Sorry to have been away from the blog for a week, but I, um . . . the thing is . . . well, my computer connection, and uh . . . Okay, I have no good reason. But hey! I’m back and it’s Monday, which means it’s time for the song of the week.

In a few weeks, What Came First will be in stores. I am not one of those authors who considers her books to be an extension of self or, worse, as her children. But since What Came First is about motherhood in all its stages (okay, all its early stages), please forgive me for saying that the gestation of this book was fraught with complications and the labor was painful. (See? This is why I avoid these kinds of metaphors.)  It was the first time I’ve ever written from several different perspectives, and I was determined to understand my three main characters in all their complexities and to channel them with three distinct voices. Which was frankly a pain in the butt and made my head hurt. (In between, I was okay.)

One of my characters, Laura, is a prototypical Strong Woman. She is a successful lawyer. She used a sperm donor to have her son, whom she adores. She has a nanny/housekeeper who keeps her house running smoothly. She doesn’t need a man. To the outside world, she appears a bit cold because . . . she is a bit cold. So why should we care about her? Behind the crisp efficiency, there needed to be some sense that she wasn’t as capable as she seemed. (Side note: I realize that some people are as cool, calm and capable as they seem, but do you really want to read about them?)

One night while making dinner, I was trying to figure Laura out when Men at Work’s “Overkill” came on over Jango (which, if you’ll forgive the segue, I prefer to Pandora). The song begins with “I can’t get to sleep . . .” And then I knew: Laura was an insomniac. Somehow this realization was a huge step towards turning her into a real live — you know. Fictional character.

Men at Work, “Overkill”