What so fascinated you about famous circus performer Lillian Leitzel that you modeled Tessa after her?
Tessa is more inspired by Lillian Leitzel than based on her. They are both tiny women who are spectacular and breathtaking in the air and incredibly powerful. Lillian was famous for her one-armed swing-overs, the trick Tessa invents by the river in her hometown, and married a beautiful Mexican circus star, the way Tessa does. So I based these bits of Tessa on Lillian, and kept a poster of Lillian on the wall as I was writing. She just looks like a tiny little ferocious thing, a real demon, and I always wanted Tessa to have that same fierceness to her. And Lillian was a real bona fide star during the circus s golden age: much more of a diva than Tessa ever is, she had her own private train car complete with a baby grand piano, and was obsessed with collecting diamonds and fur coats and cars. But I just picture her in the air, this blur of energy and pure will. The circus in your book is full of magic, and you write in the style of magical realism. Was that a conscious choice, to reflect
