There’s this glorious time before I start writing a novel that I call the “incubation period”. It starts when I first have that wonderful lightning flash of an idea for a story and ends when I finally, crack my knuckles and sit down to write the opening line. Between then, the idea needs to be “fed” and I do this by reading books and watching films and TV shows related to the novel’s themes. This is my favorite part of the writing process – stuffing my idea with other people’s stories, like it’s a foie gras goose – until my story’s ready to be written. Researching WHEN WE WERE FRIENDS was one of my favorite incubation periods because it involved researching my favorite topics – female friendship and feminism. Here are the main inspirations that shaped Fern and Jessica’s tale.   The Robber Bridge, Margaret Atwood There’s a time in every woman’s life when they stumble across Atwood’s quote about the male gaze and feel totally shaken for at least two days afterward by its disturbing accuracy. For those of you who haven’t read it, here is the quote. Sit down. Prepare yourself. “Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run…