A Crown of Wishes Is the Epic Fantasy Novel You’ve Been Waiting For

B+C: Why do you think so many of us are overthinking things, especially in the age of modern social media?

Amanda Montell: I decided to title the book The Age of Magical Overthinking because I couldn't help but notice that there just seems to be an inexplicable, excessive [amount of] delulu in the culture despite the fact we're living in the so-called information age. Everything from people with Master's degrees basing their genuine decisions on astrology to, you know, my neighbors opting not to get the Covid vaccine because a TikToker — a like, white girlie with a Bindi — told them it would downgrade their DNA.

Stuff like that didn't seem to check out for me, especially since we're ostensibly living in a time when you can fact check anything with the click of a button. I was like, 'What is going on here,' and as it turns out, what is going on is this innate clash between our innate decision-making shortcuts — the processes by which we always jump to conclusions in order to make quick decisions to make sense of the world enough to survive it. There's a clash between those age old decision-making methods called cognitive biases and the information age in a way that is ending up pretty explosive for society at large...and is causing us a great deal of existential pain.

So, magical thinking — or the idea that our internal thoughts can affect external events — is a human quirk that has been around since the dawn of our species. But I think overthinking is really a product of the modern age or result of this capitalistic pressure to be right about everything under the sun...

B+C: How do you think this is impacting the way we interact with each other?

Amanda Montell: There's a lot going on. We need to interact in person in order to have empathy...to establish the social glue that keeps us from getting into extremely fraud and sometimes violent ideological conflict. I think there's the idea that the internet is causing ideological rifts to widen and I think in a way that's true, but what's more problematic is the fact we are engaging in social discourse in a medium that prevents that empathy from holding us together.

I think almost everyone can relate to the experience of receiving a curt email from a boss or receiving a salty Instagram comment that sends us into fight or flight. We're responding to non-threats — these sort of abstract disagreements or fake problems — that we're projecting panic onto.

B+C: Can you break down the halo effect for our readers?

Amanda Montell: It was so much fun to explore this particular cognitive bias early in the book because I felt like it really would set up the whole thesis of it quite well. Basically the halo effect is this penchant admire one quality in a person — their fashion sense, their intelligence, the way they blend an oat milk latte — and then assume they must be perfect overall. This halo effect connects to the ways ancient humans used to find role models for survival purposes in our communities.

Ages ago, you used to clock someone in your small village with big muscles...and figure, 'Oh they must be a skilled hunter or they've avoided disfigurement from battle. I would love to align myself with this person for survival,' even though you're jumping to conclusions about them. Their big muscles might not necessarily indicate that they're skilled in battle or they're a good hunter, but it's an efficient enough decision to make.

We're not mapping that conclusion jumping onto modern parasocial relationships. We see a pop star whose music we really connect to and assume they must be educated, worldly, nurturing, they're political beliefs align with ours in this particular time when we're losing so much trust in the government...Basically since the Regan era — our first celebrity President — celebrities have really started swerving into other aspects of life (spiritual, political, etc.,)...

Rapid Fire Q&A

B+C: What are some some of the things you're currently obsessing over?

Amanda Montell: That's so funny you asked that because on this new podcast — The Magical Overthinkers — I also am opening every episode by asking 'What's an irrational thought spiral that's living rent-free in your head?'

I am totally overthinking my book tour outfits right now. Speaking of consumerism as like a distracting or numbing exercise, launching a book is very stressful and the one thing that made me feel some sense of relief is just shopping for cute outfits. I've been buying a lot of plaid skirt suits. The vibe is definitely 90s nostalgic, a little dark academia meets cochette.

B+C: If you were to give yourself five days to unplug from social media, how would you spend your time?

Amanda Montell: Great question. You know what? I'm setting up a week like this for myself in May after the book tour stuff dies down. After my last book Cultish came out, I was unwell in the mind. I felt so exposed and so fragile. I was like, 'I need to send myself on some kind of retreat,' so I sent myself on this little solo excursion to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina and it was so healing...I went and lived in an Airstream for a couple of days. I was doing nature walks and lying in a hammock journaling...

