Fellow writerly bookworm Christine Smith of Fairy Dust on My Pen is hosting a writers linkup, Know the Novel, and I thought it’d be fun to join in! Info summed up from her blog:

Know the Novel is a 3-part writers linkup series, one for each of these last three months of the year. I’ll throw ten novel/writing-related questions your way each month, you answer them on your own blog, and then share your link in the linkup so others can read about your book. The questions will focus on different parts of your novel and how the writing is going. This is during National Novel Writing Month season, but you don’t have to be doing NaNo to participate. You can answer these questions for any WIP you have.

The Questions: October

My NaNoWriMo novel will be a work I’ve actually already started, tentatively titled “love in the cornfields.” It’s the story of Imogen Reynolds, a newly single college graduate with no apartment, job, or plans, and her summer romance with Harley Sparks.

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

This is a different story for me than anything else I’ve worked on. I put bits and pieces of myself and my life into everything I write, but nothing like this until now. While the story is ultimately a work of fiction, it is heavily based on my real-life experiences last year. A week after college graduation, I broke off an engagement and changed all my living arrangements and job plans as a result. On the day that was meant to be my wedding, I met a boy who… well, eventually inspired this book.

2. Share a blurb!

A short and very, very rough draft of back cover copy:

On the night of her wedding-that-wasn’t, equipped only with an old car, a new college degree, and the bill for a cancelled moving truck, Imogen Reynolds slipped out to meet a stranger in the middle of the night. The beautiful, broken Harley Sparks was everything she wanted and nothing she expected.

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

The story is set around Indianapolis and parts of rural Indiana. I didn’t really choose the setting, it chose me — the setting was so integral to the real-life story I’m adapting into fiction that I simply couldn’t change it. I love Indiana, so it’s easy for me to write a summer romance across a backdrop of I-465 and stars over the cornfields. (There’s also something vaguely John Green-ish about the whole thing, so that’s fun.)

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

Imogen Reynolds is 21 years old with short, disheveled red hair and freckles. She lives with her aunt and wants to be a writer, but for now her thoughts are confined to her private journal. Hobbies include reading, long walks outside, and the occasional bike ride.

Romantic lead Harley Sparks is a few years older, mid-20s, with thick chocolate-brown hair and black stubble. He juggles odd jobs and is saving up for a language study program in Japan. Hobbies include video games, D&D, and collecting rare licensed merchandise.

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

The only obstacle to Imogen’s happiness that she sees is time. The summer is flying by fast, and she wants to live every moment to its fullest before it’s over. Without a job, the calendar is counting down until her limited funds run out. And as the weeks pass, the day draws closer when Harley will leave for his international trip. How will they feel about each other months from now? Will promises and feelings be enough to sustain their relationship?

For Harley, things are more complicated than that…

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

This book is both the easiest and most challenging work I’ve ever written so far. Since so much of it is based on or rooted in memories, a lot of scenes just flow — I’m not so much creating content as just recording all the emotional and sensory details I can remember. However, this is also the closest I’ve ever been to my work. It’s easy to get overcome with emotion and struggle with doing the novel justice. What needs to stay the same, and what can I change? Turning facts into fiction while retaining truth isn’t easy.

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

Right now the plan is a standalone novel. I do have some book ideas based on other relationships in my life, and depending on where this one goes I may or may not tie them together. But for now, my energy is focused on this story.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

Plotting is the only life I know!

9. Name a few things that make this story unique.

I do think the true-story-inspiration aspect gives this story unique details. Harley doesn’t ride a motorcycle or live in a New York City flat. Imogen isn’t a quirky artist who loves the rain. They’re just two people, as real as I can make them, going through an experience together that billions of couples throughout history have lived, which somehow feels uniquely special to them. There won’t be any “we’ll always have Paris” lines, but they will have plenty of nerdy exchanges, grocery shopping trips, and Midwestern midnight moments.

10. Share a fun “extra” of the story.

As with all my books, “love in the cornfields” has a Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/emilyrachellewrites/i-write-love-in-the-cornfields/ and Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6pub7r66hLzwjJOtj8jej8?si=n30_r2RSTeOBXXp84p846Q.

Visit Christine’s blog to meet the other authors in the linkup!