Today we have with us author, Sarah Ockler! Her debut novel, 20 Boy Summer was released.. TODAY! If you don't already own a copy, consider yourself deprived. It was such an amazing debut, you have to go out to the stores and get yourself a copy...NOW! Also, if you stay tuned, Sarah and manager, Alice Morley have been so kind as to offer FIVE copies to FIVE lucky commenters!
Are you working on anything new right now? If so can we get a sneak peak if not can we get a peak at Twenty Boy Summer?
Fixing Delilah Hannaford (Spring 2010)
Excerpt #2
"I trace a bead of leftover rain as it races along the passenger window, my breath fogging the glass around my finger. Sometimes I think about telling Mom how much I miss her. How I hate coming home alone every afternoon, turning on the television just to pretend there’s company. All those dinners at the big dining room table, chairs empty, invisible guests eating invisible soup and drinking made-up wine in my head. I want to shake her and scream and tell her that the god damn plants in the foyer know more about my life than she does; that I’d be willing to strike a single match and raze the whole place to the ground if it meant we could start over."
Go HERE to finish reading.
Ohh.. I’m excited. It sounds like it's going to be as good, if not better than Twenty Boy Summer.
I like to start out my days with a laugh. Soo… What makes you literally LOL?
Anything featuring cute baby animals set to funny music, especially if they're fat or fluffy baby animals like piglets or hippos or polar bears. I also love corny jokes. Seriously, I can't get enough of them, even if I'm the only one laughing. My husband Alex always makes me laugh, too, either by making faces or inventing dance moves or just being an all around goofball. I'm with you, though -- I love starting out my days with a laugh!
Laughing people, UNITE! lol
Has anything AMAZING happened to you as a writer so far? (Other than getting published?)
I think I've been on this high of AMAZING ever since the book deal happened in 2007! It really seems like every day gets even better -- things like meeting my agent, editor, and the rest of the team working so hard on my book; seeing the final cover grown from the early concepts; getting reviews; and meeting and hearing from so many readers and bloggers. That's truly been an unexpected bundle of amazing!
How about something EMBARRASSING?
Nothing yet. I plan on saving up all of my embarrassment karma for something *really* mortifying, like choking on a cherry tomato during an author dinner and having it fly out of my throat only to land with a splash in the soup of someone important... or having a wardrobe malfunction during a live televised interview. :-o
What/Who inspired you to become a writer?
You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? My writing inspiration is kind of like that. So here's the multi-part answer.
1. Mom and Dad. When I was 6, I wrote book about the movie, E.T. Actually I just pretty much wrote out a plot summary of the movie and added in some alien drawings. My teacher loved it, I got to read it to the whole first grade in the library media center, and I got an A+++! But when I rushed home to beg Mom to find me a publisher, I got the copyright infringement talk, and she and my Dad encouraged me to try writing my own stuff. So, I did!
2. High school. I hated it! Most of the time, my journal was the only one who would listen. Because of that, I got into the habit of constantly observing everything around me and recording it in detail on the page, along with my feelings and hopes and dreams and fears. Those habits eventually gave way to storytelling.
3. Alex, my husband. One of the first times Alex and I hung out, he asked me if I was a writer. He saw it in me -- the way I wrote emails, the stories I told, the way I'd get so excited to talk about writing or books. Years later, when I was struggling with a full time job, graduate school, and trying to finish Twenty Boy Summer, wondering whether business school was the right path for me, Alex reminded me with a simple phrase: "You're a writer." Sounds simple, but I needed to hear it. I got off the corporate treadmill and finished my book. And now, whenever I' m struggling or doubting myself, Alex reminds me (he also accepts my writerly neurosis. It's not easy living with us writers!)!
4. Mike Henry. Mike is a fellow writer and the co-founder of Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, where in 2003 I took my first official writing and critique workshop. I submitted an essay for Mike's class about some trouble my BFF and I got into when we were 15. After the critique, he told me that the piece had a strong teen voice and asked if I'd ever considered writing for young adults. I hadn't, but Lighthouse had a YA novel class starting up, so I decided to give it a try. Turns out Mike was onto something. Through the YA classes, I wrote Twenty Boy Summer.
