The Key to Circus-Mom Highway
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Allyson Rice's The Key to Circus-Mom Highway!
***Synopsis***
In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged sisters and their newly discovered brother embark on a comically surreal trip through the Deep South to retrace the life of the mother who abandoned them as infants. It’s a novel about family, forgiveness, the absurdity of the world we live in… and second chances.
On a Tuesday afternoon, sisters Jesse Chasen and Jennifer McMahon receive a phone call notifying them that their birth mother has died, leaving behind a significant inheritance. But in order to obtain it, they must follow a detailed road trip she designed for them to get to know her—and that includes finding a brother they never knew existed.
For the next week, this ill-assorted trio treks across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia to meet their mother’s old friends, from circus performers to a juke joint owner, each of whom delivers a shocking vignette into the life of a young mother traumatized by loss and abuse. Along the way, these three siblings—Jesse, whose fiery exterior disguises a wounded, drifting musician stuck in a rut; Jennifer, whose carefully curated family life is threatened by her husband’s infidelity; and Jack, whose enigmatic Jackie, Oh! persona in the New Orleans drag queen scene helps him escape the nightmares of Afghanistan that haunt him at night—must confront their own demons (and at least one alligator). But in chasing the truth about their real mother, they may all just find their second chance.
This uproarious debut novel is a reminder that sometimes, the family you’d never have chosen may turn out to be exactly what you need.
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
It’s contemporary fiction. Because the main characters are female, and there is personal growth and new self-awareness that occurs over the course of the story, it also falls into the genre of Women’s Fiction. Though, to be clear, there are a lot of men who have also enjoyed the novel.
I knew it was contemporary fiction going into it. But the characters led me into Women’s Fiction. The women’s issues developed as I was writing it. I think my many years in the entertainment industry, both as an actress and then later as someone who’s been developing projects, influenced the fact that I wanted to have a number of female characters in my novel who were over the age of 35 since roles for older women drop off considerably in TV and film. And even under the age of 35 there are disproportionally fewer roles for women. So I want to tell their stories in my novels.
Are you more character or plot driven?
Well, you’ve got to have a good plot since without that you just have characters wandering around talking to each other (or talking to themselves).
The road trip in my novel and the siblings’ reasons for being on this journey drive the story forward. But, that being said, the characters are KEY. Often the next steps in the plot were driven by the characters’ conversations or their reactions to what just happened. I think my many years as an actress also had a hand in that. I would go inside the minds and hearts of the characters in the novel, the same way I used to approach a new acting role.
Once I knew who they were, I knew instinctively what they would say and how they would react. So I guess I lean toward character driven.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind? Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace?
I didn’t have a problem separating the characters in my mind. And I didn’t have a story/vision board above my workspace with this novel. (Partly because I would often go to my favorite diner to write for a few hours at a time!) And so often I would go back to the beginning of the novel and reread it from top to bottom (because I edit as I go). Because of that, my mind was constantly refreshed as to who the players were and how they were involved with one another, and what conversations had happened.
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Yes! They absolutely take on a life of their own. The serious themes in the backstories of the characters developed as I wrote. Those themes hadn’t been planned.
I had just wanted to write a fast, fun novel that would keep the reader laughing all the way through it. I still accomplished that goal, but with more serious themes woven in between the laughs. In this way, I often felt like the novel was writing itself.
There were 2 scenes in particular that I was avoiding writing–I thought I could tell the story without them–but I ended up being led by the characters about the necessity of those scenes until I took that deep dive and wrote them. And the novel is better because of it.
The story ended up having added depth because of those character-led themes that became necessary in the telling of the story.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
No, they aren’t. There are tiny pieces of different people that I incorporated into all of the characters, including the men. But, no, the male POVs are not really based on anyone in particular.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
Same answer for the female characters. I did use some experiences in the backstory that I haven’t been through, but various friends have been through. But, again, no one character or POV was based on one specific person.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
Yes, the 2 scenes I mentioned in that earlier answer.
One was a flashback for one of the characters that involved being versed in some technical military things. That is completely out of my realm of experience, so I was trying very hard not to write it. Lol. But once I finally knew how the story ended, I had to write it because there was an important connection that came out of it with another character. Plus, some beta readers who had read the first draft that didn’t include the scene wanted to know more about this character’s backstory. So I had to do a deep dive and research how to write the scene accurately. I ended up on a lot of government sites reading technical articles.
The other scene I can’t talk about without giving away an important story twist. You’ll have to read the book for that! 😉
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
Yes, that’s a hard question to answer. I fell in love with all of the characters as they developed.
But if I HAD to pick, I’d probably say Jesse. I love her acerbic sense of humor. I love her strength and resilience. And I love how her hard, tough-girl protective shell cracks and begins to fall away as self-awareness and understanding increase over the course of the journey. (And I couldn’t choose just one of the supporting characters – they’re all so fun/funny.)
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
This novel is not a “couple” kind of story (though there’s a glimmer of one beginning by the end). It will be developed if I write a sequel, which I think will eventually happen after I finish the book I’m writing now. Again, you have to read it to find out who that is.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find their perfect HEA?
Though The Key to Circus-Mom Highway has a happy ending, there’s no HEA yet in terms of a couple. And when I write the sequel, I’ll get inside their heads/hearts to fully embody them as I write, the same way I used to as an actress playing a character.
When you’re living a character, you instinctively know what they want and need, and what their Achilles heel might be, where the pitfalls are that you’d want to avoid when looking for a HEA.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
That’s as difficult to choose as choosing a favorite character!
I loved every scene that has comic bickering between the trio of siblings.
