Northampton author Kelly Link’s debut novel garners national acclaim

Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love and co-owner of Book Moon in Easthampton.

Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love and co-owner of Book Moon in Easthampton. CONTRIBUTED /PHOTO COPYRIGHT ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ

CONTRIBUTED/PHOTO COPYRIGHT ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ

CONTRIBUTED/PHOTO COPYRIGHT ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ CONTRIBUTED/PHOTO COPYRIGHT ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ

The Book of Love by Kelly Link.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link.

By ALEXA LEWIS

Staff Writer

Published: 12-27-2024 5:44 PM

EASTHAMPTON — This year has been a whirlwind of successes for local literary star Kelly Link. The renowned short story writer’s debut novel, “The Book of Love,” hit the shelves this year with massive impact, earning recognition as a Time 100 Must Read Book, Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of the Year, Vulture Best Book of the Year, NPR Book We Love and, most recently, one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2024.

Link, a Northampton resident and co-owner of the bookshop Book Moon in Easthampton, is no stranger to critical acclaim. The 2018 MacArthur Fellow was previously a Pulitzer finalist for her short story collection “Get In Trouble,” and among her other honors are a Hugo Award, several Nebula Awards and a World Fantasy Award.

But after more than eight years of diligently working to make “The Book of Love” a reality, 2024 has proven particularly rewarding.

“Because I was not sure if I ever wanted to write a novel again, I thought, ‘I’m gonna throw in everything that I love,’” Link said about writing her novel. “This will be a coming of age story, because ... I love the coming of age story. I’m gonna write about music, which I love. I’m gonna write about romance, because I, for much of my life, was a romance reader.”

It’s the same advice Link gives her students when she teaches writing — sit down and make a list of all the things you love, then write about those things. Then, even if you’re having a bad writing day, the passion is still there to make a more pleasurable experience for both the writer and, eventually, the reader.

She found this tactic particularly important in making the shift from short story writing, which allows for frequent revision throughout, to novel writing, which she said required her to “keep moving forward like a shark.”

“The Book of Love” follows three young adults who have inexplicably returned from mysterious deaths to find themselves thrust into the midst of centuries-old supernatural tensions beyond their wildest imaginings. As within the short stories she has become known for, Link melds the magical and the mundane to create a world at once familiar and fantastical, where relationship drama and shapeshifting are equally likely and equally engrossing.

Making the familiar fantastical

For Pioneer Valley residents, the book’s fictional setting — a coastal Massachusetts town called Lovesend — may prove particularly familiar. In crafting the backdrop for the book’s events, Link said she took great inspiration from Northampton and Easthampton, from their eclectic shops and restaurants to their bustling music scenes.

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The book’s characters are even fueled by a pizza restaurant that Link said resembles Easthampton’s own Vegan Pizza Land.

“I sort of got to imagine, what if there was a place like Easthampton or Northampton, but instead of five colleges, it was next to the ocean,” said Link. “I did really want to write about a place like the place that I live, but populate it with magic … there’s something very pleasurable about writing about places that you know but making them fantastical.”

And while Link still describes herself as “a short story writer at heart,” she plans to write more novels bringing fantastical elements into what might be familiar spaces. Currently, she said she is working on a middle grade novel set in Westhampton. For her next project, she hopes to produce a “short ghost story novel for adults,” which has been on her mind for some time.

It isn’t only the region itself that Link draws inspiration from, but the many other literary figures that populate it. Link described working with fellow Pioneer Valley residents and bestselling fantasy writers Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, and lauded the talent hosted in the area, which she gets to represent within the walls of Book Moon.

“There’s such a large community of writers and artists here, and I’m fans of their work, and I am very grateful to be able to sell their books in the bookstore,” she said. “I’m also, just as a reader, very grateful for the work that they’re putting out.”

Link said that while no one book will appeal to everyone — her own being no exception — there truly is a book for everyone, and the staff at Book Moon is passionate about sharing their love of reading by giving tailored recommendations to those who ask for them.

“We love having the bookstore, we love this time of year,” Link said. “It is just so much fun to see people coming in and buying books, whether they’re buying them for themselves or for other people. It’s just a blast, so we are so glad to be here.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.