Authors Interviewing Their Characters: Suzanne Nugent
Suzanne Nugent interviews three mismatched frienemies – Leanne, Christina, and Nora – over Sunday brunch.
Filled with heartwrenching scenes and witty prose, Susanne Nugent’s Brunch and Other Obligations explores the intricate dynamics of girlhood acquaintances who ar
e forced to reconnect as women. This upbeat novel reminds readers that there’s hope for getting through the hard times in life―with a lot of patience, humor, and a standing brunch date.
At Sunnyside Cafe, author Suzanne Nugent interviews three mismatched frienemies – Leanne, Christina, and Nora – over Sunday brunch.
SUZANNE: Hi, I’m Suzanne. You must be Leanne. Hey, we rhyme.
LEANNE: Cute! Nice to meet you. This is Nora.
Nora waves.
SUZANNE: Hello. So, thanks for setting this up, Leanne.
LEANNE: Of course! No problem at all. Christina’s running a little late, her schedule is just —
SUZANNE: That’s ok. I have time.
Nora squirms.
LEANNE: Should we order coffee? Aha, here’s Christina.
Christina hustles toward the table and lands in her seat.
At the very same moment, a waitress serves Christina’s coffee without even taking an order.
LEANNE: I’ll have a coffee too, please.
SUZANNE: Decaf for me, please.
NORA: Can I just have some hot water?
Nora takes a teabag out of her canvas tote.
CHRISTINA: They do have tea here.
NORA: I like to bring my own. The Trader Joe’s kind tastes better.
CHRISTINA: So, Suzanne, you’re interviewing us for…?
SUZANNE: I write about women and their relationships and I just wanted to talk to you about the rituals around maintaining long-term friendships.
CHRISTINA: Right. Got it. Go.
SUZANNE: Ok, I guess I’ll start at the beginning: Where did you all meet?
LEANNE: We should probably tell you that we’re not really… I mean, we’ve known each other a long time, and when our friend Molly died, we started spending more time together, but —
CHRISTINA: But we’re not really friends.
LEANNE: I’m not saying we’re not friends.
CHRISTINA: Well, I am. Might as well just come out and say it.
LEANNE: I think we’re friends.
CHRISTINA: That’s because we’re your oldest friends and your new friends are assholes.
Suzanne laughs. That was supposed to be funny, right?
NORA: She’s not kidding. Sorry, Leanne. They’re jerks.
LEANNE: I don’t talk about your friends that way.
CHRISTINA: You can if you want to. I don’t have time for friends and Nora doesn’t have any.
LEANNE: Don’t be rude. Nora has friends.
NORA: Actually, Christina’s right. I’m fine with it. People can be a little too much for me. I’d rather just read.
SUZANNE: But you all get together for brunch every month?
LEANNE: Yes. We were kind of forced upon each other when…
NORA: …reading is a nice way to spend time with people without encountering an actual person…
LEANNE: …our best friend Molly died…
NORA: …the bonus is if you don’t like what a character is saying, you can just turn the page…
LEANNE: …Molly was really Nora’s only friend and for me she was my soul mate.
CHRISTINA: Mine too.
NORA: …and if you do like a certain character, you can just read the same book over and over…
LEANNE: For Nora, Molly was like a sister. I guess she was for me too.
NORA: …and I’ve found if you read in public, you can get credit for being out and about but still be anti-social and it’s totally fine.
CHRISTINA: Me too. Sisters. Yeah, that’s what it is. I don’t think the three of us are friends. Maybe we’re sisters.
LEANNE: Aw, sisters? Really?
CHRISTINA: Yup. We got stuck together we were young and we don’t necessarily have much in common. Like sisters.
LEANNE: Lovely.
NORA: Anyway, I like to read.
SUZANNE: Well, sisters don’t always like each other, but they do love each other.
LEANNE: Awwwww.
CHRISTINA: Gross.
NORA: I parked at a meter. I’ll be back in a minute. Feel free to order without me.
—
Suzanne Nugent is a writer committed to exploring women’s lives and relationships through poignant comedy (or funny drama, depending on your level of optimism). She was shortlisted for the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and has received accolades from the Denver Film Festival and the San Francisco Writers Conference. She holds a dual degree in journalism and film from UMass Amherst and studied screenwriting at UCLA. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. Brunch and Other Obligations is her first novel.
Find more about Suzanne https://www.suzannenugent.com/about
BRUNCH AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
The only thing reclusive bookworm Nora, high-powered attorney Christina, and supermom-in-training Leanne ever had in common was their best friend, Molly. When Molly dies, she leaves mysterious gifts and cryptic notes for each of her grieving best friends, along with one final request: that these three mismatched frenemies have brunch together every month for a year.
Filled with heartwrenching scenes and witty prose, Brunch and Other Obligations explores the intricate dynamics of girlhood acquaintances who are forced to reconnect as women. This upbeat novel reminds readers that there’s hope for getting through the hard times in life―with a lot of patience, humor, and a standing brunch date.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Interviews, On Writing
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
