Authors Interviewing Characters Piece: Emily Stone

Author Emily Stone interviews Josie, 29, and Max, 32, from her debut novel, Always in December, a love story about two characters whose paths are destined to intertwine over the course of one year.

Josie and Max have just got back from meeting each other from the first time when Josie – quite literally – ran into Max on the street. She took Max to the pub for an apology drink, after she ran into him on her bike, and the two have arranged to go to Winter Wonderland together tomorrow. Emily caught up with them as part of a ‘first date’ feature…

Josie on Max

So Josie, how come you were cycling through London this evening?

Well, it’s only a few days until Christmas, as you know, and every year I have this tradition where I post a letter to my parents at Christmastime. They died, when I was little, in a car accident on Christmas Eve, and I write to them to let them know I’m thinking of them, that I miss them still, even now. I was on the way to post the letter when I ended up ‘meeting’ Max…

What were your first impressions of Max?

I was mainly thinking ‘Oh God’, because I hadn’t noticed him getting out of the taxi, and when I tried to brake it was way too late. I basically had a fleeting impression of a man, and that was about it. And then when he got up, and he was ok, it was dark so I couldn’t tell much, other than he was tall and had messy hair and was, understandably, rather pissed off at having been knocked off his feet.

Were there any awkward moments between the two of you?

It was all awkward! At least at the beginning. I mean, what do you say to someone when you’ve just knocked them off the street? I couldn’t stop babbling, and he was just standing there all quiet, telling me it was fine when it didn’t really seem like he was fine, if you know what I mean? And then I offered to buy him a drink, to say sorry, and I just couldn’t think of what to say when we were walking to the pub. Things got way better once we got there, but I was cringing inside the whole time at first.

What did you talk about?

To be honest, the whole thing is a bit of a blur. At first I just kept apologising. In the pub he asked about my job in Marketing – though that’s a whole other story at the moment. You know, the boring, usual kind of stuff.

What was the best thing about Max?

Well… Once he warmed up a bit, I noticed he had this really dry sense of humour, and he made me laugh. It has been an awful day for so many different reasons – don’t even get me started – so the fact that he could make me laugh after all that is quite impressive really. I get the impression that he’s a bit sad though, behind that, and I can empathise with this – Christmas is not a fun, easy time for everyone, as I well know.

Describe Max in three words.

Mysterious. Funny. And ok, fine, he’s a bit sexy.

How are you feeling about your date tomorrow?

It’s not a date! I don’t even know how I ended up agreeing to go with him to Winter Wonderland. I don’t even like Winter Wonderland – I hate all that Christmassy stuff, and I try to avoid it as much as I can. I guess I just felt sorry for him, being stranded in London alone at Christmas, so when he suggested that I take him there I felt like I couldn’t say no. But it is most definitely not a date. It’s just me helping him out, while he’s stuck here. I don’t really know how I’m feeling. Ok fine, so I’m a bit nervous. What are we going to talk about? What if I end up just babbling again? But there is no reason to be nervous, because it’s definitely not a date.

Max on Josie

You don’t live in London, is that correct?

That’s right. I’m kind of in between places at the moment.

So how come you were in London this evening?

I was supposed to be catching a flight to New York to see my parents – that’s where they live at the moment. We had plans to spend Christmas together as a family – them, me and my baby sister. No wait, don’t write that. Just say ‘my sister’. She’ll hate being called the baby. Anyway, the point is, the flight got cancelled because of this bloody storm, so I got stuck. So I’m staying at a hotel in London, until the flight is rescheduled. And well, that’s how I met Josie, I suppose – I was getting out the taxi and she, well, ran into me.

What were your first impressions of Josie?

She’s sort of… Well, it felt a bit like a whirlwind, being knocked off my feet like that. When we both got up, I couldn’t see much of her, but she was standing there, with her ripped tights from the fall, in a dress and trainers, her hair all over the place, and she just looked so upset and anxious. The funny thing is, though that moment, seeing her standing there, looking at me like that, keeps playing on my mind in a loop, I can’t actually remember what I thought right then and there, you know? It happened so quickly, and I was looking for my phone, worried it’d been run over by a car or something. Josie found it for me. And then, well, she offered to take me to the pub, and she’s kind of hard to say no to.

What was the best thing about Josie?

She’s so kind. You could tell that immediately – she was mortified, and I mean mortified, about the fact she’d run into me like that, and she just wanted to apologise, and make it better. I actually just wanted to take my phone and go – I’ve had some news recently that’s… Well, let’s just say it hasn’t been easy to process. And so, I wasn’t looking for company, but she came in, so open and talkative and she distracted me. She made me smile, and she made me forget, for just an evening, about my own shit and let me just… be.

Describe Josie in three words.

Only three? I don’t know, really. Cute. No, sorry, you shouldn’t put that first. But she is cute, that’s kind of hard to ignore. Sweet. Interesting. Different. No, sorry, that’s four.

How are you feeling about your date tomorrow?

Well I don’t know if I’d call it a date… I’m not totally sure she even wants to come with me – I knew full well what I was doing, talking her into it. But I just, I wanted to spend a bit more time with her. Like I said, there’s some other stuff going on at the moment, and she just makes me feel… Lighter, I suppose. Is that stupid to say, after only an hour? I mean, I don’t know how I feel about the whole Christmassy Winter Wonderland thing, but I am looking forward to seeing her again. Nothing can ever happen, of course, but it’s fine to spend the day with a new friend, right? I’ll be careful, and it’ll be fine.

—

Emily Stone lives and works in Chepstow and wrote Always, in December in an old Victorian manor house with an impressive literary heritage. Her debut novel was partly inspired by the death of her mother, when Emily was seven, and wanting to write something that reflected the fact that you carry this grief into adulthood, long after you supposedly move on from the event itself.

Twitter: @EmStoneWrites

 

ALWAYS, IN DECEMBER

“A poignant, heart-tugging, life-affirming story that will wrap around you like a hug during any season. Keep tissues nearby!”—Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December

It started with a letter. It ended with a love story.

Every December, Josie posts a letter from her home in London to the parents she lost on Christmas night many years ago. Each year, she writes the same three words: Missing you, always. But this year, her annual trip to the postbox is knocked off course by a bicycle collision with a handsome stranger–a stranger who will change the course of Josie’s life.

Josie always thought she was the only one who avoided the Christmas season, but this year, Max has his own reasons for doing the same—and coincidence leads them to spending the holiday together. Aglow with new love, Josie thinks this might be the start of something special.

Only for Max to disappear without saying goodbye.

Over the course of the next year, Max and Josie will find that fate continues to bring them together in places they’d never expect. New York City. Edinburgh. The quiet English countryside. And it turns out, Max had every reason to leave and every reason to stay. But what does fate hold for Josie and Max as Christmas approaches again?

A devastating, romantic, life-affirming love story, Always, in December will stay with readers long after they’ve finished the last page.

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Category: On Writing