In Conversation with Rhonda Riley, author of
THE ENCHANTED LIFE OF ADAM HOPE

THE ENCHANTED LIFE OF ADAM HOPE mixes literary fiction with elements of fantasy and magic? Why did you decided to use the literary elements of magic and fantasy when creating a love story?

The use of the surreal/fantastic was new for me. I usually write straightforward realistic stuff. But this is a story about the mystery of the 'other.' I wanted A. to be completely other, not just a kid from another culture or the other side of town, but a very strange stranger.

Secrets weave their way through the lives of your characters throughout the book. What role do you think secrecy plays in relationships? Where did the idea for this story and the voice of Evelyn come from?

The theme of secrecy and the voice of Evelyn came from the same place—my mother. This book was supposed to be a biography of her, but there was too much I didn't know and could never know. My mother had secrets she guarded for the regular garden–variety of reasons—pride and fear of ostracism. She died relatively young leaving me with a lot of unanswered questions. In any relationship, lies and secrecy divide us from each other. Like Evelyn, I did not suffer those unanswered questions gladly, but eventually made my peace with them. Then I made a novel of them.

Your exquisite use of language draws the readers into the landscape that your characters live in, from the dense land of North Carolina and later to Florida's flat pastures and fresh water springs. What role do you think nature plays in your characters' lives?

The natural environment IS a character in the novel. A. literally springs from Nature. It was very important to me that both Evelyn and Adam both be very closely linked to the natural world, to the land and animals around them. I was born in North Carolina. My family moved to Florida when I was little, but every summer we went back to visit relatives. That red dirt, the mill villages, mountains, and my aunt's old farmhouse were so exotic to me. Then, well into adult life, I fell in love with Florida's landscape while introducing it to my own children. When I am more than a few months away from Southern and US soil, I begin to lust for it. I think place and nature mold us in subtle and profound ways.

Animals, specifically horses, play a big role in the story. Why was it important for you to include them?

I wanted Adam to have some ability or talent that was benign and normal, but exceptional. It also had to be a public expression of his uniqueness, since so much of his character is secret. Making him a horse whisperer was perfect––a large and powerful animal raised for it beauty and abilities. What a challenge for me though! I knew nothing about horses and had to start my research from scratch.

The title character, Adam Hope, transcends name, gender, and species. Why did you choose to create a character with these qualities?

Once I decided I was not writing the ‘true' story of my mother, but writing the mystery of her, all bets were off! What could be more mysterious, more other than someone undefined by origin, by history, gender, or time? Androgyny and changes in the boundaries of gender have always fascinated me, but gender hopping seems minor compared to Nature's oddities. And the more I learn about nature, the more it seems that none of the boundaries of life are what we've thought them to be. There are tiny shrimp–like creatures in the dessert plateaus of the Southwest. Physicists have discovered that entangled particles, created as a pair, will act as a unit, each simultaneously mirroring the actions of the other though they are miles apart and apparently unconnected. There is a species of sea slug that photosynthesizes. These things seemed like an invitation to write Adam beyond the borders of the ordinary.

The sense of ostracism seems to be a prominent theme in THE ENCHANTED LIVE OF ADAM HOPE. Evelyn and Adam at times feel isolated from their family, community, and at times each other. How do you think that ostracism defines them?

As a child, Evelyn is picked on for her appearance—a skinny, red–haired, very tall girl. That drives her to the solace of nature and her aunt's farm where she finds A. who is genuinely and deeply different from everyone else. It is fear of ostracism that prompts Evelyn to keep his unusual nature a secret, a decision that further isolates her. When Adam's difference is finally revealed to the small North Carolina community they live in, they and their four daughters are ostracized and must flee to Florida. They are driven into the arms of a very different natural environment that, in turn changes them.

You've said ""I think there comes a moment in all relationships—lovers, spouses, siblings, parents, children, friends—when we look at the person we love and know so well and think ‘Who are you?' The question can be a delight or a terror." How does this aspect of relationships play into THE ENCHANTED LIVE OF ADAM HOPE?

It is the core of the book and it is Evelyn's constant question. She loves Adam in spite, because of, andthrough the question. And it is the question she asks not only about Adam, but also about herself and her mother. Adam, on the other hand, is completely uninterested in the question, and that, pretty much defines him. He accepts what is, and he is capable of being anyone. I think we all must, eventually, and in our own way, make peace with what we can't understand—all the mysterious others we love and live among.

Time, and its limits, are central in the lives of Adam and Evelyn. How does this affect their relationship?

It ultimately defines their relationship as it defines all our relationships. Time is the enemy of all lovers. In that, Evelyn and Adam are completely normal. And though Adam is essentially timeless, over the course of their marriage, they change at different rates, and like all couples, one of them will leave this world before the other.