These things can get complicated…

When I was working on The Summer of Firsts and Lasts,  there were some special character interactions that I found myself really enjoying: namely, scenes between Calla and her friend Duncan, and Daisy and her friend Rutger. The exchanges between these platonic, hetero pairs were so interesting and fun, that I thought to myself, "I want to write more about this kind of platonic connection." But The Summer of Firsts and Lasts was mainly about sisters, first experiences, and romance, so I decided to save it for another book.

As soon as I finished though, I called my editor Anica and said, "I think I want to write next about being friends with boys."  She replied, "And that's exactly what we're going to call it."

Part of this was driven by my intense love and affection for all the Boy  Friends I’ve been so lucky to have in my life. From a very early age,  some of my closest friends have been guys (and to this day that is true), and I wanted this book to be my own kind of love song to all of them. I wanted to celebrate all the things they’ve been and meant to me, and showcase how totally awesome a real life guy friend can be.

But I also knew and remembered that being friends with boys can be  complicated. The line between Romantic Interest and Platonic Interest is  sometimes so fine; we seek many of the same qualities in a partner as we do in a friend, and very often those lines can get blurred. You may have a crush on him, he may have a crush on you, people may think you’re crushing on each other when you’re really not … These things, as the tag line of the book says, can get complicated. And I thought that would create some interesting scenarios to write about.

I also watched a lot of John Hughes films when I was young, and I loved the way he forced characters to interact with each other, sometimes in raw and uncomfortable ways, but always with endings that made you happy. So I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t also thinking of his films when I was writing this.

The band element arose because in my current life, I find that most  of my interactions with my guy friends involve some kind of creative project. I thought about what kind of scenario might cause one girl to be in heavy interaction (in a friendly way) with a bunch of guys, and a  band seemed the most natural fit. They’d be creative, goof around, have fun, but they’d also be serious and would spend a lot of time together.

A lot of people have asked me, because of the title of the book, whether it’s really possible for straight girls and boys to be “just friends,” and my honest and sincere answer is “Yes, absolutely.” But I won’t deny  that sometimes it can get tricky, as I hope you’ll see and experience  when you read Being Friends With Boys.