Interview with Jennifer Salvato Doktorski of The Summer After You and Me~

 

I'm so happy to have Jennifer here today for an interview! She is the wonderful author of the beautiful book below which you should totally check out! My review can be found HERE!

 

 

The Summer After You and Me

by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

May 5, 2015

320 pages

Goodreads  Amazon  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it's not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor.

Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

Interview with Jennifer

1. Please tell us a little about your writing process.

As a young journalist, I once interviewed an artist who painted these enormous ceiling to floor city streetscapes. I was blown away by how beautiful and detailed they were. “Where do you begin a painting this big?” I asked her. Though I don’t remember her name, her answer has stuck with me for many years. “I start with something I love,” she said, “and the rest just seems to falls into place.” Whenever I begin a new novel, that’s the approach I take. I start with something I love—an idea, a character, a setting—and take it from there. I spend a lot of time on the opening sentence. Until I get that right, I can’t go on. From there, although I have a rough idea of where I’d like to go plot-wise, I consider myself a pantser. I wish I could be a plotter. I’m told by authors who have converted from being pantsers to plotters that it IS easier. But on first draft, I still pretty much work by the seat of my pants and see where my characters take me. It’s usually upon revision that I make notecards (large, colorful ones) or some other visual mockup of the all scenes—in order—and take a look at what’s working and what’s not.

2. In the Summer After You and Me, Luce's passion is marine biology, is that something you also share? What's something you're really passionate about?

 

When I was younger I dreamed about being a marine biologist/mammalogist and working with dolphins. I also thought about becoming a veterinarian. But then high school trig and calc happened and when I got to college I picked an English major over biology. But I’ve never stopped thinking that working with marine mammals is one of the coolest jobs on the planet. I’m passionate about everything beach-related—including wildlife and shore conservation—and animals in general. Through Lucy, I got to explore and research all kinds of sea life, from clams to osprey, and included these details in her junior thesis entitled: “What’s Love Got to Do with It? The Dating and Mating Habits of North American Sea Life. For months, I walked around with The National Audubon Society’s “Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.” I love this book! So yeah, that’s the long way of saying I share Luce’s passion. But I’m also very passionate about reading, writing, politics, and most of all my family.

 

3. What is one thing you hope a reader can take away from The Summer After You and Me?

I wanted to write a book that was set at the Jersey Shore during the summer after Superstorm Sandy to give readers a look at this very real place that I know and love and also to explore the themes of recovery, survival, and love. Ultimately, this book is about the love between two people, but it’s also about the love of a special place. I’m hoping that’s what readers take away.

 

4. Do you have anything new in the works that you can tell us about?

Right now I’m working on a middle grade series that I’m calling a cross between The Baby-Sitters Club and The Big Bang Theory. I also have several ideas for a new YA and I’m trying to decide which of those I’ll tackle first.

I love the idea of 'starting with something you love'! When you love something very much, ideas just swirl~ Thank you so much for being here today Jennifer!! I am very much looking forward to this The Baby Sitters Club cross The Big Bang Theory MG book!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski is the author of two YA  novels and is a freelance nonfiction writer. Her first paid writing gig was at The North Jersey Herald & News, where she wrote obituaries and began her lifelong love of news and coffee. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

Website  Author Goodreads