A Kernel on Secrets
with writer Erika Montgomery
Welcome to the second installment of Kernel Interviews, a series in which we chat with authors whose books inspire us. Today we’re speaking with Erika Montgomery, a romance and fiction writer whose novel Our Place on the Island was released in June with St. Martin’s Griffin. She’s previously published A Summer to Remember and a handful of novels under the name Erika Marks.
Through the independent bookstore Shelby works at, she connected with Montgomery. Montgomery’s kindness and thoughtfulness—she stopped back in the store to drop off an advance reader copy of her book—makes its way into Our Place on the Island, which carefully and cozily reveals the luscious and complicated secrets of the Campbell women. Set on Martha’s Vineyard, Our Place on the Island follows the matriarch, Cora Campbell, her daughter, Hedy, and granddaughter, Mickey, as they are brought together again for Cora’s unexpected wedding.
Shelby chatted with Montgomery over Zoom to discuss inspiration, dual timelines, and family secrets.
[Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity.]
Shelby Newsome: What inspired you to write Our Place on the Island?
Erika Montgomery: Setting was really the biggest driver of this story. I wanted to set it on Martha's Vineyard, and I love the idea of a family beach home where everybody comes back for a wedding. But then I thought, wouldn't it be interesting if instead of the traditional younger people getting married, maybe the matriarch of the family gets remarried. She's been widowed for a while, and her fiancé is somebody that everybody on the island is gossiping about and saying he was the one who got away all these years before. So when her daughter and granddaughter come to the wedding, this is all news to them. They are like, what's the story here? What's this big family secret? Then the secret is unspooled in the backstory.
The story centers on three generations of women: Cora, Hedy, and Mickey. Each relationship here is dynamic and complex. What was it like to write these three perspectives?
I wanted to make them very distinct, and I think that because they come from three generations that was easier to do. What’s unifying them as women is the struggle to be their own person and assert their own passions while accommodating a partnership, whether it’s a marriage or the relationship between parent and child. With the storyline of Cora, I was just so fascinated by this idea of women filling in for men during the war. What an exciting time for them! Then the men came back, and it was like a bait-and-switch. What about the women who didn’t want to go back? I really enjoyed writing that part of Cora's journey.
Then, as Hedy is aging in her field, she's dealing with things that she can't imagine her mother would really understand. I certainly felt like I had this expectation that because Hedy was more my age as a character I would have a more intuitive understanding of her, but I definitely didn't feel that. I felt a lot more understanding of Mickey's challenges. She’s keeping a secret from her boyfriend: their business is not doing well. But also that she’s not good at what she’s doing and she would like to shift gears again.
One of the themes of the novel is secrets—each of the three women has to reckon with their own. Why do you think it was important for them to each be carrying something with them and to have the reveal unfurl at Beech House?
The trope of family secrets is so popular, and I love to write them because I think we all have secrets. They can be very painful and very dangerous, but they're somewhat unavoidable. The idea is a bit romanticized on my part. All these generations of secrets and family engagements have happened at Beech House over the years and the house has stored those secrets. What’s so powerful about any kind of family reunion is that there’s this energy of everybody being there and the whole of their past is coming and sitting in the room, too. I think very often that’s when secrets come out because people are either very energized by an event or they’ve been drinking and feel free. There’s an urgency to it, too. They’re all together for a short amount of time, like let’s let everything go and let it all out there.
In the case of Cora, it was this passion and this attachment and this affection that she didn’t necessarily act on, but it followed her through her life until she was able to experience it. Her ability to purge that story to her daughter and granddaughter was almost bigger than the wedding itself.
Everybody is different, but I think for the longest time—and I still do this—I had this idea that there's a more efficient way for me to write. I always have to remind myself that my process is my process.
-Erika Montgomery
The story is told from multiple points of view and dual timelines. How did you decide on this structure?
I have always written dual timelines. In the case of this novel, because I wanted to make it a multigenerational story, I couldn’t not have the perspectives of the three women. I definitely dabbled with the idea of doing first person with all of them [instead of third person] because that would’ve allowed them to be even more distinctive, but it’s not something I have really done before. I’ve tried to do it in many other books, and it just doesn’t have that same sort of comfort and natural feel to me. There was no question from the beginning: once I had established these three characters, I wanted the reader to engage with all of their perspectives and to have only Cora’s in the backstory.
