Coco Mellors gets deep with us about her debut novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, a “new New York love story.”** Complicated Woman: Cleo. Coco describes Cleo as “the heart of the novel,” but explains that it took her years of writing to get to know her because it was like mining her unconscious -- like looking into the sun (01:51). ** We discuss Coco’s bold narrative choices and how the structure evolved over the seven years she wrote the novel. We loved hearing about how it was an organic, “faith based” process for her. (04:54)** Coco shares how she tackled a massive rewrite following critical feedback and still managed to remain hopeful. (09:53)** We discuss how cinematic the scenes are in this book, how important the location and setting are to specific scenes. Coco explains that she is a “story writer,” in the sense that for her the emotion always comes first, then she looks for settings to allow that to come though. (11:55)** Coco shares our obsession with characters being SEEN by another. She discusses how that is a “through line” in the novel. (15:04)** We talk about what love is and how her definition and understanding of love evolved and grew alongside her characters’ own views. (18:27)** Coco and her novel give us more narratives around addiction and its many variations. (22:14)** What’s your damage is something we love to explore and Coco is right here with us! We discuss her interest in mommy issues and agree that at some point the path to healing is to accept that this our life is ultimately our own.  (25:50)** Coco preaches to the choir as we discuss how growth is never linear and perfectionism just may be the worst addiction around.  (30:53)** We love to hear about a debut author’s path to publication, especially when it is a tale of perseverance and patience like Coco’s journey. We even get a sneak peak at her second novel. (36:00)** We talk astrology or “what’s your horoscope” as Frank puts it. Coco and Kate, true Leos, bond over liking to “preen” and to celebrate their birthdays. (39:21)** As always, we ask Coco to share what she is loving right now in terms of books, movies and TV shows. Because we can't shut up about it, we end up gushing about “The Lost Daughter”! (41:48)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.