What is the significance of the passiflora plant in the novel?
AH: HOUSEHUSBAND is a light, fast read-not too shallow (I hope) and certainly not too deep. The passiflora was my one intentional literary device. It is a metaphor, of course, for Linc. Without knowing it, he sees himself in the plant, an exotic that thrives against all odds in an unnatural environment. Q. Are any of your characters based on real people? AH: Linc, of course. And Violet. Linc’s mother is also my mother. Though my mom has never run away from home, it is her spirit that resides in the character of Carol. I’ve been surprised at how few people even mention the mother character. She’s my favorite character in the book. Q. How did the mother character come about, and why did you include her? AH: I needed a device to help set a time structure for the book, and the mother’s emails came to mind. I had invented the mother character three years earlier in a short story that I published in a literary journal named Acorn Whistle. I thought the mother would be an interesting counterb
