On this episode of Salt Lake Dirt, I had a great time chatting with Lauren C. Johnson about her novel, The West Façade.

The story is set in 1348 Paris and follows the statues of Notre Dame. In the novel, they actually get one night of life every new moon, but they aren't supposed to interact with the human world at all. Things get complicated when the main character, Sainte Geneviève, tastes a piece of fruit left by a mourner. That one moment of human sensation basically changes everything for her, and she has to decide if she wants to stay a silent observer or actually try to live a human life.

It was interesting hearing about where the idea started. Lauren was visiting Paris as a student over twenty years ago and found herself really drawn to how intense and "unforgiving" the statues looked. That feeling stuck with her for two decades before it finally turned into this book.

We also got into some random, fun territory, like vintage My LIttle Pony toys, rescue doves, and how Bubo the mechanical owl from Clash of the Titans was a huge influence on her.

Great chat, great book! Thanks for listening.

Kyler