Q&A with Jodi Picoult of The Book Of Two Ways

Questions & Answers With Jodi Picoult and The Book Of Two Ways: 

1. Is there a defining moment when the two timelines intersect? 

Yes.  The end of Boston bleeds directly into the beginning of Egypt.  The plane crash occurs at the end of Egypt, before Wyatt and Dawn return to Boston together. 

2. If you were Dawn, who would you choose? Brian or Wyatt? How does Merit play into that for you? We wanted to know where your heart is on this… 

Not answering this one!  There’s no wrong choice, here.  :)

3. Assuming Dawn and Wyatt stay together, how did you envision they make their coparenting relationship work? 

I think we see glimpses of Brian being accepting of having Wyatt in Meret’s life (i.e the tennis match).  

4. Do you think Dawn make the right choice, by not giving Thane the letter? Do you think Win ever told Felix about it? 

That’s tricky.  From an ethical standpoint it wasn’t her right to interrupt someone else’s life — it’s Win’s unfinished story.  Honestly, as a death doula, she should have drawn the line earlier and told Win no!  I do not think that Felix every knew.  

5. What was your favorite part of writing this book and what inspired you for this particular one?  

I was inspired by the real BOTW, simply its title — if you read the author’s note I talk a little about that.  My son was an Egyptology major at Yale.  I think my favorite part of writing the book was nailing the very complicated structure.  It was a BEAST to wrestle with.  And I’m not gonna lie — the banter between Wyatt and Dawn was super fun too.

6. What made you write The Book Of Two Ways?

I think, right now, we are all considering what an alternative life might look like – namely one that doesn’t involve a pandemic. My new novel, THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS, began as a question: who would you be, if you aren’t who you are now? What if your life had taken a different turn? For all of us, there is something or someone who got away. What if you had the chance for a do-over?

Struggling through COVID-19 gives an urgency and a tenderness to the matter of what makes a life worth living; and how to face the end of that life without regret. I hope that as you read this novel, it allows you to think about the forks in your own path that you have taken. Do we make choices…or do our choices make us?

7. Did you base these characters off of any real people or events? 

Dumphries is loosely based on the head of Yale’s Egyptology department.  His wife - another Egyptologist - is the one who took me to Middle Egypt on a private academic tour to learn all I had to know!

8. When you start writing, do you know where you want it to end or does it evolve as you go? 

I know before I write a single word how the book is going to end.

9. When you were in Egypt, did you get to see inside any of the tombs? What was that like? 

Oh yes! We went to the valley of the kings and queens but they are new kingdom tombs. Part of what I got to see with the Egyptologist was stuff off limits to people who are normal tourists. So I went into a whole bunch of rock cut tombs like Djehutyhotep’s!

10. Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on next and when we might be able to expect it? 

I am co-writing a book with Jennifer Finney Boylan for 2022 currently called MAD HONEY.  But I’ve been toying around with another novel right now — one about this pandemic. I feel like it needs to be chronicled in a way that a writer can help make sense of.

11. What are you currently reading? 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas. 

12. Can you tell us more about your writing process, particularly for this one?

 
It was months of research, including shadowing hospice professionals and going to Egypt and learning how to construct a dig site etc.  Then I had to create a very detailed outline of every scene in the book - both Boston and Egypt.  It was 140 pages, single spaced.

13. This was the first time, I think I remember reading an intimate scene in your book. Did you find it challenging to write or was it fun? I’ve read everything you’ve ever written but don’t remember anything like this before. Maybe it’s covid and quarantine but it was hot and steamy and I loved it, I wanted more!!! 

OMG I swear every time I sat down I was writing a sex scene.  That’s because Dawn had two lovers, I guess.  After a while it gets hard (no pun intended!) to write sex in a way that feel fresh and new!  I will say that my husband probably benefitted from the “research” I did… ;)

14. Do you write every day? 

I don’t work on weekends, usually (although I have been known to sneak up to an office when I’m in the middle of a chapter - I hate leaving my characters hanging!) But other than that, I’m a workaholic. I will start a new book the day after finishing a previous one. What you need to remember, however, is that there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than writing. My kids know that I need it like some people need medication - as a preventative, because when I don’t write for a few days, I get predictably cranky. They’ve become used to sharing me with people who don’t really exist, but who are incredibly real to ME while I’m telling their stories.

15. Which one of your books is your favorite? 

For years I’ve said that my favorite is  Second Glance. I am incredibly proud of the characters in there…some of whom I’ve never seen in fiction ever before. Plus, it addresses themes and concepts that are rarely discussed in fiction. There’s a real tendency when you write to think that Shakespeare did it all, and that we just recycle it…so when you feel like you’ve broken new ground as a writer, it’s a big deal. But I must admit that I am fiercely proud of Small Great Things. It was a beast of a book to write, and it was a challenge both personally and professionally – and ultimately I think it has the power to do a lot of good in the world.

16. How long does it take to write a book? 

Nine months. Stop laughing. I don't know why it takes me the same amount of time to deliver either a book or a baby, but there you have it. Sometimes the amount of research vs. rough-drafting varies, but it generally takes three-quarters of a year for my head to gel ideas into a cohesive story. Often, I work on more than one book at once.

About Jodi: 

Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven.

Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, and the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is also a member of the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. 

Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.