Dr. Flanagan | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
Dr. Erin Flanagan, a local author and professor of English at Wright State, released her newest book, “Come With Me,” on Aug. 22. One word she would use to describe the novel overall: tense.
About the book
Flanagan describes her book as a psychological thriller that revolves around two women protagonists. One of the women, Gwen Maner, loses her husband rather unexpectedly and is left alone—with little to no money—to care for her daughter. When she reaches out to Nicola Kimmel, with whom she interned with during college, she is offered a job interview in lieu of the reference she initially asked for.
With Nicola’s helping hand, things begin to look up for Gwen, as she gets the job and condo necessary for taking care of herself and her daughter. But Nicola’s true intentions slowly become questionable, as Gwen realizes that Nicola has more control over her life than originally anticipated. What can Nicola be hiding?
Source of inspiration
“Come With Me” was first inspired by the strong female friendships that Flanagan currently has in her life. She originally had a different story idea she wanted to flesh out during a writing retreat with her writing group but was disappointed when the publisher reached out to say they did not think the idea would work.
The publisher wanted a different story idea entirely, which left Flanagan at a loss about what to work on during the retreat. However, her friends were quick to offer her words of encouragement and support.
“They were like, ‘You got this, you’ll figure it out,’” Flanagan described.
Flanagan also went on to compare growing friendships to romantic relationships.
“Female friendship is sometimes like a romantic relationship, just without the sex. It’s that giddy, falling in love with a new friend, that sense of ‘besties,’ and there’s no real way to extricate yourself from those kinds of friendships,” Flanagan said.
Although the ‘falling in love’ aspect of both friendships and relationships may be similar, Flanagan states that the ‘breaking up’ aspect is different. This prompted her to ask introspective and universal questions.
“So what do you do when a friendship ends? What about a friendship that doesn't end in a happy way? How would a woman get herself out of that?” Flanagan questioned. “And that was the start of the story.”
Key takeaway from novel
Flanagan hopes that “Come With Me” will find its intended readers and that they will be able to identify with it. She worried that mostly women readers would understand the friendship dynamic throughout the novel, but men have already responded to the book as well, according to Flanagan. They have seen these dynamics within the relationships of the women in their lives but admit that it is much different than the friendships they experience for themselves.
Regardless of gender, friendships can be quite complex, which is exactly what Flanagan hopes readers will think about as they read. She believes that society puts friendships onto the backburner to focus more on our romantic relationships. Often, friendships are just a holding place until you have found true love, which will then become your central relationship.
“But I don't think that’s true. I think friendships sustain us in really meaningful ways that we don't necessarily think about or give the same amount of weight to, but they’re just as crucial in so many ways,” Flanagan said.
What lies ahead
A book signing event for “Come With Me” will take place at Barnes & Noble in Beavercreek on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Local author Katrina Kittle, who is set to release her newest work, “Morning in This Broken World,” on Sept. 1, will join Flanagan at the event. Sharon Short, another local author, will be interviewing Flanagan and Kittle.
Students can order a copy of “Come With Me” online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or IndieBound.
If you are interested in learning more about “Come With Me” or any other works by Dr. Flanagan, you can visit her website. You can also interact with her through her social media platforms, Instagram and Twitter: @ErinLFlanagan. Happy reading!
