Interview with Millicent from MY LOVELY WIFE

Author SAMANTHA DOWNING interviews her main character Milicent, from her novel MY LOVELY WIFE.

Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…

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Interview with Millicent

Thank you so much for agreeing to do this.
The pleasure is all mine.

Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?
I live in Florida with my husband and our two children, Jenna and Rory. Jenna is thirteen and the star of her soccer team. Rory is fourteen has become quite an accomplished golfer. We live in Hidden Oaks, where my husband is the tennis pro at the country club. I am a real estate agent.

Do you enjoy living in Hidden Oaks?
Who wouldn’t? It’s such a lovely community and the people are just fantastic. I’m on the New Resident Committee. Well, actually I chair the committee but we’re a team. Really. I know people always say that but in this case it’s true.
I also founded a parent’s group in the community. We work to try to make sure our children have well-rounded and nurturing experiences both in school and out. Just last month, three of our local kids were accepted into top universities, so obviously our approach is working.

What are some of the things your family enjoys doing together?
So many things! We have a family movie night at least once a week. That’s one of our most important events because our kids choose the movie. I really feel like this has taught them to learn how to compromise. Now that they’re teenagers, they don’t agree on too much, yet they always manage to agree on a movie.

We also eat dinner as a family every night. No TV or gadgets are allowed, including phones, and that’s non-negotiable. Gathering together each and every day, even if it’s just for half an hour, is what keeps us close. Our kids look forward to it, even if they would never admit it to their friends.

How do you know they enjoy it?
Because I’m their mother.

Perfect. Now, I’d love to talk to you about your husband. How did the two of you meet?
On an airplane, of all places. He was sitting next to me and he was so nervous about flying, he was talking to himself. I asked him if he was all right, and our conversation took off from there. It turned out we lived in the same area, and we exchanged phone numbers.
Not the most romantic story, but it’s the truth. My husband would disagree with me. He has a tendency to romanticize our first encounter. I have to admit, his version is better. He’s a better storyteller than I am. I tend to stick to the facts.

I’d like to ask about some of the extracurricular activities you and your husband engage in.
That seems rather personal.

I suppose it is, yes. Let me rephrase that. How long have you and your husband been married?
15 years.

After that amount of time, marriage can become a little too routine. How do you and your husband keep it fresh?
Are you asking me about our sex life?

No, I’m asking how you keep your marriage feeling new and fresh.
Oh, I see what you’re trying to do. You want me to tell you everything so you can turn around and tell us how horrible we are. How morally reprehensible. I bet that’s how you’ll say it, too. Morally reprehensible. Oh wait, no, I bet you’ll say morally repugnant. You look like someone who loves the word repugnant.
Have you ever read Dante’s Inferno? You know, it’s quite interesting how he divides up all the circles of hell. There are nine of them, the ninth being the lowest. The worst. Do you know where murderers are? The seventh. Not that I’m saying we’re murderers, of course. I’m just using that as an example.
But do you know who’s in the ninth circle of hell? The treacherous. Which is kind of what you’re being right now. You’re being nice but really all you want to do is judge us and call us names.

Well, I was just asking a question. That wasn’t what I—
Ask a different one.

Do you have date nights with your husband? If so, what do you do?
Of course we have date nights. Our children are too old to need a babysitter, so my husband and I are able to go out to dinner, see a movie, attend a charity benefit—all sorts of things. We try to have at least one date night a week.

That sounds just—
What about you? Do you and your spouse have date nights?

I’m not married.
Oh. Well, I’m sorry about that. Family is a beautiful thing. The most important thing, really, and I hope you get to experience it for yourself one day.

I do have a family, I’m just not married.
Hey, no judgment.

Right, well, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
You’re welcome. It’s been a pleasure.

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Samantha Downing currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next thrilling standalone. My Lovely Wife is her first novel.

Find out more about her on her website https://www.samanthadowning.com/

Follow her on Twitter @smariedowning

About MY LOVELY WIFE

Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Interviews, On Writing