Thank you so much Genevieve for the interview.

Who is Genevieve Novak?

Genevieve is a writer from Naarm, Melbourne. She writes contemporary fiction, culture columns for The Age, and just-okay author biographies.

She loves croissants. She hates being called Gen. Her novels, No Hard Feelings (2022) and Crushing (2023), are published by HarperCollins.

Interview

What was your inspiration for Crushing?

When I was younger, I’d get this knot of grief in my chest whenever one of my friends got into a new relationship, because although I was happy for their happiness, it invariably meant I would see a lot less of them. Finding someone to love and build a life with is a natural quest, but even as I’ve fallen in and out of relationships, felt insecure when my single periods have stretched on, nursed heartbreak and sworn off dating forever … There has been no shortage of love in my life; it’s just not always romantic love.

After No Hard Feelings, a story about a woman who interprets her single status as evidence that she is somehow deficient, I wanted to get lost in a totally different character. I wanted a protagonist who wasn’t chronically single, but chronically partnered, and who gave nonromantic relationships the weight they’re due.

I also wanted to explore a love that was, in part, rooted in fantasy. The stories we tell ourselves become the basis for our reality. How many times have I been in love with someone who didn’t really exist? How many times have I been absolutely certain that my Bumble match is the one, only to discover we have zero in-person chemistry? Feelings don’t care about facts.

What drew you to writing contemporary romance?

When I was younger, if I had people coming over I used to swap the book on my bedside table (invariably pink, with a cartoon stiletto on the cover) for this 700-page nonfiction brick about the Romanovs, which I’ve been trying to read for eight years and am still no more than one chapter into.

I do love a story that expands and challenges my perspective, but sometimes I want to escape. Sometimes I want to read stories that feel like hanging out with my best friend, and ultimately I want to write them, too: familiar and fun.

How did you choose which character to focus the story? 

I always planned for Marnie to be my protagonist for what eventually became Crushing, but about 70% into the second draft I became convinced that Claud was the more compelling character. Thankfully, my publisher talked me off a ledge and I didn’t delete the whole manuscript and start fresh. I love all of the supporting characters in this story, though, and would love to revisit them and give them their own spotlight sometime. How much I love Kit could fill a library.

What was your process for writing for Crushing?

I still work a full-time job and I don’t have the kind of brain that switches between tasks quickly, so I have to keep a rigid writing routine to meet my deadlines. On writing days, I wake up early, sit at my desk with a coffee, put on an instrumental playlist (Crushing was mostly written to “Jazz in the Background”, I don’t know why), dick around until about two p.m., then frantically try to write a chapter or at least 2000 words. The dicking around is, unfortunately, nonnegotiable.

I wrote No Hard Feelings chronologically, but I struggled to get Crushing started. Just to get something on the page, I started writing whatever I was excited about. Sometimes the right mood strikes, and you have to get the feeling down immediately or it disappears forever. The meet cute and the second to last chapter, for example, were written very early on and remain mostly unedited from the first draft.

It seems like a good idea to follow where the inspiration leads you, but it made piecing the rest of the story around these finished scenes so frustrating and so difficult. I’m writing book three chronologically. 

What is your approach to world and character building?

I’m a big planner — plot spreadsheets, character and chapter summaries, synopses, playlists, mood boards, and other excuses to procrastinate— but that mostly goes out the window once I start writing. The tone, story and subplots all change as I get to know the characters, and I can only do that by actually writing them. I can daydream and plan endlessly, but nothing ever clicks until it’s down on the page. I find dialogue essential for establishing relationships and dynamics, and seem to write it best on my phone, standing in the kitchen while I wait for the kettle to boil.

How would you describe Crushing in five words?

“Smart women making dumb choices.”

Actually, that works for all of my books. And columns. And diary entries.

Did you have a favourite moment to write?

I adored every scene with Kit, especially the one at his house. His and Marnie’s dynamic is so familiar and so much fun, and their repartee brought me nothing but joy.

I also loved the terrible one night stand. Finally, something to do with all that source material.

What was your favourite book growing up?

I loved Potter, like all millennial children, but have a complicated relationship with it these days. I’m still so grateful that the series taught me to love books. Once I discovered romance, I fell in love with all the usuals: Bridget Jones, the Shopaholic series, The Devil Wears Prada, and everything beyond the gateway that they opened.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

In addition to contemporary romance, I read a lot of lit fic these days. Like everyone else on the planet, The Rachel Incident scratched an itch I didn’t know I had, and Everyone and Everything by Nadine V Cohen was phenomenal.