Reading Guide for The Gallagher Place

This may be a bold ask, but is the main character Marlowe loosely based on you? What other literary or pop culture characters may have been the inspiration behind Miss Marlowe? 

She’s not entirely based on me, but I did inject facets of my personality into her. I do that with a lot of characters – I take details from someone I know and use those as a starting point. Marlowe, for example, is passive and avoids confrontations. Those are traits of mine. I used my own meekness as an entry-point into her because I was fascinated by what would happen when a passive character is forced by a situation to become active. Marlowe has spent so much of her life looking away and creating blind spots but the central mystery forces her to take action.

I also have to shout out a customer who used to come into the Starbucks I worked at – I stole her name for Marlowe. She was a regular (triple-shot nonfat mocha with whipped cream), and she was elegant and chic, but she looked like she had some secrets.

What were other books that inspired or feel in conversation with The Gallagher Place? 

I am a devoted fan of Tana French, so her series, particularly In the Woods and Broken Harbor, really inspired me. I also grew up addicted to the Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie books. I love the classic set-up of those mysteries (like a game of “Clue”), and I did want The Gallagher Place to have those elements. The story centers on a house and a property, and I wanted it to have that Agatha Christie feeling – who was in the kitchen at midnight? Who met in the garden before dinner? Was it the candlestick or the rope?

Siblings are a central facet to The Gallagher Place. What do you think is the key to remaining close to your siblings? Or, what signifies a healthy sibling relationship to you?

What a question. I’m not sure I’m an expert, but I can say that I’ve learned a lot from my siblings. I think in many ways people define themselves in relation to siblings, especially as a child. I find that it’s important to let those relationships evolve – as adults, we can fall back into childlike patterns, but I’ve found a lot of joy in putting aside past grievances. I used to be so competitive with my brothers, but allowing that impulse to fade has been crucial to navigating our adulthood. Humor is important too -- my siblings and I laugh a lot together.

I feel that sibling bonds, healthy or unhealthy, are just so fascinating, so that’s why I chose to explore that theme.

Can you tell us a little more about the mystical overtones of the book? What myths of the Hudson Valley inspired the witchy-ness of the book?

I was reading The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff during the early days of drafting, and I can’t pretend that didn’t inspire the witchy elements. The Hudson Valley is not New England, but the landscape is similar. The old houses and farms feel very haunted.

I love that feeling when you’re reading a good suspense or mystery, and you know there’s a rational explanation, but there’s this tiny question: What if it can’t be explained? What if it was a monster in the woods? I think certain mysteries really create that fear of the unknown or mystical. I wanted to have my characters have that question – especially since Nora’s disappearance is so unsettling. She vanishes so quickly and without a trace. 

I pulled from a lot of Hudson Valley myths, but I think the one that always loomed the largest to me was Rip Van Winkle. It’s not as gory as the Headless Horseman, and it’s really quite simple, but so gutting. The magic is not over-the-top – a man drinks fairy wine and falls asleep for twenty years. There’s no dramatic conclusion; instead it's quietly tragic. He wakes up and the world he knew is gone. I liked the idea of these kind of mythical creatures, just hiding in the woods. They’re not monsters; they’re not going to jump out and grab you. But they’re out there, hiding behind the trees.

Where do you think Marlowe and her family go from here after the end of the book?

I never thought about this while I was writing and revising the novel, but now that it’s out I have considered it. Without giving spoilers, I’ll say the novel ends with a few lingering tensions. I don’t think those demons will lie silent forever. That being said, this is the type of family that bottles things up and brushes secrets under the carpet, so I envision the characters avoiding eruptions for a long period of time.

I like to think about the detective Ariel Mintz as well. She’s not done, I would say. 

Would you mind sharing any of your writing rituals?

I love routine. I try to write for a set amount of time each day – lately I take what I can get, and sometimes it’s less than an hour, so it’s important that I find silence, try to capture focus for whatever time I have.

I also drink a lot of tea, and I am a bit particular about how it’s brewed: English Breakfast steeped for four minutes, honey, splash of sweetened soy milk.