We Were Liars meets Speak in this haunting, mesmerising psychological thriller–a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby–that will linger long after the final line…
We chat with Amy Reed about her new novel Tell Me My Name, book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Amy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’ve written a ton of young adult novels (ten to be exact, and I edited an anthology too), most of them about complicated girls. I live in the mountains of western North Carolina, in a small wonderful city called Asheville and I have an almost eight-year old daughter named Elouise and an old stinky dog named Peanut. I love running and eating and, obviously, reading.
After the chaos that was 2020, have you set any goals for this year? If so, how are they going so far?
My main goal in life these days is to cultivate peace, both in my inner world and, as much as I can, in my outer world. I’m trying to be kind to myself and others, to take things slow, and to laugh as much as possible. I think I’m doing pretty well so far, considering the circumstances.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
First book: Jurassic Park, in 3rd grade (My small town had an awesome librarian who knew I was an advanced reader and sometimes gave me age-inappropriate stuff)
Made me want to become an author: It’s a tie between the memoir Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen and The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton. Both books blew my mind as a young teen and taught me that words can transform pain into art.
One I can’t stop thinking about: Hollywood Park, by Mikel Jollett
When did you first discover your love for writing?
When I was thirteen and started writing (really bad) poetry. At a time when life felt really scary, confusing, and lonely, writing helped me know who I was and how to use my voice.
Your new novel Tell Me My Name releases on March 9th 2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Intense, twisty, sexy, scary, beautiful
Now, what can readers expect?
Tell Me My Name is my feminist psychological thriller, gender-swapped retelling of The Great Gatsby. Set about fifty years in the future, it tells the stories of Fern and Ivy, two very different young women trying to find their power in a world that is constantly taking it. Like in the original Gatsby, their insular world is one of excess, wealth, and glamour, but the walls protecting them from the crisis of the outside world—and from themselves—are crumbling.
What inspired you to write Tell Me My Name?
I reread The Great Gatsby a few years ago and was struck by how it excluded so many people from its depiction of the American Dream, and how little justice it did to the female and non-wealthy characters. I wanted to explore what the story might look like if it included the rest of us, and if it included some of the social, economic, and environmental issues we are dealing with now.
Were there any challenges you faced while writing? If so, how did you overcome them?
I really struggled with getting the ending right. I lost count of the number of revisions I did on the last 30-or so pages. Not to give too much away, but there’s a big twist in this book, and I had never written anything like a thriller before, so getting the pacing and clues and big reveals just right was definitely a challenge. I also struggled with trying to make sure it ended with a glimmer of hope. The original ending was pretty bleak, but my editor and I agreed that my characters, and my readers, deserved better than that. Like all writing struggles, I overcame these with lots and lots of revision. I’m really lucky to have a brilliant editor to bounce ideas off of and give me feedback.
If it’s not too spoilery, were there any favourite moments or characters that you enjoyed bringing to the page?
I really loved writing Tami Butler, who is based on the character Tom Buchannan in The Great Gatsby. She is the epitome of wealth, privilege, entitlement, and cruelty, and it was really fun creating a villain. The sex scenes were also really fun to write.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Best writing advice: Show, don’t tell.
Worst writing advice: Don’t be so personal.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on my first adult novel, about an early-40’s mom who just got out of rehab and is trying to figure out what to do with her life. It’s pretty much a coming-of-age story like all my YA, only the main character is twice as old.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
The book I recommend to everyone, both adults and teens, is the short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado. It completely transformed how I think of writing fiction, and it opened my eyes to so many more possibilities for storytelling. It was a huge inspiration for Tell Me My Name.
