Good Intentions follows a man through the 1980s and early 1990s as marriage, fatherhood, faith, professional ambition, and his attraction to men collide with the expectations that have shaped him since childhood. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration for the setup of the story is my own lived experience. As I grew older, I reflected on my life and the choices I made, and how, at an early age, I was completely unaware of possibilities better suited to who I was, while not having any understanding of who I was.

Tom spends years trying to become the person he believes others expect him to be. How does Tom’s desire for his father’s approval influence the choices he makes as an adult, and what role does his Catholic upbringing play in the way he understands sexuality, marriage, duty, and morality?

Both Tom’s desire for his father’s approval and his Catholic upbringing have huge impacts on Tom’s decisions. The path he was to take through life and how to live were forced on him; no other possibilities were allowed. Even after refusing to join his father’s firm, he spent many years trying to prove to his father that he didn’t make a mistake. Tom then meets the remaining expectations, pursuing a successful career and the associated trappings of that success.

Also, after he began having sex with men, his religious upbringing shaped how he felt about it and how he acted. His shame and guilt guided his decisions and kept him in denial even as he was doing it.

How do Kansas City, Washington, Rehoboth Beach, and Provincetown reflect different stages of Tom’s journey?

The move from Kansas City to Washington, DC, represents a major shift in Tom’s story and in the plot. Kansas City, rooted in the heartland, is where Tom achieves what he is supposed to achieve while denying himself what he truly desires. The move from the heartland to the East Coast, a shift from a more traditional American life to a more cosmopolitan one, provides Tom with an avenue to pursue his desires not present in Kansas City. The addition of Rehoboth Beach with its gay community accentuates what is present in DC. Rehoboth also allows Tom to start separating himself physically from Amelia, which only exacerbates the problem from her perspective.

Provincetown is the gay Mecca that represents for Tom everything he wants at the time he visits and symbolizes the fact that what he has pursued may not be what he really wants.

What do you hope readers take from the novel about the difference between living according to expectations and choosing a life that feels genuinely one’s own?

In addition to the importance of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and honesty in living a truly good and authentic life, I hope readers will take away from this story an understanding of the strong, driving force that desire (or lust) has on our lives. Only after you know and accept who you are and live every day as your whole self, can you find both love and the fulfillment of your desires.