You probably best know Heather Hach as the co-writer of the 2003 movie “Freaky Friday,” which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. But now, Hach is making a concentrated pivot to novelist.
Hach’s new novel “The Trouble with Drowning” hit bookstores on Oct. 17 and follows Kat, an aspiring author whose life seems to be falling perfectly into place when she begins dating the Robert Redford-look-alike son of her literary hero. But as demons from her past come back to haunt her and the relationship takes a turn for the worse, so does Kat’s mental health. What follows is a twisted tale of obsession that’s hard to put down (I finished it over the course of two sleepless nights).
I recently spoke with Hach about her career, why she loves writing novels, and what comes next. This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer? How did you decide on that profession?
Heather Hach: I always wanted to be a writer. It was the only thing that really made sense to me and seemed to be the only thing that my brain excelled at. As a kid, I always joke that my mom used to say that she’d follow after me all the time because I would lie everywhere I went. I was such a storyteller. My best friend’s mother thought that my dad was not my father for a year [laughs].
How did she react when she found out the truth?
Hach: You know, finally she was like – well, what happened between you and your first husband? And my mom was like, what? Well, Heather said that this is your new husband. She’s like, I have no idea what you’re talking about!
I just loved telling stories. I had a brother in jail, I told people. I told terrible stories, not typical happy, “there’s a pony in the backyard” sorts of things. I told awful lies. But they never told me, you know, you got to knock it off. They always knew that I was a storyteller and creative. They knew I’d outgrow [the lying], and I did.
It translated to actually writing stories instead, I guess.
Hach: Yeah, and then I started reading compulsively and writing stories. Whenever there was an assignment to write a story, people would write a page or two, and I would do chapters with 32 pages. It was pretty clear that this was my interest and my talent.
I read that you came up with the basic idea for “The Trouble With Drowning” quite a while ago. Why do you think this story took so long to come to fruition?
Hach: It’s really interesting. Yesterday, I was in therapy. My therapist is reading the book, and she was like, everything that we talk about is in the book! [Laughs]. It’s like, oh, wonderful. Honestly, it was an idea I had, and it had always kind of been there. But I just didn’t act upon it. It was honestly COVID [that] just transformed I think everybody’s brain, and when that happened, I started reading so compulsively. It was the thing that was really saving me, and it was such a great escape. I started really loving psychological thrillers, because they were fun escapism. I realized, wow! I’ve got that idea. I’ve always had that idea. Why don’t I try my hand at this? And the minute I started writing it, it was off to the races. I just found a way for me to cope with the anxiety of lockdown and quarantine through writing this book.
Yeah, I think everyone’s mental health kind of took a dip during that time, so I can see how this would have resurfaced. I read something you said, something to the effect of – writing about someone else’s mental health was a good way to keep yours in check. I wondered if you could elaborate on that.
Hach: For me, it was just great to live vicariously through someone who was really battling bigger mental health issues and I’m experiencing. It can be cathartic and very safe, to kind of express myself in this format. The character of Kat is a very complicated character who is battling a lot of her own demons. It was just, for me, a very cathartic way to express that.
Something that surprised me when I was reading it – it starts and you expect that it’s going to be from Kat’s perspective only. But then you really sort of bounce around to each character’s point of view. It seems like you had a lot of fun doing that, and that helped them all be a bit more fleshed out, I think.
Hach: Oh, thank you! Some people have criticized it as too much head-hopping. I like multiple-perspective books completely. I love that format. I love movies that have that, some of my favorites are that. So for me, it was just a natural fit. It really is Kat’s story first and foremost, but I love getting to dig into the thoughts of everybody. That’s part of the joy of reading a novel, is you get that opportunity.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this your first book?
Hach: It’s my second book. I wrote “Freaky Monday,” which is a YA novel, with Mary Rodgers … about 15 years ago. But this is my adult debut. I’m really trying to make a conscious shift from screenwriting, although it’s out right now to producers and I would love to adapt it, of course. But I see my next chapter being more novels, which is a return to my first love.
What, for you, is the difference between writing a screenplay and a novel, and why do you think you’re gravitating more toward novels at this stage?
Hach: I think, and I hope that you agree, that it’s a very cinematic book. I think you can kind of see it like a film, because that’s how I see things. I’m a very visual person. But screenplays are much more about telling and not showing. So I kept making that mistake over and over. I was just telling too much and not showing. I had to really work hard to correct my prior bad habits that I picked up in screenwriting. But ultimately, a story is a story, and you’re just trying to tell a character’s journey and engage the audience, whatever medium you’re using. So, I found it just really liberating and fun to delve so much deeper into the psychology of the characters and what their thoughts were, and luxuriate in the grittiness of it. I found it really freeing as a writer.
Also the fact that I was in charge of everything. As much as I love collaboration on creative projects, it’s a collaboration. It’s all these different producers and other writers and directors and actors – you know, it gets diluted. What I love about this is that it’s really my work and my brain on the page, for better or worse.
Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that “Freaky Friday” was one of my favorite movies growing up.
Hach: Thank you! Thank you.
It was definitely a big favorite in my household. I also know that you wrote the book for “Legally Blonde” the musical. I know you said you want to focus more on novels as opposed to screenplays, but would you ever consider going back to theater?
Hach: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I feel about “Legally Blonde” a little bit the way I feel about this new [book]. I keep calling it my book baby. I worked on [“Legally Blonde”] so exhaustively for four years, and I love it so much to this day. It still brings so much joy to people, and it’s a character that I just really love and that we still need in the world. And there’s nothing like theater people. I love the theater. I love the live experience. It was just a world that I absolutely adored.
What comes next for you? Is there anything you’re working on that you can talk about?
Hach: Well, I started writing a sequel to the book, because it lends itself to a sequel.
Yeah, it ends with an open question.
Hach: Yeah, and also I’m writing a little bit more of a comedic piece called “Relationship Goals.” I’m about halfway done with the book. It’s kind of loosely inspired by my parents’ entirely too perfect marriage.