To Cassandra Rodgers and Sam Hiyate from The Rights Factory; you saw something in my early writing and took a chance on me. Thank you for putting up with all my questions, for your continual support, advice and all-around agent awesomeness.
Michelle Meade, my brilliant, generous, insightful and inspiring MIRA editor. Working with you is an absolute pleasure, and the editing process a dream. Your invaluable guidance did wonders for this story, and I’m so excited to be on this journey with you. Long, long may it continue, with many more books to come.
The rest of the MIRA team—Nicole Brebner for loving the manuscript enough in the first place, and the outstanding marketing, PR, art and production teams. You all work incredibly hard, and I’m so fortunate my novel found its way into your capable hands.
A massive thank you to Mum and Dad for believing in my writing from the beginning, to Joely, my (little) big sis whose no-nonsense approach and practical advice keeps me grounded, and to Becki, who’s championed everything I’ve done for over twenty years.
To Brian Henry and my QuickBrownFox writing group colleagues; Adrienne, Bieke, Brian C., Cat, Dave, Donna, Ginelle, Glen, Gord, Janis, Lena, Linda, Lorie, Lyanne, Maggie, Marilyn, Nancy, Nydia, Pat, Patricia, Ray, Rob, Sally W. and Sheila; thank you for your fabulous suggestions and, of course, the regular fits of laughter.
Where would I be without my fantastic beta-readers? Emma, Mary, Michelle S., Nick, Reena, Sally B. and Shauna—I’m so lucky to have you. Thank you for reading an early draft, telling me the good, the bad and the downright ugly, so I could make the story so much stronger.
To Matt Cascio and Sean Joyce; thank you for making time in your busy schedules to answer my legal questions on both sides of the Atlantic.
To Elie, who I miss every single day and who resembles Tom in so many ways. I wish you were here to celebrate with me. I shall raise a glass (or two) to you, and carry you in my heart forever.
Finally, to my incredible husband, Rob, and to our wonderful boys, Leo, Matt and Lex; thank you for keeping me on track and for telling me everything will work out in the end (you were right!).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What do you think was the most impactful event in Abby’s life? How did it shape her in the short-and long-term?
Abby blamed herself for Tom’s death and pushed Liam away to deny herself true love. Do you know anyone who has punished themselves in similar ways? How has that affected them?
What was behind Nate continually trying to “fix” his wife and restore her happiness? How do you think this impacted his decisions regarding himself and Sarah? Would he have been happier with someone else, and if so, why?
When Liam and Abby meet on the retreat, he tells her he still loves her, and that they’re “married to the wrong people,” but Abby says she owes Nate “everything.” Did that situation justify Liam and Abby having an affair? Why?
What do you think would have happened if Liam had immediately confessed he’d been driving? Or if Nate had told Abby about his sperm test results? How would it have affected the characters and their stories?
Camilla tells Abby one in two marriages end in divorce because people pretend to be something they’re not when they first meet. Do you know anyone to whom that has happened? What did it do to their relationship?
What scene did you think was the most pivotal in the story? How would the novel have changed if that scene had been different, or hadn’t taken place? What did you expect to happen?
All the women in the story have deep-running, emotional issues. What could they have done to help each other, and how could that have changed their outcomes? Do you think women in general support each other enough? What more could be done?
How did you feel when Abby died? Did your feelings change when you found out she wasn’t responsible for Tom’s death? If so, did that change surprise you?
How can Nate deal with his grief, but also try to come to terms with the lies Abby told, and the secrets she kept from him?
Do you think Sarah can keep the secret about Nate’s paternity? What would you advise her to do? How will her decision shape her as an adult, and do you think she’ll see Zac again?
Q & A
What was your inspiration for The Neighbors?
Most of my stories start with a single question, and The Neighbors was no exception. In this case it was: What if an ex-boyfriend moved in next door? I played around with the idea for a while, imagining how awkward it could become. I wondered if the main character would tell anyone, and if not, why? Then I imagined the secrets each person could be keeping. Basically, I kept making the situation worse and worse for my characters. That’s one of the fun parts about writing. You can be as manipulative as you please, and the cast will still show up the next morning without bearing any grudges.
What was your greatest challenge writing this novel? Your greatest pleasure?
This is my second novel, so the first obstacle was finding out if I could write another. The next challenge was working with a nonlinear timeline—jumping about in time can become very confusing for everyone—and having multiple viewpoint characters. The latter definitely pushed me because I had to ensure each character’s voice was distinct from the others.
