10 Things You Need to Know About Perfect Fifths: #2
2. I’ve read Perfect Fifths about a dozen times by now. And not only am I not sick of it yet (which happens with authors and their own books, usually during the third or fourth round of proofreading and copy editing), there are parts that still surprise me. This is kind of crazy because I’m the one who made it all up.
I hope it surprises you. In a good way.
3. There is a “found” poem consisting entirely of phrases from the previous four books in the series. It begins with “marred kiss.” (I can’t tell you how the poem ends because that would be waaaaay too spoilery.)
4. Yes, the book spans a mere eighteen hours entirely in/around an airport. The main attractions are Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie but fear not: All the beloved characters who are not at the airport–Bridget and Percy, Scotty and Bruiser, Len and Manda, Bethany and Marin, Paul Parlipiano, Mac, Hy and (of course!) Hope–are essential to the story.
5. It takes place over eighteen hours in and around an airport. For research, I read Naked Aiport: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Revolutionary Structure. In it, I found this quote which served as the inspiration for the final scene of the series:
EXCUSE OUR APPEARANCES. WE ARE TEARING DOWN YESTERDAY TO MAKE ROOM FOR TOMORROW.
6. Randomly opened to page 178:
“Jessica worries there are far too many hours to fill with amusing anecdotes and idle gossip, especially when Marcus is pushing for truth and dare. And Marcus fears that time is too short for anything but, particularly after Jessica’s professed reluctance to play along.
7. Fifty-six poems
written by Marcus and Jess
Here is one of his:
XXXIII. He writes
Everything we say
(what we don’t say, even more)
has double meaning
8. When I saw a photo of this painting in the newspaper, and read that it’s called The Desperate Man, my first reaction was, Oh my God! The Desperate Man! MARCUS! I ripped it out and kept it on my desk for months as I wrote Perfect Fifths. Late in the novel, a character makes the same connection and Marcus isn’t too flattered by it.
9. The 74-page conversation between Jessica and Marcus was inspired–in part–by the movie Before Sunset. This film’s final moments make for the most gorgeous, heart-stopping ending I’ve ever seen on screen.
10. Four words: Marcus Flutie shower scene.
Tags: 10 Things You Need To Know, April 14th, Perfect Fifths
