The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark Q&A

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

Before this novel, I published a book called The Art of Running Away. I fell completely in love with the characters in that story, and as I was trying to move on from the world, I kept getting drawn back in. I felt like there was a lot more I could do with the protagonist and her family, but I wanted to age Maisie up from a middle schooler to a college student. Although my idea was experimental, my publisher was into it, and I’m really grateful! I loved getting to construct a standalone novel from characters who already had fleshed out histories, because it gave me expectations I could both lean into and subvert. As a result, this book was SO much fun to write.

Q: What were the biggest challenges you faced writing this book?

For the same reasons why this book was fun to write, it was also challenging. I hadn’t planned to tell another story in this world, and so some arbitrary details became obstacles. For example, in The Art of Running Away, Maisie’s birthday is randomly on October 2nd, which sounds like a small thing, but resulted in several chapters needing to be rewritten in The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark. It was also a challenge to find a balance between building off of the relationships in The Art of Running Away while integrating new people and plotlines into The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark. The sister-brother bonding between Maisie and Calum was hugely important in The Art of Running Away, so I wanted their dynamic to remain a significant part of The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark. At the same time, Maisie’s character arc is about pushing out of her comfort zone, which meant there needed to be a delicate balance between exploring pre-existing relationships and new ones.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from this book?

Maisie is a character who cares deeply about everything. This makes her a passionate person, but it also makes her impulsive and anxious. In society, there are ideas perpetuated that eighteen-year-olds should know who they are and what they want, and for the ones who go to college, there is an expectation that the experience should be the best time of their lives. While this is true for some people, it is not true for others, and so I hope teen readers of this book take away that it’s okay to reach eighteen and have no idea what you are doing. It’s okay to have spent your whole life wanting one thing and suddenly realize you want another. It’s okay to go down the wrong path and have to pivot back to where you started!

Q: What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from your book?

Ahhhh, there are so many! I love whenever Maisie and Eli interact—they are both so awkward around each other, which made their scenes very fun to write. I also love Maisie and Calum’s messy sibling dynamic, and Maisie and Alicia’s messy friendship dynamic. But if I had to choose one moment, I’d probably go with the first chapter of the book. It’s chaotic and ridiculous but also quite earnest, which encapsulates the overall tone I was going for with this novel.