If you haven't read C.G Drews' heart wrenching debut novel, be sure to check out A Thousand Perfect Notes. It's a poignant read centered around the thin line between passion and obsession, and the characters are absolutely superb! Click here to read my review of the novel. Enjoy the interview :)
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What inspired A Thousand Perfect Notes?
I first had the idea from wanting to write a very loose retelling of a classical composer's life. (I won't say who, but you'll know when you read my book!) And as a pianist myself, I wanted to combine my love of storytelling and music in a novel...and also talk about some darker topics, like abuse, coupled with exploring self-worth and what it takes to save yourself.
What's one takeaway you'd want your audience to have after reading your novel?
There's a line in my novel that says: "You are worth more than a thousand perfect notes." And that's the heart of the story right there. I'd love for readers to close the book and hold onto that whisper that no matter what you do, or don't achieve, you're not worthless.
What advice would you give your younger unpublished self?
Stop panicking! Haha. I'm sure every unpublished writer panics about whether they'll make it, whether they're good enough, if they're telling their story right, etc. etc. If I could time travel back, I'd tell myself to enjoy all of parts of writing and not stress so much.
What Hogwarts houses would your characters be sorted into?
Beck = Hufflepuff
August = Ravenclaw
Joey = Gryffindor
What was your favorite scene to write?
The scene where we meet August's family! The banter in there was my absolute favourite to write!
In A Thousand Perfect Notes, there’s a thin line between passion and obsession for Beck. What inspired you to tackle this particular conflict?
I feel this is a common topic for artists, especially musicians, since it's such a competitive career to go into. There's often only a place for "the best", so what if you aren't the best? Beck is passionate about music, but his mother is obsessed, and her obsession is what destroys music (and their relationship) for both of them.
What novel inspired you to be a writer?
I grew up reading and then rereading Narnia by CS Lewis! It made me crave the magic of telling stories and once I started cobbling together tales on scrapes of paper as a teen...I couldn't stop.
What was the first thing you did after getting the news your book was going to be published?
I actually read the email at an ungodly hour of the morning (shh I have insomnia so sometimes I check my email at like 4am haha) and so I couldn't fly upstairs and shout to my family that I had an offer quite then. I hope my family appreciates the fact that I kept chill until like 8am and then I basically didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. Or week. Or year!
Can we expect to see more of Beck, August, and Joey in the future?
My second novel, The Boy Who Steals Houses, comes out in April 2019 and while it's not a sequel, it is set in the same universe as A Thousand Perfect Notes. So you'll see references and a little cameo! Otherwise I have no sequel planned, so it's up to the readers to decide what happened after the book finished!
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Click here to purchase her debut novel.