5. Sarah Dessen. Through the Lighthouse YA novel class, I began to study contemporary YA authors such as Laurie Halse Anderson and Deb Caletti. I was in the bookstore picking up YA reads for our next discussion when I spotted Sarah Dessen's HOW TO DEAL (the movie tie-in version for THAT SUMMER and SOMEONE LIKE YOU). I decided to buy it with the others and after I read it, I returned to the store to get the rest of Sarah's backlist. It was like reading her stories turned on the lightbulb and I knew that I wanted to -- that I was born to -- write stories for teens.
Sarah Dessen, is definitely a favorite of mine!
What would you do/be if you were not an author?
I would probably wander around in my PJs all day with dirty-sticky-outtie hair, alternately crying and eating chocolate and/or guaca mole, lamenting about the good ol' days, because published author or not, *not* writing is just *not* an option for me!
How do you associate with your fans? Are there any who’ve made a strong impression on you that you can’t forget?
I love connecting with fans, online and off! Since I can't be everywhere at once, online has been the easiest way for me to meet and chat with readers, either through email, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace. I love it. I love hearing from bloggers and readers -- not just about Twenty Boy Summer, but about other books they love and the reasons they love reading.
In addition to all of the YA book blogger friends I've made online -- whom I can't name individually because it would take about 20 pages! -- one fan who made a huge impression on me early on was an 8th grade honors student who contacted me to do a book report on Twenty Boy Summer. She'd read an ARC and loved the book so much that she wanted to do her project on it. I was so touched! We did an interview, and then she sent me pictures of her final project which included drawings and other things she'd designed to reflect the themes in the book. I really was blown away. I mean, Twenty Boy Summer wasn't even on the shelves yet and she was already so excited. It touched me beyond belief! She was the first fan to contact me outside of blogger reviewers and I know I'll always remember her. :-)
Who’s your best friend? How long have you guys (gals) been friends?
My best friend in the whole wide world is my husband, Alex. We've been friends for more than ten years, and it's even better now that we're married. I love him AND I like him. <3 style="font-weight: bold;">
What’s a typical day like, when you’re not writing?
I've been writing full time since December of 2007. As I'm still learning (*grin*), being a full time writer is a lot more than just writing. There's a lot of administration involved, like tracking receipts for tax purposes, managing blog and Web content, communicating with my editor and agent, reading for research, keeping up with the YA market, attending classes or reading about the craft of writing. So typical days include a little bit of everything! When I'm not doing any writing or writing-related work, I like to wander around my neighborhood with my husband (he's self-employed, too!), check out new restaurants, cook, take pictures, and read -- just for fun. I also like to hike and camp, and now that summer is here, I'm looking forward to having more "typical" days outside!
What's a weakness of yours?
Procrastination. Social networking. And chocolate. In no particular order. At least 2 out of the 3 have thrown me off track more than once! If anyone ever invents a social networking site where you exchange chocolate and chocolate recipes, I'm doomed!
What is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet right now?
With all that talk about chocolate, I should probably say something with an elastic waist band. But it's actually my yellow Black Dog hoodie. So comfy. So cute. And an adorable dog appliqué right on the front. I also have this cute little black and white polka dot dress that I love, but I don't wear it that often.
Look at the picture, so cute
What could you eat all day long and never grow tired of?
Navratan Korma from India Gate, this awesome Indian place in my neighborhood. One time I even asked them if there was an Indian spice market around here and they gave me the info, but not before making sure I understood what a difficult art Indian cooking is and that I probably don't want to stop calling India Gate anytime soon. I know they're right. That stuff is so good I swear I could live on the sauce alone.
What’s your favorite fairytale? Have you ever thought of re-doing it?
I loved the original fairytale, "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, which isn't the same as Disney's version! :-) It's much more violent and heartbreaking. I've thought about writing a modern mermaid story, but I've never tried to actually redo a fairytale. Maybe I'll think of a new twist... and then you’ll get a shout out in the acknowledgments for putting the idea in my head! :-)
That would be way cool. Now you totally have to do a twisted Sarah Ockler “The Little Mermaid” version, just for me and my readers for coming up with the question. =)
When you get stuck writing, how do you unglue yourself?
I used to just put the writing aside until inspiration struck again, which could b e weeks or months, but now that I have book contracts, I have actual deadlines and they don't allow me to wait around for the muse! So when I get stuck now, I usually try to work on another scene or on another project. I'm in an interesting position now because Twenty Boy Summer is launching, so I'm working on marketing that, and I'm also revising my second book and working on a third. So I bounce around between the three projects and so far, that's helped me avoid getting *too* stuck in one spot!