The Age of Magical Overthinking

Watch the Full Interview with Amanda Montell:

As a viewer, there are more than a few moments that got a visceral reaction from me — including a conversation about the TK Maxx Subreddit. And when I bring it up during our conversation, Nicola Coughlan laughs as though she's never heard the joke before. (That's just how good the scripts are — no matter how many times I hear the lines, I still laugh!)

"I'm a TikTok girlie, even though I hate to say it, but I get lost in deep rabbit holes," Nicola says. "Just like stuff that's, like, none of my business. They're like, a 50-part story about this woman whose husband cheated on [her], I'm like, 'Get me in.'"

While Maggie prefers to get her news from Reddit, I have to ask the Bridgerton actress (who plays Penelope Featherington in the hit series) what Maggie and Eddie would say if they published their own version of Lady Whistledown's Society Papers.

"[Maggie] would destroy Will because she just hates Will, who's like the nicest man," Nicola says. She just hates his very presence, [but] Rob Gilbert who plays him, I actually adore Rob. But it's very fun to like take him down. She'd destroy Jonah. Eddie would hype up the bar maybe."

"Eddie would just talk about how great [the bar] Wet Mouth is," Lydia agrees. "And how it has a great basement and it's not rat invested and she would then, I think, try and give the papers to some sort of potential investor to invest and be like 'This is actually a magazine article of how good our bar is.'"

While the show is hilarious and heartfelt, celebrating the joys and struggles of female friendships, it doesn't shy away from themes of mental health. I was taken aback by how raw and unfiltered Maggie's experience with bipolar disorder is, and Nicola Coughlan feels the same way.

"It's so deeply woven into the show in such a seamless way, and it's a testament to how incredible a writer Camilla [Whitehill] is," Nicola says. "The depressive periods that Maggie has, when we were on set, so many of the crew would even be like, 'This has been me,' you know, like that's very relatable. But the mania was something that I didn't really understand."

"I've known people in the past who've had bipolar disorder but trying to get in the headspace of someone that would go from the highest of highs and lows of lows imagining how unbelievably difficult that is and debilitating it is," she continues. "That was a big learning curve for me."

Rapid Fire With "Big Mood" Stars Nicola Coughlan And Lydia West

Brit + Co: This show is called Big Mood — what's something that always puts you in a *good* mood?

Lydia West: Ice cream!

Nicola Coughlan: Trash TV.

Brit + Co: What is your onset must-have?

Lydia West: A candle in my trailer.

Nicola Coughlan: A cozy place to have a little rest.

Brit + Co: What's on your summer 2024 bucket list?

Lydia West: I really want to go to Japan. I don't know if I will be able to with a small baby. I'm going to try it.

Nicola Coughlan: He's a chill guy, he's in New York. He's an international traveler, he can do everything! I want to hug Lydia's baby. Literally, that's all I can think about all day. I'm like, this is fun and everything but give me the baby.

Brit + Co: When was the last time you canceled plans?

Lydia West: I love to cancel plans. I always make a plan and I'm like, 'I don't want to do this.' I've tried to do it a lot less now, like, set boundaries of 'I actually don't want to have a plan this day.' So I was really good because everyone's planning dinners and stuff in New York and I was like, 'I'm gonna be so tired. I've got a small baby. I'm not coming,' and that was good for me because I would have canceled. It's actually okay to cancel plans.

Where can I watch Big Mood in the US?

You can stream Big Mood on Tubi starting April 19, 2024.

Literary References In The Tortured Poets Department

Down Bad — "Did You Take All My Old Clothes, Just To Leave Me Here, Naked And Alone"

While "Down Bad" feels like a reference to aliens, it's also reminding us of the story of Adam and Eve, who were left naked in the Garden of Eden after eating the Fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The "experiments" Taylor Swift references in the first verse (plus the "Fortnight" music video) are also giving Mary Shelley/Frankenstein!

