Get ready to learn more about the book Head Over Heels in this discussion with sapphic author Cassidy Langue.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Cassidy Langue about Head Over Heels, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Age Gap category in the 2025 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Head Over Heels?
I wanted to write Josie’s story. If you’ve read Cast Aside, you’ve seen the complicated friendship dynamics with Josie and her BFF Mel. Josie’s been in love with her for 17 years, but Mel didn’t return the feelings. Once Mel found her true love, Josie all of a sudden had more time on her hands. Her heart wasn’t quite ready for love yet, so I figured setting her up as Florence’s fake fiancée was perfect. You know what they say. Fake it til you make it! (Plus I LOVE the Fake Relationship trope.)
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Tilly!!! Oh my goodness, that woman says things that surprise me every time she’s on the page! She is hilarious and irreverent and crass – but also adorably loving and doting on the people she cares about. I’m in the process of writing Tilly’s story, and she continues to surprise me at every turn! She’s not like me at all, really, although secretly I want to be just like her in her ability to just SAY something without worrying about offending someone or hurting someone’s feelings.
How much research did you need to do for Head Over Heels?
I ended up doing TONS of research for this one. When Josie inherits a large collection of expensive things at the beginning, I knew I’d need to do some research for the coins and the art. A lot of the pieces were from Italy in the early 1940s. I got really sucked into the history of the area. Did you know Naples has an underground tunnel system that goes back as far as the Greeks in the 4th century BC? History is so cool.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Tilly is coming! We’ve seen the hilarious, the rude, and the crass from her. Now you’ll get to dive a little into her past to understand why she is who she is (when it comes to love) because this is a second-chance fake-not-fake-marriage with a LOT of complications.
Is there a particular genre you would love to write but only under a pseudonym?
I’ve actually started a new pen name writing cozy mysteries. I’d been in a bit of a writing slump for a while (thanks, politics), and I decided I wanted to write something less angsty and more… happy happy. So of course I had to go kill someone so my new sleuth could solve the mystery. 😀
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
I have a really old, really fat torbie (tortoiseshell/tabby mix) that loves to distract me. She’s too big to sit on my lap while I’m typing, but sometimes she’ll sit on my desk. Luckily, I have a separate keyboard shelf so it doesn’t get in the way of me actually typing, but she tries to headbutt me and sometimes she won’t leave me alone. I can’t keep her out of the room, because then she’ll just sit and scratch at the door until I let her back in—and whines like a toddler. 😀
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
This has actually never been a problem for me. When I write, I’m in the head of the POV character of that chapter. I do need time to “get into” the story, but once I’m there, it’s very easy for me to feel my way through what a character will do once I get to know them.
Usually the first thing I do even before I start writing is to understand where my main characters are coming from – what their background is and what they want (or what they don’t). I actually create pretty elaborate personality profiles for all my characters (I can tell you the Meyers-Briggs type and Clifton Strengths for any of them!). It really helps me understand who they are and how they’ll act.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
All the time! When I’m deep inside my characters’ heads while I’m writing, I’m living what they’re living. From both sides of it! And you know I like to put these women through the wringer, so I have to go through it with them too. I expect that when I’m writing, but it always surprises me when I go back and read one of my books that I haven’t picked up in a long time that sometimes they make me cry.
What books have you read more than once in your life?
Dozens. I go back to some of my favorites on a regular basis. I went through an Outlander phase where I read them in Spanish and French while I waited for the next books to come out.
Kristin Hannah is one I revisit frequently. Sapphic authors I come back to a lot are Haley Cass, Jae, and Ashley Herring Blake. AHB’s Delilah Green series is brilliant, but some of her YA books are serious works of art. If you haven’t read Ivy Aberdeen, Sunny St. James or Hazel Bly, you’re missing out. I’m not a big fan of YA, but her prose is very compelling.
Once I know the story, what keeps me coming back, you ask? For some of them it’s the writing, but for all of them, it’s about reconnecting with old friends and traipsing down memory lane with them. If you enjoyed a book the first time around and you’ve read a hundred books since then, you’d be surprised at how new those old stories will feel to you.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
Outside on my back deck. The sun on my face. Earbuds in. I have to listen to something (either instrumental music or a metronome. Don’t tell people how weird I am!). If I don’t have something in my ears, I get very easily distracted (thank you ADHD) by birds and bugs and leaves and squirrels and neighborhood cats and literally anything that moves or makes noise! It’s still my favorite place to read, though. Sunshine. 🙂
