A. I wanted to portray the multiplicity of ways in which desire affects even the most settled life—how desire can reveal to people who they really are, and shine a light on aspects of their character that they have been ignoring. As often happens when a writer tackles a vague idea, I began to ask, “What if?” What if your son or daughter began to date your first love’s son or daughter? What if there were unresolved issues that echoed during the years when you and your first love didn’t see each other?

The endless complications and multifaceted dimensions of love and desire fascinate me—the promises these feelings prompt us to make. I have been married for thirteen years and dated my husband for four years before getting married. The richer connection that grows in a stable marriage is often different from the relationship one has with a first love. I didn’t begin to date my husband until after college, so he was not my first “boyfriend,” and although my husband is nothing like either Phil or Nick in Losing the Moon, I wanted to portray two entirely different types of love: first love, with its intense emotions; and marital love, with its subtler, potentially deeper rewards.

Q. Losing the Moon is your first novel. Can you tell us something about how you became a writer, and what led to this publication?

A. My first novel—actually a memoir—was called “My Life” and was never published. I wrote it when I was twelve years old. Although I’ve been writing ever since then, professionally I pursued a medical career. I am a nurse with a master’s degree in pediatrics.

Four years ago, I finally understood that writing is all I’ve ever really wanted to do. When I knew I had no choice—that writing was a necessary part of who I was—I pursued it as seriously as I did my master’s degree. It became essential that I take classes, read books on writing, and actually write every day.

Writing and selling this novel required an incredible belief in myself, along with persistence, courage, faith, serendipity, and a willingness to study the craft of writing. The catalyst for each step of the journey was the decision—the commitment to write. For more on my writing and publication history, visit www.patticallahanhenry.com.

Q. The setting of Losing the Moon, Georgia’s Lowcountry, plays an important role in shaping the story and its characters. Why did you decide to set the novel there, and what about that part of the country particularly inspired you?