The Utterly Unacceptable Atrocity of Isabelle Marsden follows a former event planner who retreats to Kansas and discovers, through art and friendship, that healing may require becoming gloriously unacceptable. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

NSP: Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve found–and eventually been absorbed into–a community of colorful, creative folks who have encouraged me to explore and develop sides of myself I didn’t even know I had. Their encouragement has been instrumental in helping me heal from grief and physical setbacks. I wanted to see how my protagonist, Belle, would react if placed in a similar community. 

How did you approach creating characters like Reba, Mae, Ezra, and Wallace so they felt emotionally essential to Belle’s journey?

NSP: I’m glad you thought so. I had to think about how to answer this question because I didn’t do anything intentionally with that aim in mind. I just thought Belle connected with those three characters, and they connected with her, in very sincere ways that conveyed care and support. 

Lawrence, Kansas feels both grounded and faintly enchanted in the story. What drew you to this setting, and how did it shape the novel’s atmosphere?

NSP: I lived in Lawrence for six years while attending graduate school. I found a rich and diverse community both inside and outside the university, including a few people on whom I based some of the book’s characters. It was also there that I learned about Lucas, grassroots art, and the people who create it. And yes, Lawrence did feel both grounded and faintly enchanted in my experience there.

Humor plays a big role in a story that also deals with trauma, humiliation, and grief. How did you balance the novel’s off-kilter comedy with its more serious emotional undercurrent?

NSP: I grew up in a family that used humor to cope with stressful situations–not in a way that discounted the seriousness, but in off-kilter ways that gave us a break and a chance to smile and laugh together. That impulse still comes naturally to me.

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