Most of the story revolves around Cora’s upcoming wedding to Max, yet Max, for as much as he contributes to the story, isn’t in many scenes. Was this a conscious decision to, in a way, decenter him from the physicality of the scenes?
Max was so present in the backstory, I wanted the readers to get to know him there as opposed to what he was going to be like now. The crux of the story is how the three women came to understand that part of Cora’s past—what Max was like when she met him and that friendship they built over the summer. I think it’s a little questionable when Hedy and Mickey really understand, like at what point in the present story do they come to understand the backstory? But for the reader, they’re getting to know Max in the past the way that Cora did. I think it’s important that when Hedy and Mickey get there and see Cora, they have this time together, just the three of them. He’ll come in later after everything’s settled. So that was not necessarily intentional, but that just made the most sense for the story and the character.
What’s so powerful about any kind of family reunion is that there’s this energy of everybody being there and the whole of their past is coming and sitting in the room, too.
-Erika Montgomery
What does a typical writing day look like for you?
Now that my daughters are both in school full-time, usually I’ll write all day. I don’t have a problem getting my butt in the chair. It’s really getting out of the chair—I could write and write and write and write. I’m definitely not like, “I need two hours here and then I’m done for my word count.” If I’m on deadline, I am sort of thinking about word count, but in general I’ll just write as much as I can.
Which writers inspire you?
In terms of actual prose, I love Frances Mayes’s work. I just think it’s absolutely beautiful. She writes novels, but I love her memoirs, too. In terms of story and plot, I’m inspired by Stephen King and Nora Roberts. I love different writers for different things. I also love thriller writers like Liane Moriarty and Jane Harper. Sometimes when you write, it’s hard to read books because you can’t quite have that separation [from your work and what you’re reading]. I almost feel like sometimes it helps to read memoir or other types of genres than what I write because it does allow me to have that distance and that perspective. I love Elin Hilderbrand and Alice Hoffman—I think her work is in its own place; I love it because it’s totally immersive and delicious.
To close, what kernel of advice do you have for our readers?
My kernel of advice is: do not compare your process to anybody else’s. Really lean into this idea that your process is going to be your own and there isn't a one-size-fits-all. Your process may be that it takes you five years to write a book or that you can knock it out in one draft. Everybody is different, but I think for the longest time—and I still do this—I had this idea that there's a more efficient way for me to write. I always have to remind myself that my process is my process. My agent is always saying, “this is your process,” and I get frustrated because it's like why am I rewriting this book for the fifth time? Because that's what it takes for me to get to the story that it needs to be. As soon as you can lean into your process, the one that works for you, and not feel like you have to use somebody else's or you're not doing it right, the more comfortable you can be and enjoy the process.
Erika’s kernel of advice: Your process is your own. Own it.
Newsletter update: We will be taking a break next Monday, November 27th to enjoy the long weekend, our families, and an abundance of leftovers.
Inspiration, Information, & Insight
The library rightly reclaimed all the books Natalia started and didn’t finish in time. So she is working through Fates and Furies since she owns this book. She’s also written a lot of personal statements and is becoming desensitized to herself. Is that possible?
Shelby has been avoiding her novel—or rather, she thinks about it, often, but hasn’t been able to add actual words to it. Instead, she’s working on decluttering her life in the hopes that the organization will inspire her creativity. If you’re submitting pieces to literary magazines, Shelby recommends checking out
’s guide on formatting, which she read this week.Sarah is finishing up her semester’s coursework by reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved (arguably the greatest novel of the 20th c.) and Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings (a brilliant craft book). She also read three collections by Kiki Petrosino in advance of the poet’s visit to her MFA program, including Bright, White Blood, and Witch Wife. As much as Sarah has enjoyed her first semester in grad school, she is looking forward to Thanksgiving break so she can once again read purely for pleasure.
Neidy spent almost twenty hours driving this week, mostly for work. While that much time in a car was not conducive to writing, it did let her catch up on all episodes of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing.