nicolefeller.com: Still the Song Facts

Inspired by IMDb, an app I use almost daily, I decided to compose a list of facts for Still the Song. Little behind the scenes tidbits and insight.
**I've included as few SPOILERS as possible, but it's probably best not to read any farther if you haven't already read the book!

Still the Song was written, edited, and published in fourteen months.
I designed the cover with a photograph I took in October 2010 at Core Creek Park in Pennsylvania.
Oak Lake Park in the story is loosely based on Core Creek Park.
The sparrow on the cover and spine of the book is the sparrow tattoo that Jonah has on his inner bicep. I have the same tattoo on the top of my right foot.
Jonah is named my favorite name in the whole world (aside from my kids' names). If I could have another child (too high risk), and it was a boy, he would be named Jonah. Jonah's last name comes from the character, Mike Weston on the show The Following, played by Shawn Ashmore.
Jonah's favorite musician is Sleeping At Last, who is also one of my favorites in real life. The quote in the beginning of the book, that is also another of Jonah's tattoos, comes from the Sleeping At Last song, "Uneven Odds." The musical genius behind Sleeping At Last is Ryan O'Neal, who has a copy of Still the Song of his very own.
Other musicians mentioned in the book are Anberlin (my absolute favorite), The 1975, and Ray Lamontagne.
Nathan's fiancee, Kendall Woods, was renamed multiple times. First, she was Jenna, then Emma, then finally Kendall. Initially, she was never going to physically appear in the story--just the few mentions of her by Nathan in the beginning.
Hannah is named for the sweet and innocent feel the name Hannah exudes. It also means "grace" or "full of grace and mercy" which I think fits Hannah quite well. Her last name was borrowed from the character, Dexter Morgan, from the Showtime show, Dexter.
Gracie's middle name is Avery, honoring my stillborn daughter.
Scarlett's name was originally Charlotte.
Elliot's last name, Tyler, is a tribute to another favorite musician (and actor) of mine, Tyler Hilton. Elliot is named Elliot because it's a cool but sophisticated name and it just seems to fit him.
Elliot built a successful business with his father and sold it, inspired by my father and his who did the same exact thing.
Hannah originally had green eyes. Not sure why I changed them to blue.
The story originally took place in Georgia, but I found it more difficult to write about a place I wasn't too familiar with. Also, I really wanted more distinct seasons, which isn't necessarily typical for the south.
Jonah originally went away to school in North Carolina. Again, I changed it because I don't know enough about North Carolina to comfortably depict it.
I didn't initially plan to have flashbacks, especially since most writing rules advise against them. Maybe I was only planning to include the first one where Jonah and Hannah are together for the last time before he goes off to college. But I began to really like the idea of sharing snapshots of their relationship before Jonah went away, so the reader could care about them as a couple. It also helped me to develop them better when building more of their past together.
When Jonah and Hannah are reminiscing about the time she visited him at college, Hannah mentions she was supposed to room with Jonah's friend, Jami. Jami is the name of my best friend in high school.
Despite the scenes depicting drinking and drunkenness, I have never been drunk myself. I've never actually consumed an entire alcoholic beverage. All due to my medication and for lack of interest, really.
The bar, Gatsby's, was originally called Smitty's.
Nathan was originally 30, but I felt that it didn't give him enough time as a credible successful doctor, so I made him 35 to hopefully make it a bit more realistic.
Jonah frequently slips his hands into his pockets or runs a hand through his hair when he's nervous. These are not accidentally repeated motions. They are purposely a part of Jonah's actions.
Hannah works at Murphy's, a diner. I named it after Tyler Hilton's character, Murphy, in the movie, Charlie Bartlett.
The rule Hannah's parents had when she was in high school, where Jonah wasn't allowed in her room past ten, is inspired by the same rule my parents set for me when I was dating my husband.
The memory they recall together about Jonah accidentally falling asleep at Hannah's until 4am actually happened to my husband and me when we were dating. He didn't get in trouble though.
The memory they also talk about where Hannah cried her face off saying bye to Jonah before she went away with her parents for three weeks, was inspired by the time my husband was leaving for California for three weeks after we'd been dating for only two months. It was horrible and I was a ridiculous mess. And I really did write him a letter for every day he was away, just like Hannah wrote Jonah a letter for every day she was away.
Gracie was almost named Sawyer, and she originally had blonde hair.
The flashback where Hannah tells Jonah she likes him was inspired by a similar experience I had in college when I confessed my feelings to a guy I liked.
The Mercedes SUV that Jonah drives is a 2010 ML320.
The febrile seizure scenario is based on my own experience with my son who's had febrile seizures. :(
The premature birth scenario is closely based on my experience with my son who was born at 31 weeks.
I have no idea what Hannah's dad, Stephen, does for a living.
When Jonah meets up with Nathan and Kendall for dinner, they're at Chili's. The part where that's stated was edited out.
Jonah's room number at the hotel is 121. January 21st (2011) was the date I found out I was pregnant with my son, Jude.
When Jonah is checking out of the hotel, I can't help but picture the goofy desk clerk from the hotel in Win A Date with Tad Hamilton. ;)
Stephen Morgan is not actually a jerk. He's just overprotective and doesn't know how to joke appropriately.
Jonah's signature expression of affection is to kiss Hannah on the head. I think it signifies how pure and sweet his love is for her.
The book Jonah reads to Gracie is Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.
I have a playlist on my iPod of what's on H, Jonah's mix CD of Hannah-inspired songs.
The Venue is a fictional place that does not actually exist in Tampa. If it did exist, I imagine it would probably be located close to Oxford Exchange, right near the University of Tampa.
The baristas at The Venue are named after my cousin, Rachel, and our family friend, Jeffrey. There is one named Zac, admittedly after Zac Efron, because I was on a Zac Efron movie kick at the time (17 Again, The Lucky One, and Charlie St. Cloud mostly). The manager of The Venue, Ryan, is named after Ryan O'Neal of Sleeping At Last. Because he's awesome.
It took me an entire night to write Jonah's song, "Write You Down." Stylistically, it's inspired by Sleeping At Last, of course, which makes sense for Jonah, since that's his favorite music.
I imagine Jonah's voice to sound like singer and YouTuber, Michael Castro, whether it matches his physical appearance or not. Michael has my favorite singing voice in all the world, so I couldn't think of a better voice to imagine for Jonah.
Andy at the tattoo shop in Tampa is based on my brother-in-law, Andy, who does like to tattoo. I had them get tattoos on their wrists because I have a tattoo on mine.
In the earlier drafts, the Clearwater part never existed, since the locations were different in the beginning. The road trip was much shorter until the final stages of the book, since the distance between the two locations was originally less.
When Jonah gives Hannah the bag of all her favorite things from high school, they're actually some of my favorite things. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is, in fact, my favorite movie, which probably seems out of character for me, just as it does for Hannah. And Mountain Dew is definitely my drink of choice.
The letter Hannah reads from Jonah is dated April 14, 2009. I chose April 14th because that is mine and my husband's dating anniversary.
That letter was an afterthought. I'm glad it made it into the book.
There's a deleted scene where Nathan is on the phone with Kendall, telling her about his father's will and how horrible he felt that he'd left nothing to Jonah.
I wanted to bend the gender stereotypes and have Jonah be the one who is more conservative and old-fashioned as far as sex goes. Not every man has to be portrayed as being consumed by and obsessed with sex.
I picture Miles Teller as Oliver Grayson.
The Pompadour Lounge doesn't actually exist.
Sometimes I'm afraid I went too far with Hannah's behavior at the lounge. I hope the readers love her anyway and understand that she was just letting her fear get the best of her. ;)
In my head, Nathan's new house is modeled after my aunt's beautiful home. Every time I go there, I secretly fangirl like the biggest nerd who ever lived.
In early drafts of the story, we end up finding out that Kendall was responsible for what happened to Hannah in the Murphy's parking lot. I felt funny about that, unconvinced that it was the best thing for the storyline, so in the end, I just removed it completely. It's up to the reader now to decide if Kendall would go that far to get back at Jonah or if it was just a random crime.
Jonah's family's Christmas Eve festivities are based on that of my family's, except there are many more of us.
Henry Tyler is based on my late grandfather (on my father's side), who loved Christmas and loved doing nice things for his family.
His wife, Elaine, is named after my late grandmother (on my mother's side), and also her daughter, Elaine--my mom's big sister.
Cousin Matty is named after lead singer, Matty Healy of The 1975.
The indie music showcase does not actually exist in real life. But it sure sounds fun.
I sort of chose Jonah's birthday, May 17th, at random. It just felt right. May is a special month to me though since my husband was born in May.
When Jonah and Nathan are in the car talking about song choices, and Jonah mentions Foy Vance, Nathan's ringing phone interrupts Jonah before can say the name of the song, which is "Be the Song."
The cemetery scene toward the end is probably my favorite scene in the entire book.
Jacob was originally never going to be shown in the book. I had felt that the reader's imagination of him would be much worse than anything I could put down on paper, kind of like if you show the monster in a horror movie too many times, it becomes less scary. But I decided I preferred for the reader to be potentially unimpressed by the portrayal of his character, than be disappointed that he was missing altogether. Hence the accident flashback.
It's somewhat implied that Elliot is a Christian.
I didn't intend to end the book at the end of chapter 21. That scene ended up being so final, that when I went to continue writing, I just sat there staring at the screen and realized it was over.
I cried when I finished the book.
I planned early on to include an epilogue. I liked the idea of offering a glimpse into the future, hoping to leave the reader satisfied.
Adding Lily to the epilogue was an afterthought.
The date of their first date, 10/2, was my due date with Jude (though he was born 7/31). It also happens to be my brother-in-law's birthday. October is also special because it's my birth month and anniversary month, and it's also my big brother, Ron's birth month as well.
Hannah was born in August. It never says the exact date, but she was born on the third.
I chose the month of March for Ezra because my daughter, Avery, was born in March. March is also the birth month of my mother, and both of my younger brothers, Shaun and Sam. Ezra's middle name is Jude after my son.
The book has been resubmitted since publication, correcting a few things that somehow snuck past both myself and the editor. I was mortified at first, but hey, no one is perfect and that's okay!