My greatest pleasure was building the story; editing and layering before anybody got to see the full manuscript. My initial drafts are awful, truly pitiful, but I have to tell myself the story in its most basic form first, then go over it repeatedly, adding complexity and depth with each round. Seeing it all come together, feeling the manuscript was beta-reader-and agent-ready was the most rewarding part of that process. Of course, that’s also when the real editing work began!
You mentioned the four different viewpoint characters. Did you have a favorite to write, and if so, which one and why?
I enjoyed writing all of them very much. Abby’s because she’s so emotionally damaged and complex, my heart aches for her. Nate’s because he’s a lovely man who tries to do the right thing but loses sight of his own happiness in the process.
Nancy’s transformation from overlooked housewife to cunning manipulator was the suggestion of my editor, Michelle Meade, and such fun to write. Sarah’s chapters felt almost nostalgic, and I listened to a lot of ’80s music to capture the teenage mood (thankfully no leg warmers or a perm were required).
I loved writing the happy scenes with Abby and Tom, too. Their relationship almost made me jealous, and I don’t even have a brother!
Can you tell us about your writing journey so far?
I started writing mid-2011, but instead of working on short pieces to develop my skills, I wrote an entire novel, Time After Time. The trouble was that while the premise caught people’s interest, the execution was flawed. I stuck with it, though, had the novel critiqued (eye-opening!), and took a number of writing courses both locally and online with Curtis Brown Creative UK. After that course I secured representation with Cassandra Rodgers from The Rights Factory.
We worked on the novel for a few months, after which she quickly sold it to HarperCollins UK’s digital arm Maze, and Time After Time was published six months later, in June 2016. Going through the whole pitch to publication process was enlightening, and it taught me so much about the business.
I’d already been working on The Neighbors at that point—I needed something to distract me during the submission process, or I was going to go mad. Both Cassandra and I were hoping for a traditional print deal for my second novel, and when MIRA offered a two-book deal I jumped up and down with my dad in my parents’ living room, shouting, “I did it, I did it!” Meeting Michelle and the MIRA team for the first time was wonderful. I felt—still feel—incredibly lucky and privileged, and often don’t quite believe it’s actually happened.
Your first novel, Time After Time, was a lighthearted, romantic read, whereas The Neighbors is firmly in the domestic suspense category. W
hat made you switch genres, and what challenges did that present?
You’re absolutely right. Time After Time is a romantic tale of roads not taken—it’s the love child of the movies Groundhog Day and Sliding Doors—and the idea for the novel from start to finish was crystal clear from the beginning. Having said that, I wanted to write something darker and grittier for my second book, with more complex characters and shades of truth. I realized the genre wasn’t the same, but wasn’t particularly concerned. Time After Time hadn’t yet been submitted to publishers when I outlined The Neighbors, so I kept going. After all, there was no guarantee any of my novels would be picked up.
Later, when Michelle and I spoke about The Neighbors suiting the domestic suspense category, I realized it’s where I wanted to be going forward. I’m drawn to messy stories where things don’t necessarily work out well, where characters are flawed, imperfect and achingly human.
Do you have a specific writing routine you like to stick to?
I try, but with three boys I have to be flexible. Most days I write in the morning for a few hours, go to the gym for a break (treadmill = idea generator, I’m sure of it!) and usually write again in the afternoon. As soon as the kids come home that’s it—author hat comes off, mum hat goes on. I tend to keep the weekends free for the family unless I’m finishing a manuscript or I’m in the final editing stages, when I’ll often work well into the night. My characters keep me from sleeping and cause terrible parasomnia anyway, much to my husband’s amusement!
Do you read when you’re working on a project? Or does it distract you from your stories?
I love reading fiction, and rarely find it to be a distraction from my work—except when the book is so brilliant I’d rather be reading it than working on my own manuscript! But when I’m stuck on one of my chapters or frustrated with edits, I pick up a novel and lose myself within.
I read one book at a time, usually in the evenings and always before bed, a habit my eldest son has picked up, too. Even if it’s only a few pages, I find it relaxing and it gives me ideas and inspiration for my own work.
I’m rarely upset when the weekend forecast is terrible—it gives me an excuse to curl up on the sofa and be instantly transported to another place without needing an umbrella.
ISBN-13: 9781488079405
The Neighbors
Copyright © 2018 by Hannah McKinnon
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