We recently caught up with December PREM1ER author, Layne Fargo, to ask more questions on her thrilling and compelling novel - The Favourites.
This novel touches on some very heavy subject matters; What draws you to stories that feature dark, intense relationships and morally ambiguous characters, and how is this reflected in Kat and Heath’s partnership?
My first two novels were psychological thrillers, and I found I preferred writing about dark, twisty relationships to coming up with killer twists. I think we’re all morally ambiguous, we all have a shadow side. I don’t trust people who aren’t in touch with that part of themselves, quite frankly—no one’s nice all the time, the darkness has to come out somewhere! That’s part of what drew me to Wuthering Heights in the first place. Emily Brontë wasn’t afraid to really go there, to portray extreme emotion in all its intensity and cruelty, and as someone who’s always had big, unruly feelings, that spoke to me.
As the story is split between Kat’s own recount and the scandalous interviews from the tell-all documentary. How did you approach weaving these two narrative perspectives together, and what challenges did that pose?
In the original Wuthering Heights, instead of getting Cathy and Heathcliff’s side of the story, we’re hearing it filtered through other narrators like Nelly Dean and Mr. Lockwood. So the documentary sections of the novel were my version of that, showing Kat and Heath distorted by the prism of other people’s opinions. Probably the biggest challenge was figuring out the right balance between Kat’s narration and the documentary transcript. It took some trial and error, but eventually I figured out rhythm that felt right—and it did feel almost like music, with more documentary interstitials punctuating the narrative during particularly tense moments, like a staccato rhythm with a sped-up tempo.
Your book The Favourites has been described as part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones and the Six. Can you share how these influences shape the story and what readers can expect from this unique blend?
I wanted to combine the passion and drama of Wuthering Heights with an impeccably-researched, lived-in world like the ones Taylor Jenkins Reid writes. Her characters feel so real you swear you could look them up on Wikipedia, and that was absolutely my goal for The Favourites. I’ve had quite a few readers tell me they forgot Kat and Heath were fictional and almost tried to look up their programs on YouTube, which is the best compliment I could get!
With BookTok pushing sports romances into the spotlight, what inspired you to centre a narrative around the world of ice skating and its inherent drama?
I wasn’t thinking of the book as a romance when I wrote it, though it does center on a (very complicated!) love story. As I was writing The Favourites, though, the sports romance boom gave me hope that there might be a bigger audience for a book about ice skaters than I’d assumed. There’s so much drama for ice dancers in particular, because skaters are often romantically involved with their partners—and even if they aren’t, they may choose to play into that perception for publicity or simply to “sell” the story they’re telling on the ice. The skating world is full of scandals and rumors that are so much stranger than fiction, if I’d put them in the novel you wouldn’t believe me!
Lastly, with such a vivid and multi-faceted story, what do you hope readers will take away from The Favourites? Are there any specific emotions or reflections you hope to inspire?
I went on quite the personal journey while writing this book, starting from a place of creative despair and obsession with external validation, and eventually finding internal validation and true satisfaction in the writing process. I tried to reflect that journey in Kat’s character as well, as she learns that there’s more to life than gold medals. I would hope The Favourites leaves readers reflecting on their own ambitions, and figuring out what they truly need to be happy and fulfilled versus what they might think they want.
Quick Fire Questions:
Torvill and Dean or Virtue and Moir?
I love both teams, but have to go with Torvill and Dean—I was born the same year they won Olympic gold with their “Bolero” program, and I grew up watching it over and over again.
Favourite Ice Dance?
My current favorite ice dance program is Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier’s Wuthering Heights free dance from the 2023-2024 season. They skate to the score of the 1992 film, and it’s gorgeous and epic and so full of drama!
What book/s are you currently reading and enjoying?
I’ve been in a feminist horror mood lately, and Rachel Harrison is the absolute queen of that genre. I read her vampire book So Thirsty recently and adored it, as I do all her books.
