Love and Entropy

One hot North Carolina summer, Daphne and her boyfriend, Sutton, encounter awkward physics geek Greta, a fellow college student at elite Cameron University. But while Daphne sees that Greta is someone worth befriending, Sutton's motives are far from pure.

And a tension-filled weekend at Sutton's lake house will change their lives forever.

"Love and Entropy" reveals what can happen when we let our vision of what others should be cloud our vision of who they are.

"Love and Entropy" is a prequel to the novel "Entanglement," which picks up the story of Daphne and Greta in LA. Interview with the Author Q. What was your inspiration to write "Entanglement"?

A. I think we're all fascinated by the people who don't quite fit in to the normal cone of expected human behavior. These are the people who were outcasts in high school, and who maybe were in college, too. They might have had a friend or two, but they struggled to say the right thing, and it showed. They were socially awkward. They were the geek girls. Maybe you wondered, What goes on inside their heads? In "Entanglement," with Greta, I get to show you. Q. It seems as if it falls into several genres. How would you categorize it?

A. "Entanglement" is a plot-driven story that begins with a crime that you must unravel as you read-like a mystery-yet it focuses on the close relationship between two women-which means it's a love story. The main character, Greta, for all that she is a misfit, is very funny. Part of her humor stems from her intelligence, and part of it stems from her unique way of seeing the world. She finds most people wildly irrational, and she isn't afraid to say so. Q. What makes "Entanglement" fresh?

A. Many great books have been set in L.A. My favorite is "Play It As It Lays" by Joan Didion. I needed to find a way to tell an L.A. story that didn't replay old themes, or a way that would at least bend those themes into new, unpredictable shapes. No one in this coming of age novel wants to be a movie star, for example. In fact, they heap scorn on those who do, even if they do enjoy the L.A. night life. Q. The story focuses on love and friendship, in this case between two 20-something girls. What can you say about their relationship?

A. Everything about the girls' familial relationships was broken. These two had no one else until they met each other. It's hard to imagine a friendship like that. I had a friendship like that once, but it's gone now. I wanted to write about how that intensity can keep you alive when it seems like nothing else will, and what it's like to lose it. The betrayal of trust, what's it like to feel betrayed. Q. What do you enjoy reading?

A. I will read any book except ones where the female characters are afterthoughts or non-existent. I love historical romance, urban fantasies, Booker Prize winners, SF (especially by women, and I wish there were more), Tana French (she's her own category), P.D. James (so is she), and of course that great big category called Women's Fiction. Categories New Adult Women's Fiction
Coming of Age Women's Fiction
Contemporary Fiction

"A coming of age novella that brings the complexities of love and female friendships to light"

"Has elements of: new adult women's fiction, coming of age women's fiction, love and friendship, socially awkward, betrayal of trust, betrayed, geek girls"