Interview with S.E. Reynolds, Author of Enigma Rose
05 Oct 2021
What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Enigma Rose? I met someone who experienced something we all unfortunately do at some point in our life, the death of a loved one. But when this person described the day the loved one died, the details of it all left me feeling unsettled like something didn’t add up. The words the person used to describe the last moments seemed scripted and sterile. The vibe this person set off literally made me shudder. It stuck with me for a couple of years and then one day, I was running outside, and the memory of that conversation came flooding back. As soon as I got home, I wrote down my idea, which became the premise of my book. If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Enigma Rose, what would they be? Joshua – Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunny Man If you had to write a blurb for the last book you read, what would it say? Perfection is an illusion that can only be seen from a distance; just a few steps closer and its inner ugliness is exposed. Everything is nothing in this page turning, dirty little secret read by… What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write? I love character-rich, psychological suspense novels like Enigma Rose. I like crime fiction, but I find it is more like playing the game of clue than really getting underneath the criminal and victim’s psyche. Books like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, and The Wife Between Us are big influences. Do you have any quirky writing habits? Where did you write Enigma Rose? I wrote Enigma Rose at my breakfast table. It is near a big window. I like to peer through it when I need to think through a scene. It allows me to escape my reality and current surroundings as I drift into my fictional world, helping me to envision what happens next. I can’t eat a big meal and write. I need little or no food but a heavy pour of black coffee in my Edgar Allan Poe mug. And right next to the mug, I have a red solo cup full of ice water. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? It’s just you and the page. The waste paper basket is your friend. It was invented for you by God.
Virginia – Misery Business by Paramore
Stacie – Fairy Tale Lover by UTFO
Rose – Wuthering Heights by Pat Benatar 
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