Ryan Gage
asked
Scott Hawkins:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[I think I missed something, but did Carolyn resurrect Steve on her own in Det. Miner's house? And how did he instantly find himself in jail for murder, instead of waking up in the same place, like others did when they were resurrected? The optimist in me wonders if you ever considered a scenario where Carolyn gets what she wants-a happy life with Steve. Thank you for this book. Thank you so much. (hide spoiler)]
Scott Hawkins
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hey Ryan,
Spoilery spoilers abound.
Yes, Carolyn did resurrect Steve on her own. In the chapter where Erwin visit's Steve in jail, Steve's lawyer says something along the lines of:
“What’s to defend? They found him [Steve] passed out drunk on Miner’s dining-room table. The gun that killed Miner was in his hands. It had his prints on it.”
I thought there was a sentence in there somewhere that talked about one of Detective Miner's fishing buddies (also a cop) coming over to pick Miner up the next morning and finding him dead. I can't seem find it in the published version, though. That might have gotten cut (oops--sorry, my bad), which could explain the confusion.
As far as Carolyn + Steve living happily ever after:
In the very early stages when the book was taking shape, I did briefly consider a happy ending scenario, but it just didn't seem plausible. Steve and Carolyn were just too different. Also, TBH, romance is probably not ever going to be my writer-y strengths.
So I made a virtue of necessity and played up the 'tragic parting' angle. To me, the emotional core of the book is letting go of a relationship that isn't ever going to work.
There was once a draft where Carolyn realized this, but they still had one night together and that was how Steve got connected to the plane of joy (and thus turned into the sun). I think the only one who's read that was my wife, and she straight-up hated it. Like, thwapped me on the head with the manuscript hated it. I believe her exact words were "you know nothing about romance." :-)
Anyway, the original ending didn't work. I flipped through it a couple of months ago and this new version is definitely better.
That said, one thing I do regret slightly is that in the first version the other librarians fared slightly better, even if Steve + Carolyn didn't last. So, like, in the last chapter of the other version Carolyn used the Black Catalog to reshape the past. Then, poof! All the other librarians had had normal lives. David was a high school football coach married to "Maggie." Everybody loved them--very popular couple.
Jennifer was an E.R. doctor. She didn't remember anythign about the library, but Carolyn still thought of her as a buddy. She'd swing by to talk every couple of weeks, which annoyed the crap out of Jennifer b/c she thought Carolyn was a huge hypocondriac.
Good questions--sorry about the confusion.
Best,
Scott
(hide spoiler)]
Spoilery spoilers abound.
Yes, Carolyn did resurrect Steve on her own. In the chapter where Erwin visit's Steve in jail, Steve's lawyer says something along the lines of:
“What’s to defend? They found him [Steve] passed out drunk on Miner’s dining-room table. The gun that killed Miner was in his hands. It had his prints on it.”
I thought there was a sentence in there somewhere that talked about one of Detective Miner's fishing buddies (also a cop) coming over to pick Miner up the next morning and finding him dead. I can't seem find it in the published version, though. That might have gotten cut (oops--sorry, my bad), which could explain the confusion.
As far as Carolyn + Steve living happily ever after:
In the very early stages when the book was taking shape, I did briefly consider a happy ending scenario, but it just didn't seem plausible. Steve and Carolyn were just too different. Also, TBH, romance is probably not ever going to be my writer-y strengths.
So I made a virtue of necessity and played up the 'tragic parting' angle. To me, the emotional core of the book is letting go of a relationship that isn't ever going to work.
There was once a draft where Carolyn realized this, but they still had one night together and that was how Steve got connected to the plane of joy (and thus turned into the sun). I think the only one who's read that was my wife, and she straight-up hated it. Like, thwapped me on the head with the manuscript hated it. I believe her exact words were "you know nothing about romance." :-)
Anyway, the original ending didn't work. I flipped through it a couple of months ago and this new version is definitely better.
That said, one thing I do regret slightly is that in the first version the other librarians fared slightly better, even if Steve + Carolyn didn't last. So, like, in the last chapter of the other version Carolyn used the Black Catalog to reshape the past. Then, poof! All the other librarians had had normal lives. David was a high school football coach married to "Maggie." Everybody loved them--very popular couple.
Jennifer was an E.R. doctor. She didn't remember anythign about the library, but Carolyn still thought of her as a buddy. She'd swing by to talk every couple of weeks, which annoyed the crap out of Jennifer b/c she thought Carolyn was a huge hypocondriac.
Good questions--sorry about the confusion.
Best,
Scott
(hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Jamie
asked
Scott Hawkins:
Any chance of a short story or novella that takes place in the after life, and from Margaret's point of view? Or maybe featuring one of the other librarians? Maybe the twins? The book was such a fantastic read, I'll admit I'm really just hoping for more of anything in the universe. It boggles my mind that this was a first book!
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