I usually bounce between sentences and paragraphs when writing papers also. It’s almost as though I always save the first and last paragraph for last.
Which character from Twenty Boy Summer do you relate to the most?
Definitely Anna. I was a lot like her when I was a teen -- really smart and introspective, but shy and not all that confident, especially with boys. I had her quiet sarcasm, too. But I wasn't as good at managing hyper-outgoing-borderline-obnoxious people like Frankie! Anna was so loyal to their friendship that even as Frankie changed after her brother's death, Anna never really gave up hope that things could get better. I don't know if I would have been as patient or as forgiving, but then, there are things about Frankie I relate to as well. The things she does for attention and love, even though they're not the best choices -- I get that, too.
If Twenty Boy Summer were to become a movie, who’d you like to play the main characters?
This is a *really* tough question for me because I don't have a TV. That means I don't know much about current teen actors and actresses, as evidenced by my first thought, which was "Drew Barrymore as Anna Reiley, of course!" And then I remembered that Drew is my age. I mean, she looks hot and everything, but I don't think she could pass for 16. So is it totally unfair if I turn this around and ask the readers for their suggestions? LOL So what do you guys think?
I pretty much stopped reading this answer after the first sentence. Shame on you, how could you NOT have a TV? Maybe the chick from Unfabulous? I totally forgot her name and am too lazy to google it.
Can you relate your book title, Twenty Boy Summer to your life in some way?
*Blushes* umm... yes. Okay. So when I was 15, my BFF and I decided to have a contest to see who could kiss the most boys that summer. I won, 20 to 17. I know that sounds totally crazy and gross, but we were a little nuts back then! Anyway, it wasn't *exactly* the kind of thing Frankie cooks up for Anna in Twenty Boy Summer, and the story in the book is fictional, but the title itself was inspired by true events. :-)
Haha. Bad, Bad Sarah.
What’s your favorite book?
My favorite book is On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
Where’s your favorite pace to travel?
I really really *really* want to go to Egypt, and have been fascinated with the idea since I was a kid, but in terms of places I've already experienced, my favorite is the southwestern U.S. My husband and I did this crazy fun road trip a couple of years ago through Colorado, Utah, Grand Canyon, Arizona and New Mexico. It was just breathtaking and amazing. This country has so many natural wonders to experience and I've been lucky to see many of them with Alex.
I'm still holding out for Egypt, though. Soon I hope!
Which character, from Twenty Boy Summer, do you like the most?
LOL this reminds me of when I used to ask my mom which of her 3 kids she liked best! "I love you all equally," she'd lie. ;-)
I love Anna Reiley, the main character, because I spent so much time getting to know her and getting inside her head. But she gets the spotlight, so I want to talk about another character... Frankie's Mom, Aunt Jayne. We don't get to know her too much in the book, but she's so important in the girls' lives, and she's such a complex person. She suffered the death of her son -- her oldest child -- and still struggles with it throughout the book. At times she seems totally absent from Frankie's life, but she loves her daughter fiercely, even if she's not as involved or aware as Frankie wants her to be. She was a challenging character to write, because I was writing her not from her own perspective (where the grief of losing a child would be more raw and immediate and almost unbearable), but from that of Anna, who could only imagine what Jayne endured from her own limited observations. We're not in Aunt Jayne's head in the book, so like Anna, we're all just observing and imaging.
Anything else you would like to share with us?
After the kissing twenty boys thing, I think I've shared *too* much for one day! LOL
Seriously though... I just wanted to say thank you for hosting me on Starry Night, and especially for reading Twenty Boy Summer and being so excited about it! Hearing from fans and reviewers who enjoyed the book has been the most rewarding part of publication for me, and I look forward to chatting with you again soon! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! :-)
You were a pleasure to have Sarah. Wishing you more success with your future writings!
Be sure to friend Sarah on Myspace and visit her at the blog.
CONTEST TIME
Deadline: June 14. 11:59 California Time
Who: US and Canada only ** no PO Boxes please. thanks.
+1 Leave a comment answering one of the interview questions
+1 Spread the word about the contest
+1 Tell me who/where you heard about this contest
+1 If someone heard about the contest from you
+1 If you answer question number 16, about 20 Boy Summer becoming a movie
Go HERE to read my review of Twenty Boy Summer
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