I love every single funny backstory I added for the supporting characters.
I love the moments of quiet contemplation that occur that ultimately deepen the bonds between the siblings.
I love the scene at the club and how they get Jack to join them.
I love the scene with the siblings getting a ride with Sy and what happens as a result… I could go on!
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further depth. Do you think you will write another book or series following this multiple POV outline?
There are multiple POVs, though the primary one is Jesse. She drives a lot of the action. But there are moments throughout when other POVs come into play. I got a note from someone early on about how some of it is stuff that Jesse wouldn’t be privy to, but I needed those sections, so I went with my gut and kept them in. I didn’t want it to be solely her POV.
Yes, I will definitely write other books with multiple POVs. I agree that it adds depth.
How long did it take you to write this books?
It’s really hard to gauge how long it took because there was a big break in the middle of writing it. I started it and completed a short first draft in 2016.
I actually did it backward and wrote the screenplay version first, even though it was going to be a book because it forced me to develop the arcs and the ending (none of which were known to me when I began writing).
In the fall of 2016, I did the first half of the road trip in the book with my son. In March of 2017, I did the rest of the road trip with my mom. I took a lot of notes and took a lot of photos for reference.
Over the next 2.5 years I was working in a new job doing creative development and producing for a new streaming network. I tried to do edits and expansion of the novel during that time, but the job was 7 days a week using all of my brain power, so it was hard to finish it during that time.
During the pandemic (after that network folded) was when I actually had the time and focus to be able to finish it. I think it was probably 2+ years of actual writing, revising, and finalizing the book.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
There’s an old blues song from the ‘40s called “Key to the Highway” by “Big Bill” Broonzy and Charlie Segar. I knew the song because I’m a huge blues fan and was also a blues DJ for a number of years. (This is also why a juke joint was one of the stops along the way.) As soon as I developed the part of the story where the young mom had run away and left her kids, that song came to mind. The song lyrics actually appear in the book. I had to license the lyrics from Universal Music to be able to use them.
So, for a while, the working title of the book was The Key to the Highway, but I kept feeling like there was a better book title, something more distinctive, though I wanted to incorporate the blues title, if possible, because of the strong connection to the mom’s story (running away and hitchhiking across the country). The Key to the Highway didn’t feel like a unique enough book title to make someone stop and go, “What’s that book?” Then one day, I wrote a line for Jesse where she sarcastically called their deceased birth mom “Circus-Mom,” and it completed the book title puzzle. It felt right to me because on another level it also echoed the circus-like craziness of the whole trip.
I’ll admit it sounds a bit like a Nancy Drew title, but I’m okay with that. I loved Nancy Drew mysteries growing up. I read them all! Jack even calls Jesse “Nancy Drew” at one point when she gets nosy and asks what his medication is for. “Not that it’s any of your business, Nancy Drew, but…”
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
For sure. (I mean, they have my sense of humor, so what’s there not to get along with?) 😊
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?
I don’t have a series… yet. Honestly, I had planned to write this as a one-and-done novel. But by the time I finished, I decided to leave it open-ended with some of the story developments – ones that would be compelling to continue and develop. So I definitely didn’t go in with the plan to write a series, but I think I came out of it with one.
If your book was made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
I cast this in my mind early on! When I started writing, I was picturing Reese Witherspoon as Jesse, Leslie Mann as Jennifer, and Clayne Crawford as Jack (it would’ve been Robert Downey Jr if he had been the right age).
As the writing continued, I started picturing a different cast. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jesse, Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack, and Judy Greer as Jesse. That would be a phenomenal trio of siblings!
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
I’ve gone back to writing the book I had already started and then put on hold when the idea for The Key to Circus-Mom Highway came to me. I’m about four chapters into it.
It’s a comedy about a woman on the verge of turning fifty years old. She’s newly divorced and entering the daunting (and often horrible) online dating world for the first time. She’s also figuring out the direction she wants her life to go because things haven’t turned out as she thought they would.
The story includes her friendships with three women, two of whom she’s known since college, and a new friendship with a feisty 80-year-old she meets by accident toward the beginning of the book. She’s in the middle of a panic attack and has bent over on the street to put her head between her knees to breathe. She’s in front of a retirement center with a big front window and this old woman using a walker thinks Nicki is mooning them. And there’s also an Australian paragliding instructor in the book whom Nicki meets on one of her new adventures and who gets under her skin. She’s not quite sure how she feels about that.
I don’t know how the book ends yet. Stay tuned!
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Allyson Rice!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2023/03/author-at-glance-allyson-rice.html
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On a Tuesday afternoon, sisters Jesse Chasen and Jennifer McMahon receive a phone call notifying them that the birth mother they had no knowledge of has died, leaving behind a significant inheritance. But in order to obtain it, they must follow a detailed road trip she designed for them to get to know her–and that includes finding a brother they never knew existed.
For the next week, this ill-assorted trio treks across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to meet their mother's old friends, from circus-performers to a juke joint owner, each of whom delivers a shocking vignette into the life of a young mother traumatized by loss and abuse. Along the way, these three siblings–Jesse, whose fiery exterior disguises a drifting musician stuck in a rut; Jennifer, whose carefully curated family life is threatened by her husband's infidelity; and Jack, whose enigmatic Jackie, Oh! persona in the New Orleans drag queen scene helps him escape the nightmares of Afghanistan that haunt him–must confront their own demons (and at least one alligator). But in chasing the truth about their real mother, they may all just find their second chance.
This uproarious debut novel is a reminder that sometimes, the family you'd never have chosen may turn out to be exactly what you need.
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