My latest novel has just been published by Walker in the UK. One Or Two Things I Learned About Love is the diary of Hildy D’Angelo. It takes place over a summer – a summer that starts out being as ordinary as a slice of bread. Hildy’s parents are shouting, her sisters are shouting, and it’s way too hot to get enthusiastic about doing a course in survivalist techniques or taking up tap dancing. And then Hildy, a girl who has only had two-and-a-half dates in her entire life and didn’t think she would ever have another, meets Connor. Connor is everything Hildy never dared dream of. Connor is perfect – smart, funny, good looking, sensitive, and really sweet. Hildy falls for him like someone jumping over a cliff. But the best, the most incredible thing is that Connor loves her back. He wants to spend every minute he can with her. He’s not afraid of being romantic. He makes plans. So it’s all Happily Ever After, right? Not exactly… Not to give away anything here, but Connor’s one major flaw is jealousy. I’m not talking about getting in a hump because you catch your girlfriend flirting with some other guy. I’m talking about getting in a hump because your girlfriend says hello to another guy. Or talks to another guy. Or simply knows another guy. I reckon that one of the reasons I wrote this book is because I’ve known many jealous people over the years – men and women, boys and girls – and they’ve made quite an impression on me. It’s not really a state to strive for. Once you start down that extremely slippery slope of doubt and suspicion there’s no way of getting back. Check with Othello. Jealousy makes the person who’s jealous act bizarrely, but, as in Hildy’s case, it also can make the person being persecuted act bizarrely. It’s what is known as a lose-lose proposition. Which makes this something of a cautionary tale.
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