A friend recently asked me why my last two novels were from
the viewpoint of a teenager. I planned
it that way for The Possessor because it was Mac's story. Mac had to tell it.
Tell Her Goodbye came as an afterthought. I wrote four or five beginnings for
Tell Her Goodbye and realized it had to be told from a Ruth Ann's point of
view. Why? Many times teenagers look at life as black and white. They can be
brutally honest and laugh at adult's mistakes. It was also the best way to
handle the relationship between Rooney and Rebecca. While the two adults
carried baggage as they slowly slipped into a relationship, Ruth Ann looked at
the relationship stripped away the baggage and saw it differently. Determining
the point of view in a novel is deciding who best can tell this particular
story.
