Do things go as planned?
Check out the authors Q&A below, and pre-order the novel ahead of its Feb. 12 releasehere.
HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN: So were interviewing ourselves for this cover reveal.
That seems fun because we text and email each other every day anyway.
Today this could give us some focus!
MEG WOLITZER: In fact, we wrote the first draft of this novel-in-emails-and-letters by sending each other emails.
I havent had that experience as a novelist before.
HGS: It was all an accident.
Like the person inventing chocolate chip cookies cutting up the candy bar and then thinking the pieces would melt.
We knew we wanted to work together on a book but we didnt know how.
My husband (also a writer) said, Just start by emailing each other.
He meant to say, …with characters, and an outline etc.. MW: I think we were pretty literal, and so our book became a novel in emails.
What if he had said, You and Meg should just send each other sempahor signals.
(Well, maybe our publishers would have had to adapt.)
HGS: So for months, we emailed each other daily as we told a story.
We started with two girls.
MW: One of the girls lives in New York City.
One lives blocks from the beach in Venice, California.
HGS: And they are now in a relationship.
A dating parent can be a nightmare for a kid.
They dont want to go.
And they vow to never, ever become friends.
MW: I seem to be drawn back to summer camp in my work a bit.
Though in my adult novel,The Interestings, that summer camp was of a very different sort.
It was the kind of place where the campers performed Brecht plays.
I went to such a place myself.)
Holly, I think we should address the question of the two main characters.
HGS: You start.
So we did initially write our emails to each other as those characters.
Which means that I feel as if I have Betts character inside of me just as much as Averys.
How about you, Holly?
Have you inhabited them both?
We are both each of these girls.
And we both wrote each of these girls.
The novel is about many things, including the idea of sharing, which was what we were doing.
We were sharing parts of ourselves and the creative process itself.
That requires a certain amount of trust.
One of the major themes in this novel is family.
The girls need to figure out what a family means.
What are the bonds that hold people together?
Are they legal, emotional, defined by blood?
When does the heart take over?
MW: And I think another one of the themes of the book turns out to be freedom.
This cover definitely reminded me of how it felt to write this book with you, Holly.
Its a lively, colorful cover.
I dont think theres a tattoo in my future, but maybe some stationery.
HGS:To Night Owl From Dogdishis about friendship.
Meg, you and I are great friends.
We make each other laugh.
Is there anything more you need in a true friend?
