I was imagining she lost her mind and couldn’t accept the death of her baby.
7. Both Harrison and Jess are deeply flawed but, at the same time, sympathetic characters. Is ambition the reason for their downfalls? Could you live with such a flawed partner?
To a certain extent, looking back on it, ambition is a big contributor, but it’s not the only reason. I think there is an inflated sense of pride and entitlement that both men exhibit, too. Harrison covers up what he believes is Celeste’s crime and allows his good friend Jess to take the fall for it. He also raises Jess and Addie’s daughter as his own. Had Jess not been killed at the courthouse, Harrison would have let him believe his own child had died. But on the other hand, he was an excellent father to Hadley, and he was kind to and, in his own way, in love with Addie. Jess, too, was guilty of an affair even though he loved Addie with his whole heart and soul. Entitlement? Lack of character? Both?
Could I live with a flawed partner? I think we all do, to a certain extent. We’re human, every last one of us. We all are guilty of doing foolish things. To me, that’s what love is there for, to allow us to look beyond the mistakes and missteps our partners make, to forgive. That’s what I believe “to err is human, to forgive divine” means.
8. Who is the angry spirit in the house?
When I was writing it, until I got about halfway through, I was thinking it was Celeste’s mother, the angry woman in the portrait. But closer to the ending, I thought, no. It’s Celeste herself.
9. Why does the lake choose this time to allow Addie to wash up on Kate’s beach? Is it to finally right the wrong of Jess’s trial, or is it to save Kate?
Both.
10. Fog envelops Addie the day of her birth and the night of her death. What is the significance of this?
I think fog is creepy, first of all, but to me it’s the lake rising up.
11. When Kate becomes ice cold and starts shivering, what is happening to her?
She is experiencing what Addie experienced during the last moments of her life.
12. What is it about Wharton that invites otherworldly happenings?
To me, the veil between this world and the next is very thin in Wharton. It allows both good and evil to come and go.
13. Would you vacation at Harrison’s House if you could?
Absolutely. The house is based on a real place, Le Chateau Boutin in Bayfield, Wisconsin. I go there every year.
14. The character of Simon is based on a real-life friend of Wendy’s. Who would you put into a book, and why?
I’ve named characters after real people in my life. I put my dogs in my books, too.
15. If you could ask Addie and Kate each one question, what would it be?
For Addie: What is it like on the other side?
For Kate: Is Nick the great love of your life?
16. If you could ask Wendy one question about this book, what would it be?
I’ll leave this one to you. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @wendywebbauthor, and ask away.