Author Spotlight: Lindsey Frydman on The Heartbeat Hypothesis

Today I'm very happy to welcome my fellow Pitch Wars 2016 mentee, and published author, Lindsey Frydman to the blog! Her debut new adult novel, The Heartbeat Hypothesis, has been called 'utterly unputdownable' and 'a brilliant tapestry of the human condition', and it's available for purchase starting tomorrow, March 20, 2017!

Hi, Lindsey! Congrats on your debut. Can you tell us a little bit about The Heartbeat Hypothesis? What was the inspiration for the story?

Hi! <3 The Heartbeat Hypothesis is about a girl—Audra Madison—who’s decided to recreate her heart donor’s done-it list. (A photographic journal of all the things she did before she died.) She convinces her donor’s brother to help, and although he’s willing to help with the list, he wants nothing to do with uncovering the painful truth behind his sister’s death.

I was inspired to write this story by a news article I found on Pinterest. It was about a young girl who died in a car wreck, and a 50-something-year-old woman received her heart. This woman decided to complete the girl’s bucket list, so that her heart could complete the list even though she couldn’t. (All these heart transplant stories I find require tissues! They’re just so beautifully sad and uplifting at the same time.)

Who was your favorite character to write? And which character gave you the most trouble?

Definitely Jake! I love the broody, melancholy heroes with a quick-witted fun side and a dark, haunted side. Jake is also the character that gave me the most trouble. Ha! I had a hard time making sure he wasn’t a jerk most of the time. (In earlier drafts, he was. Guess that’s what happens with the brooding types.) I also needed to make sure he wasn’t too standoffish. Finding the right balance was difficult.

What songs might we find on a playlist for The Heartbeat Hypothesis?

Well, I actually have a link for anyone interested! Click here for The Heartbeat Hypothesis playlist on Spotify.

But a few of my favorites are:

“Litost” by X Ambassadors

“Elastic Heart” (Cover) by Madilyn Bailey

“Beam Me Up” by Pink

“Snuff” by Slipknot

“Set The Fire To The Third Bar” by Snow Patrol

“God Went North” by Nothing More

In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that make for an irresistible love interest?

First of all, an irresistible love interest needs to be sweet, charming and/or witty to some extent. Even if he doesn’t start out that way. (Because I do love a good enemy to lovers story.)

He doesn’t need to be stunningly beautiful with a perfect body or anything like that, but the heroine must find him attractive and be drawn to him. If I can connect with her emotions about the guy, then his looks don’t matter. (Truly, you don’t fall in love with characters by their looks.)

Lastly, a fabulous love interest should be interesting—some unique skill or quality that makes him unique. No one likes a standard, boring and average hero, right?

"Truly, you don’t fall in love with characters by their looks."

-Lindsey Frydman click to tweet

In your Goodreads bio, you mention you’re naturally introverted but you’re also a burlesque performer (which is pretty amazing)! Do you think having the ability to tap into a personality on stage also helps you to tap into your characters and write them more fully?

Thank you for the compliment! And yes, when I get on stage, I’m playing a character and acting out a short story. It absolutely helps me tap into my characters as I write them! Having done several shows, I always need some sort of backstory or reason as to why someone would want to watch my performance. So that leaks into my writing, and has expanded my character creating abilities. :)

What are you reading, or otherwise currently obsessed with?

Right now I’m reading Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road series. I have plans to read It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover because SO many people have told me it’s amazing. (Plus, I love her work. And side note: a couple reviewers have said my book would appeal to fans of Colleen! *Squee*)

But I recently read the I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent) series by Barry Lyga and it was freaking amazing! I’m still not over it, and I want everyone to read it so we can all fangirl together. ;)

What’s one piece of advice you would give to writers working toward publication?

This may sound cliché, but it’s so true: don’t give up! I’ve been writing seriously for 6 years, queried 4 books, and received a bazillion rejections. I’ve been on the ledge of giving up before, but thankfully I have awesome writer friends who pulled me back.

So I’m going to cheat and give a second piece of advice: you need writer friends! Your family and friends won’t truly understand what you’re going through, so it’s incredibly important to have a few amazing writers to vent and complain to when things get hard—because writing is hard!

Soooo many thanks to Lindsey for taking the time to answer these questions, and for the reminder never to give up! And that writer friends are not just a luxury, but an essential part of the creative journey. Please take a moment to support Lindsey by adding The Heartbeat Hypothesis on Goodreads, or pre-ordering your copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble so that you can wake up tomorrow and start reading this unputdownable debut!

Lindsey can also be found on Twitter at @LindseyMF, and on her website at: www.lindseyfrydman.com.