Something Blue

FUN FACTS

Elliot has blue hair because I really wanted him be a memorable side character in Beck and Ronan. The first thing I thought of was blue hair because my coworker has blue hair and customers always ask, "Where's the girl with blue hair?" I figured it'd be an easy trait to remember. My coworker ultimately remained the aesthetic inspiration for Elliot throughout Something Blue. All the drawings on sticky notes were hers. She doodles at work a lot, so throughout my writing process, I would see one of her sketches and try to form plot points around it. It was a fun challenge. Thank you for showing her art so much love in the comments! She is indeed a very talented artist🦋

There was a lot of road construction going on in my neighborhood when I started this story. One of the detours that everyone took was an intersection, which was commonly referred to as "the intersection of Pierce and Blue" because it was the junction of Pierce Boulevard and Blue River Avenue. That's what inspired Pierce's name and Elliot's nickname. I got so used to hearing the names together that it felt like a sign.

I incorporated a lot of French symbolism within this story for many reasons: 1) I wanted this book to be an authentic romance while never losing the all-consuming, giddy feeling of romance that comes with true love. To me, France is the heart of romance, so I wanted that to be a continuous thread throughout the whole story. 2) To get inspired, I read a lot of T.S. Eliot poems. He was a firm believer in French symbolism. It was fascinating to read his work and fall in love with his idea of love and human connection. 3) Yes, SKAM France was a large inspiration as well, specifically the character Eliott. 4) French film in general also had a large influence on me, most notably the movie Blue Is The Warmest Color, which was the first foreign LGBTQ+ film I ever watched. Without that movie, none of my books would exist. It's what encouraged me to take French in high school and what ultimately inspired me to write without fear.

Some literary works inspired certain scenes of this story, for example Tarzan inspired Pierce and Elliot's time in the dormitory shower (jungle, privacy, plant scents, waterfall, etc.), Alice in Wonderland inspired Pierce's birthday party at the nightclub (table of friends, colors, wonderland, feeling big in small spaces, effects of ecstasy, etc.), The Longest Ride inspired Pierce and Elliot's interaction at the art show (the differences between lives/socioeconomic classes, portraits/art as keepsakes) and the trip to Paris that ensued was inspired by Pride and Prejudice (again because of the difference in socioeconomic class AND the use of journeys as a catalyst for change).

I've known one of my best friends for over 15 years. She inspired a large portion of Pierce's character. For example, his love for hockey, his supportive friendship with Wyatt and Hayden, and his lovable family are all inspired by her life. Her favorite hockey team is the Las Vegas Golden Knights, which inspired Pierce's gold aesthetic (his eyes, his warmth, his team colors, etc) and also his noble persona (very knightly, loyal, caring, etc). Pierce was also largely inspired by random famous guys, such as: actor/musician Harry Styles, TikToker Mitch Lamar, actor Dylan O'Brien, and YouTuber/TikToker Brady Potter.

The dorm room number was 624 because 6/24 is the birthday of the guy who gave me my first heartbreak.

Pierce's car is a green 1999 Chevy Impala because that's the car my first college boyfriend owned.

Pierce and Elliot's official "first date" was at a planetarium because my first date on a college campus was at the local planetarium.

Pierce has a crooked ribcage because I have a crooked ribcage.

Pierce's hat was orange because it's the opposite of blue.

Elliot is a Taurus and Pierce is a Pisces. I planned this so their zodiac signs reflect their personalities.

Elliot's ex-boyfriend's name is Ryan because while I was writing this book (coincidentally) me, my friend, and my two coworkers were all having problems with guys WHO WERE ALL NAMED RYAN. So I made Ryan a problem for Elliot too.

Every character in this story has a gender neutral name.

I originally planned for Pierce to cheat on Elliot with Nicki, but ultimately, I just didn't think his character would do that, so I turned social media into the villain instead.

Pierce and Elliot's kids' names all have hidden meanings. Ren (Renville), Day (Daylight), Bell (the museum where the planetarium is located), and Lou (Louvre museum).

I named Chase's girlfriend Taylor because the Christmas subplot was inspired by Taylor Swift's song Champagne Problems. When I first heard that song I immediately linked it to Elliot's emotions, but the lyrics didn't really fit his relationship with Pierce, so I used Chase, Taylor and Mo as a reflective piece to mirror Elliot and Pierce's relationship. I wanted readers to empathize with Elliot without knowing who they were empathizing with.

Pierce's hometown is Renville because my best friend is from Renville.

The picture of Nicki, Quinn, and Elliot's house is a real house on 12th Avenue on the University of Minnesota campus🏡

Spider (aka Professor V) is the only character based on a real person whose name I did not change. The real Spider has a girlfriend with a web tattoo on her hand and a spider on her ring finger. Their love inspires me daily. I wanted Professor V to have the nickname Spider because of his connection with Evan Webster in my book Kaleidoscopic🕸🕷🌈

I wanted to make this story feel like a reverse slow-burn plot. Meaning, an influx of physicality at the beginning and emotional development throughout the book. I wanted to simulate falling in love with a hookup.

One thing about college that makes me kind of sad is that there's no yearbooks, so I wanted to make this story feel like a yearbook for anyone who reads it. I tried to incorporate things that my friends and I have experienced or are currently experiencing, such as: questioning sexuality, change in body image, financial strains, social media pressures, the highs and lows of hookup culture, changing majors, the weird stage of life between the ages of 19-20, becoming emotionally independent, etc. I really think there needs to be more college stories because college is not fun all the time, and that's totally okay and very normal. I wanted this story to feel like a celebration of being young.