Leslie Hooton

Leslie Hooton is the author of three novels. Her debut novel, Before Anyone Else, garnered a Zibby nomination. Her second novel, The Secret of Rainy Days, was a book club favorite. Her newly released third novel, After Everyone Else, is the sequel to Before Everyone Else.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I was married to the title After Everyone Else and the phrase before anyone else and used it early on to describe Bailey's love for her husband. He is her "BAE." The phrase "After Everyone Else" appears midway in the book when Bailey and her husband's seemingly strong love has to weather the trials of a murder charge and dueling careers.

What's in a name?

I wanted my main character to have the initials B.A.E. because just like BFF means Best Friends Forever, BAE means Before Anyone Else, so Bailey Ann Edgeworth was born. I wanted the reader to know that Bailey and Griffin were each other's before anyone else and after everyone else.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

She wouldn't be surprised that Bailey loved vintage and consignment stores. She would be very surprised that I could write a character as confident and self assured as Bailey because at that age I was so full of self doubt.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find beginnings the hardest to write. Like a plane I have trouble taking off but once I get to cruising altitude I'm good. I take pride in sticking my landing.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Both Bailey and I are in creative professions so in that way we are alike. She is much more confident than me and she is so cool, I love to hang around her.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Because Bailey is a restaurant designer, magazines like Architectural Digest and Veranda inspired me. My mother was an English teacher and librarian and always believed in reading. And storytelling.

Visit Leslie Hooton's website.

The Page 69 Test: After Everyone Else.

My Book, The Movie: After Everyone Else.

--Marshal Zeringue