Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian

If this sentiment rings true for you, what about our home state makes it such a welcoming and conductive place for writers? Minnesota enjoys a reputation as a place that values literature and reading. I hope readers will consider how much has changed for girls and women in the last century, as well as how much has remained, unfortunately, the same. What do you hope that your audience learns or takes away from your book? I feel really good about how The Whitsun Daughters handles these complex issues. These are topics that are not easy to discuss or depict.

I am also proud of writing about abortion and pregnancy. I did quite a bit of research on our state’s history, particularly regarding Irish immigrants, agriculture and mental asylums. I have lived in Minnesota all my life and I can’t imagine I’ll ever leave. I am proud of its setting, which is Minnesota, the setting of my previous four books.

Would you tell us one or two things about your finalist book that you are particularly proud of, and why? (Sure, it may feel a bit un-Minnesotan to say so, but it’s not boasting if we ask!) It might be that my brain is fairly consumed with imagining what the future will bring, what the world will look like, how it will change, how I will change. That’s a pretty heavy imaginative load. It has been difficult to dream and imagine in order to do that type of narrative and I’m not completely sure why. I haven’t been able to focus that much on fiction-writing this year, to be honest.

Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian