Lauren Kate While you have written multiple books, By Any Other Name is your first romantic comedy. What inspired you to write this story? In my twenties, I had a spectacular breakup during a cliffside motorcycle ride on the Amalfi Coast. Friends and family have been asking me to write about it for years, but until recently I couldn’t see beyond the heartbreak. I didn’t want to write a book about eating Ben and Jerry’s while Facebook-stalking my ex . . . delicious as that era was! So I started thinking about other aspects of this character’s life—like her job in publishing— that might see her through the darkness. When I found a professional crisis to echo her personal crisis, it made me laugh. I’ve never written a comedy before, but this story refused to take itself too seriously. I mean, being dumped on the most romantic trip of your life is pretty funny. Do you feel you are like Lanie in certain ways? How did you come to craft her character? To prepare for this book, I cringed my way through diaries from that decade of my life. The details—a woman working passionately in publishing, dating thrilling but all-wrong men, summoning friends to emergency brunches, and seeking advice from a well-dressed grandmother—were there to be lifted, but I didn’t intend to make Lanie as deeply me as she became on the page. Autobiography has never appealed to me. Fiction is making stuff up. But this story demanded it. Then again, if Lanie is me, she’s me from a bygone era, not me now, with two kids and a mortgage. I was glad to go back and visit her. New York City is such a presence in this story that it almost feels like a character in and of itself. Where did you pull inspiration when crafting this setting and all the specific places Noa and Lanie visit? Like Lanie, I showed up in Manhattan with a duffel bag and a dream. I was young and broke, which cast a glamor on the city. When mere existence is hard-won, the places you visit, like the Gapstow Bridge, feel legitimately magical. Living in a great city changes you; I’ve gone through a metamorphosis each time I’ve moved to one. Lanie is evolving because of changes in her life, yes, but also, more simply, because she’s part of a pulsing, vital place like New York.
© Christina Hultquist 2018
A Conversation with
What was your favorite scene in the novel, and why? Lanie’s first in-person meeting with Noa Callaway. She goes into the scene so earnest and enthusiastic, wearing her grandmother’s Fendi suit. She ends up having an existential crisis in public and throwing her career and personal life into chaos. It’s IRL gone majorly awry. And after a long quarantine of online-only encounters, I can relate. What do you feel lies at the heart of Lanie’s and Noa’s characters? What do you think is the true success to any relationship? A successful relationship is at ease with the heavy and the light. I wanted to explore how Lanie and Noa(h) can have a stimulating intellectual argument one moment, burst out laughing the next, and share each other’s grief in the third. The idea of revision is also at the heart of their romance. I think for many relationships, when one or both people change, it can feel scary, undesired. But as a writer and an editor, Lanie and Noa(h) understand what’s beautiful about change. They don’t expect each other to stay the same as they were in the first draft. They welcome the different versions each of them will become. Have you ever experienced writer’s block like Noa? If so, how did you overcome it? I’ve never not experienced writer’s block, but my most profound confrontation with it came after my daughter was born. I remember driving in my car, listening to a story on the radio about a beekeeper, and weeping because I wished I could just be a beekeeper. Writing felt impossible that day. I see now that 70 percent of that was sleep deprivation, but the other 30 percent was struggling to acknowledge that I had become a new person when I became a mother. I think this is similar to Noa(h)’s traumatic experiences. When a writer goes through a shift that apocalyptic, it can feel like you suddenly have to learn to write all over again. Is there a certain trope in romance books that you just can’t get enough of? Maybe even a guilty pleasure that never gets old? The build-up to the first kiss always thrills me, the emotional foreplay of establishing chemistry with another person, and then seeing how long you can stretch it out before you get together. (The longer the better.) I still think about my extended flirtation with my husband—all the enchanting obstacles in our way, how we knocked them down month by month, one karaoke night or creekside stroll at a time, until eventually it was just the two of us in front of a fireplace, leaning in for a kiss. Lanie’s dream is to travel to Positano, Italy. Have you ever been there, or is there a dream destination you’re excited to visit in the future? Positano was the site of my spectacular breakup—and in an early draft of the book, it was the site of Lanie’s breakup, too. When I cleared away this failed relationship from this story, there was space for Positano to take on a deeper meaning—for her mother, her career, and Noa(h).
What would you like readers to take away from By Any Other Name? I hope it feels like meeting a friend for lunch, one you haven’t seen in a while but with whom you can pick right up where you left off. I hope this friend makes you laugh and feel less alone, and that you leave with a little more faith in love. What’s next for you? More novels—some in genres new to me, some in familiar modes, all where love and wonder are alive.
Playlist
Curated by Lauren Kate MAKE ME FEEL by Janelle Monáe ALL EYES ON ME/UNDER PRESSURE MASHUP by Scary Pockets DON’T LOSE SIGHT by Lawrence I GUESS THE LORD MUST BE IN NEW YORK CITY by Harry Nilsson GOOD KISSER by Lake Street Dive EASY ON ME by Adele OLD LOVE by Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK by Elvis Costello THE STORY by Brandi Carlile IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING by Frank Sinatra SEVENTEEN by Sharon Van Etten TREACHEROUS by Taylor Swift SWEET CREATURE by Harry Styles CASTA DIVA by Maria Callas THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE by Bettye Swann
Discussion Guide 1.
Discuss how Lanie’s and Noa’s childhood experiences shaped their trajectories in life. If they had had different experiences, do you feel they would have chosen the paths they did? How has your upbringing helped shape your life— your passions, future goals, or even your values?
2.
What are the top five characteristics on your Ninety-Nine Things list that you want in a partner?
3.
While By Any Other Name is a romance, it also feels like an ode to New York City. If you have been there, where is your favorite place to go? If you haven’t, where would you most like to visit?
4. Lanie goes above and beyond to help Noa(h) with his writer’s block in
order to secure a promotion. Have you ever similarly done something out of the ordinary for your job? If so, what was it and why did you do it?
5.
Create a title for your love life based on this Noa Callaway–inspired prompt: Ninety-Nine Things I About .
6. In your opinion, what about Noa speaks the most to Lanie? Inversely, what do you think draws Noa to Lanie’s personality?
7.
What would be your perfect meet-cute with a potential romantic interest? Were you able to carry out this dream in real life, and if so, was it everything you expected?
8. What was your favorite scene in the novel, and why? 9. Lanie has a type-A personality, which can be both good and bad at different times. Do you relate to this character trait? Why or why not?
10. What’s your favorite book, and why? How has that book changed your life? 11. Before she passed, Lanie’s mom said to her, “Promise to find someone you
really, really love.” What does this mean to you? What is your definition of love?
12. Were you surprised by the ending?