Marit Weisenberg’s The Insomniacs is a sharp, contemporary romance debut with a mystery-twist. It takes place on a quiet cul-de-sac in Texas where two suburban teens who can’t sleep at night begin to uncover some disturbing secrets about their quiet neighborhood, and some hidden feelings about each other.
We had the pleasure of chatting to Marit about her new novel, book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Marit! Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi! I’m a native Californian living in Austin, Texas with my husband, our two daughters, and a goldendoodle named Rubeus Hagrid (he goes by Ruby). I come from the background of the film and television industry where I worked with writers developing their stories but, secretly, I always wanted to be one myself!
When did you first discover your love for writing?
One summer, when I was about ten, a group of us from the neighborhood watched the soap opera Days of Our Lives at my house every day. At some point, my parents cut us off and took TV away. We were so bored and sad about it that we started writing scenes together, guessing at what we were missing. It was like our own TV writers’ room. I LOVED it.
The Insomniacs is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Romantic, mysterious, eerie, heartbreaking, hopeful.
What inspired you to write The Insomniacs?
A friend in high school was an insomniac and, when we were 16, I suddenly realized she had a whole second life taking place at night. She had phone conversations with boys, she’d say hi to people in the halls I had no idea she knew, she’d sneak out. It was this realization that she was having two different high school lives—one by day, one by night.
Were there any challenges you faced while writing?
It was definitely a delicate balancing act to lay down clues while not giving too much away!
Without spoiling too much, is there a favourite moment that you really enjoyed writing in The Insomniacs?
I really loved when Van casually thumbs through Ingrid’s old yearbooks while they’re hanging out in Ingrid’s bedroom late at night. All of the sudden, Ingrid realizes he has the one from a few years before. She dives for it, but it’s too late. Van sees the hearts drawn around his school picture and where Ingrid practiced writing her first name with his last. Ingrid always holds her cards close to the vest, so she is mortified. But I love how the scene is healing too because Van always thought Ingrid hated him.
What piece of advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Finish a first draft! Don’t stop to edit even though that’s really, really hard when you know something doesn’t feel right. I’m a firm believer that it’s easier to work with the story once you have a first draft, even if you delete huge sections. It feels like a part of your brain can relax because you have a book!
With the current state of the world, what are you doing to cope with the changes we’ve had to make with our day-to-day?
It’s so hard. I’m used to having the house to myself to write while the kids are at school. As an author friend said, it’s hard to write with people in the house. I’m staying sane by waking up early. If I have a few quiet hours by myself, it helps a lot.
Lastly, what are you currently reading and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Currently, I’m reading ALL THE THINGS WE NEVER KNEW by Liara Tamani, a fellow Texan and YA author. It’s beautiful and it just became a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. I always recommend TELL THE WOLVES I’M HOME by Carol Rifka Brunt. Set in the late 1980s when much was still unknown about AIDS, it’s a poignant and powerful coming of age story about fourteen-year-old June Elbus coping with the loss of her uncle and finding an unexpected friend in his former partner, who is shunned by the rest of her family.
