Meg Mitchell Moore is the author of the new novel Two Truths and a Lie. Her other books include The Islanders and The Captain's Daughter. She lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Two Truths and a
Lie, and for your cast of characters?
A: This story had a couple of different origins.
One was the setting. A big part of this book deals with these groups of
kids and moms who have all been friends forever.
I’m intrigued by what I’ve noticed, in my own town
but also among friends from other places, of friendships among moms
and kids overlapping with one another in ways both good and harmful.
I think a lot of this phenomenon has to do
with social media, and the idea that we can all sort of keep an eye
on what different people are up to all the time. In fact, we
can’t escape it!
When I was a kid, if you were left out of something, you may
or may not ever find out. These days, kids know. Parents know. And if
parents and kids have overlapping social groups, things can get messy.
I wanted to play with those social dynamics by bringing an
outsider into a big group to see what would happen.
Q: The novel takes place in Newburyport, Massachusetts--why
did you choose that setting, and can you discuss how important setting is to
you in your writing?
A: The setting is very important to this book. For
this book I chose the setting before I created most of the story. I
live in Newburyport, and it’s a really wonderful place to be in the summer
(even this summer! although of course it’s different than previous
years).
I really wanted the town to be almost another character
in the story. There were so many places I wanted to pay homage
to.
Q: You tell the story primarily from the perspectives of your
characters Sherri, Rebecca, and Alexa, but you also include a group perspective
from the Mom Squad--why did you choose to include that point of view?
A: I wanted this to be a large group of moms—an even
dozen, before the outsiders come in. I wanted them to be snarky and
gossipy, but there are so many of them that I couldn’t give a voice
to all of them.
By using the collective voice in really short
bursts I hoped to a/add some levity, because they are often awful
but sometimes in a funny way and b/get across this “groupthink”
idea without devoting too much space to it and distracting from the
rest of the book
Q: How was the book's title chosen, and what does it signify
for you?
A: This title was chosen in a brainstorming session
with my editor and a friend when I was in New York City for a book event last
year. The friend came up with it. We loved that it’s catchy and intriguing
and hints at some mystery (because there are secrets and lies all over
this book) and also lets us know not to believe everything we’re told by
every character.
In the first draft I didn’t have anyone playing the
game, but I did go back and add it in in a few places.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on next summer’s book, which takes place
in and around Owls Head and Rockland, Maine. Most of the book takes place
in a family home where three generations are spending the summer
when a big secret comes out.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: If you follow me on Instagram @megmitchellmoore you
can scroll through recent posts and see many of the actual places
mentioned in the book. I’ll be adding more throughout the summer.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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