that readers always demand to be treated like gold and in return, treat their loved one well. I'd love to even in a small well have my books help reduce the divorce rate by showcasing examples of good (and bad!) relationships. Hopefully readers will make a vow to never settle :)

Lynn #3: I DEFINITELY think Kieran is to blame for perpetuating the toxic friendships. She sometimes commiserates with Tyler with a victim-like mentality, but no one is forcing her to be friends with these frenemies. The book documents a coming of age into adulthood for Kieran, figuring out her priorities, and basically going after the life she wants instead of just settling for the life (and friendships) she has. She has to grow up and be a better wife, friend, and person in general, which means being more authenticate and not letting guilt or other negative emotions dictate her choices.

Lynn #5: Hmmm...I guess as friends we feel a duty to spy if we think something isn't right in one of our friends' relationships. In reality, it is not okay to spy on anyone or meddle in anyone's relationships, but it's in our DNA as people I think--especially for women! And I think you have to take into consideration the motive behind the spying and meddling. If it's with the best intentions at heart, that's one thing. If it just is because someone is a gossip or nosy or malicious then it's definitely NOT okay.

Lynn #4: I think one of our greatest flaws as humans is our judgmental nature. We tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to almost everything--what someone looks like, if we like the person or not, if something is boring. We pretty much have to battle this judgment all day, every day and do our best not to say things aloud that we're thinking and might be hurtful; the whole "think before you speak" thing. With Kieran and Tyler both talking to the reader in a very diary-like way as if the reader was a close confidant, you are getting to see the good, bad, and ugly regarding their thoughts, including the judgmental ones. I also wanted to create a very real relationship between Kieran and Tyler, and I think that in good relationships, we tell our significant others all our unfiltered thoughts and feelings, so that's why there is a lot of judgment thrown around. Plus, I think if you are a manipulative, demanding person like Jane or Vera, you deserve to be judged :)

Lynn #1: To be honest, none of the relationships in the book are ideal. Jane and Bill don't communicate enough; Sam and Tom talk hurtfully to each other; Zeek and Vera seem to walk on eggshells a bit around each other; Kieran and Tyler take each other for granted (more so Kieran); Taylor and Patrick we don't really see much as a couple which was a purposeful decision because I wanted Taylor to be very independent and kind of show a woman that's NOT all about marriage and being a dutiful wife--she just wants to be happy and have fun. Even though we only get a glimpse of Jordan and Megan, I'd have to say that they probably have the best relationship in the book. They've made their marriage their #1 priority, even ABOVE their commitment to their children which is sort of a taboo thing to say. I remember reading an article about this topic that really made an impact on me about this, so that's why I wanted to include this discussion in the book. Here's the article by Ayelet Waldman that caused such a stir when she blatantly said that she loves her husband more than she loves her kids: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/fas...

Lynn #2: Yes, I think "bad" and "unsuccessful" relationships are synonymous. Of course, good relationships can go through bad times (heck, they must in order to build that strong foundation and drive home the "team" mentality).

Couple Friends was written as a screenplay first. I was curious to know if the screenplay ended where the book did, or can readers look forward to following up with Kieran in another book?

Thanks for answering the questions!

In regards to #1: I totally agree that it seems that Jordan & Megan seem to have the best relationship in the book, though I think it is ironic that we see the least of their relationship as well. I suppose any relationship that is under a fine microscope cannot look good ---- and it's easy to see perfection when looking from far away.

And a great article, too.

Melissa wrote: "Couple Friends was written as a screenplay first. I was curious to know if the screenplay ended where the book did, or can readers look forward to following up with Kieran in another book?"

Hi Melissa, thanks for the question! The screenplay ends just like the book. An idea for how to write a second book honestly hasn't occurred to me to be honest. It couldn't really be about couple friends I don't think...but maybe it could be about another big change like career change or parenthood or ??? What do you think would be fun?

Lynn wrote: "Thanks for answering the questions!

In regards to #1: I totally agree that it seems that Jordan & Megan seem to have the best relationship in the book, though I think it is ironic that we see the..."

I totally agree. I think even the best relationship would probably look flawed when looked at this closely. And a great relationship to one person might not seem great to someone else because we have individual preferences, wants, desires, etc. etc. We've had some UGLY fights that I would be so embarrassed if anyone had witnessed them, ya know?

Sorry everyone, I should have replied to each individual question. Thanks for the great questions though!!! About an hour left if you have any other questions :)

Shawndra wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Couple Friends was written as a screenplay first. I was curious to know if the screenplay ended where the book did, or can readers look forward to following up with Kieran in anot..."

I really really like the idea of her having another life change vs meeting another group of couple friends. I feel like the moral of this story is knowing when a particular journey in your life has come to an end and being strong enough to walk away. I think it would be fun to watch Kieran go through another big moment so people can be inspired by her strength!

Lynn wrote: "Shawndra wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Couple Friends was written as a screenplay first. I was curious to know if the screenplay ended where the book did, or can readers look forward to following up wit..."

I like that idea :)