So Long, London — "You Left Me At The House By The Heath"

Hampstead Heath is a beautiful area of London that reportedly inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Chronicles of Narnia in the late 30s and early 40s. As Narnia's self-proclaimed biggest fan, I'm totally claiming this indirect literary reference, especially since the Pevensies have to stay at the Professor's house when they're evacuated from London.

I Hate It Here — "I Hate It Here So I Will Go To Secret Gardens In My Mind People Need A Key To Get To"

This Taylor Swift song is all about wishing she was somewhere else during an early period of her life, and referencing The Secret Garden makes total sense. In the book, lead character Mary has to access the Secret Garden to discover the hope, joy, and healing she's lost.

thanK you aIMee — "I Pushed Each Boulder Up The Hill"

This seems to be another Greek mythology reference, this time to Sisyphus. He was forced by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill — and then do it again when it rolled back down. Considering this song seems to reference Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and the drama that led to Reputation, it feels like a reference to the feud that rears its head over and over again.

Cassandra — "So They Killed Cassandra First Cause She Feared The Worst And Tried To Tell The Town"

In Greek mythology, Cassandra (whose name means "she who entangles men," FYI) was a beautiful woman, and princess of Troy. The god Apollo falls in love with her, and gives her the power of prophecy — that is, until she rejects him and he turns the gift into a curse where no one believes her anymore.

The Bolter — "She Fell Through The Ice, Then Came Out Alive"

This is another indirect literary reference I'm claiming that totally reminds me of Amy March from Little Women. Amy falls through the ice when the March sisters are all children living in Massachusetts. Fans have historically hated her character, which is tied to the "A curious child, ever reviled // By everyone except her own father" lyric.

Movie References In Taylor Swift's New Album

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys — "I Felt More When We Played Pretend Than With All The Kens"

The internet has claimed Taylor Swift as the real-world version of Barbie, and after last year's blockbuster hit (and Taylor referencing Ken in "Hits Different") we get another nod to our favorite doll. Plus, this song reminds me of Syd from Toy Story destroying his toys, and "he was my best friend down at the sandlot" got me thinking about The Sandlot. So many movie references, so little time!

Guilty As Sin? — "How Can I Be Guilty As Sin?"

Taylor Swift wrote "Carolina" for the book-to-movie adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing. In "Carolina," she sings that Kya's community has "said that I was guilty as sin and sleep in a liar’s bed.”

More Pop Culture References

• The Tortured Poets Department — Taylor Swift mentions poet & writer Dylan Thomas, singer-songwriter & poet Patti Smith, and American singer Charlie Puth, boygenius singer Lucy Dacus, producer Jack Antonoff.
• But Daddy I Love Him — This is a line in both The Little Mermaid and The Notebook.
• Florida!!! — Florence Welch is featured on this song, which mentions a hurricane. Florence + The Machine has a song titled "Hurricane Love."
• Guilty As Sin? — Taylor also references "The Downtown Lights" by The Blue Nile, as well as the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus in The Bible.
• Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me — Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf revolves around a bitter and aging couple who weaponize the youth of their guests against one another.
• loml — "The coward claimed he was a lion" is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, while "Mr. Steal Your Girl" is a Trey Songz track.
• I Can Do It With A Broken Heart — This whole song is about Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
• The Alchemy + The Prophecy — In Taylor Swift's TIME interview, she references Harry Potter, which has huge themes around alchemy and prophecies.
• Clara Bow — This song references Clara Bow, Stevie Nicks, and Taylor herself!
• So High School — Taylor Swift Mentions video game Grand Theft Auto, Artistotle, and American Pie. She also mentions games like Kiss Marry Kill, Truth or Dare, and Spin the Bottle