Jodi Picoult (left) and Jennifer Finney Boylan
© Tim Llewellyn

It takes two

Two bestselling authors discuss their new collaborative novel

by Hope Katz Gibbs

How do two bestselling authors collaborate on a single novel? The Connection recently caught up with Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan to talk about Mad Honey, a family drama that includes a mother’s teenage son being accused of murder.

Costco Connection What inspired this novel?
Jodi Picoult I’ve wanted to write a story like this for a while, [a novel] that questions how well we know the people we love the most, and whether there is a difference between what is secret and what is private. Our co-author story began the night Jenny had a dream that we wrote a book together, and she posted that on Twitter. We messaged back and forth for a while, brainstorming, and decided to work together. I’m a big fan of Jenny’s, so this was a fantastic opportunity for me.

CC How did this collaborative effort work?
Jennifer Finney Boylan The book began as a dream, and writing it was dreamlike, too. We hashed out the plot in wide strokes by phone and email, and then each of us figured out what each character was going to do: Jodi did the character of Olivia, the mom, and I did the character of Lily, [the murdered girlfriend]. Jodi had the clever idea that my part would go backwards—and so, after writing the outline, I had to cut it all apart with scissors and put it in reverse order. Plus, each of my backwards-running chapters contained flashbacks.

I pasted it all together on my office floor before sending it to Jodi, who kept the master document. Because she’s a control freak. Each of us also wrote one of the other’s chapters. It gives me great pleasure to imagine readers trying to figure out which of the Olivia chapters is mine, and which of the Lily chapters is Jodi’s.

CC What made you want to write a collaborative book?
JP I’ve written before with my daughter, but, of course, when you write with your kid you get to boss her around! I couldn’t do that with Jenny. Because she is such a good writer, it made me stay on top of my game. Jenny was the perfect pick for this story, because her lived experience as a woman is different from mine, and I valued deeply what she brought to the table.

CC What did you enjoy most about working with Jodi?
JFB Well, Jodi was a dream. We edited each other’s chapters as we went along so it would all sound like a single voice. I learned a lot about writing from working with her. As for the topics of the book—without giving anything away, I’d say that I do like thinking about the difference between what is private and what is secret; how much our pasts matter to the ones we love; and to what extent it is possible to reinvent yourself.

CC Would you do another collaborative book? Would you recommend it?
JP Absolutely, if the co-writer was someone I wanted to write with and someone whose writing would elevate my own.
JFB Oh, I would work with Jodi again in a heartbeat.

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Hope Katz Gibbs is a freelance writer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a longtime fan of these authors.

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