Sarah Ockler Interview

Sarah Ockler is the wonderful author of the upcoming Twenty Boy Summer. Sarah is also completely awesome and nice. Three cheers for Sarah!

In case you've been living in a hole and don't know about this fabulous book yet, here is the summary (from Amazon):

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

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And here is the interview:


1) Twenty Boy Summer still won't be released for a few months, but have you begun any preparations for the release?

I'm working on some events and party fun for June, especially local stuff here in Buffalo (come one, come all! The snow has finally melted!). But if you're asking about my mental preparations, well, um, fail! I go from being in denial that I actually have a real live book coming out to OMG-this-is-insane-freaking out that I have a book coming out -- all in the same hour. Chocolate helps, but otherwise, I'm wholly unprepared (and super excited) for the emotional roller coaster!

2) Why'd you pick the beach for the setting for the book? And why did you choose to feature seaglass so much? Is it because it is ~symbolic~ or did you put it in there before you realized it is ~symbolic~?

I set Twenty Boy Summer on the beach because I thought it would be harder for Anna and Frankie to carry out their summer boy-finding mission in a used tire lot or on top of Mt. Everest, which were the other top contenders for settings (pre-revision, of course). :-)

Actually, the beach setting was one of the first things I decided about the book, and it never changed. The connection with the ocean is paramount--the unending hugeness of it, and the way it's just so ancient and unchanged, even through its own tumultuousness, even as everything else in our lives collapses and rebuilds, over and over.

The sea glass element grew along with the story, both from my own love of sea glass and because it's just such a part of the ocean. In the story, Anna had never seen the ocean before her vacation with Frankie, but her friends would bring sea glass home for her in jars every summer after their trip.

For me, the sea glass in Twenty Boy Summer symbolizes both the ocean itself and the hearts of those impacted by the death in the book, shattered after tragedy, never again whole, but transformed over time and the unending ways of the universe into something that's still beautiful and unique.

Legend says that pieces of sea glass are the tears of a lovesick mermaid who was banished to the bottom of the ocean by King Neptune after she fell in love with a sea captain. Anna relates to this story through her own unrequited, impossible love for Matt, so the sea glass ties into that as well. Readers will probably find other symbolic meanings throughout the story, but I don't want to give too much away here! ;-)

3) You've already gotten a few comments about how awesome your book is, I've noticed. Do these comments make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Do they make you even more excited for the book to be out?

Both! I love hearing such positive reactions from readers because my goal in writing Twenty Boy Summer was to connect with people emotionally through Anna and Frankie's story, and the amazing comments have let me know that I've done that for those readers. And while hearing great reviews makes me more excited for the upcoming release, I also get super nervous, hoping that people who pick up the book because they've heard positive comments will enjoy it for themselves! Yes, it's a neurotic writer's life!

4) You're pretty active in the YA blogosphere. You even stalked Sharon and Laura. What do you think of we YA bloggers? Have we done anything that surprises you?

I think YA bloggers make excellent stalk-ees. :-) Seriously though, I love you guys. (We love you too Sarah.) Together, you've become an awesome resource for readers, especially since you all have different opinions and ideas and takes on the books that you review. What surprised me (in a good way) was the spirit of camaraderie that flows through all of your blogs. You could view yourselves as competitors, but instead, you promote and comment on each other's blogs and contests, swap books, do joint posts and videos together, share ideas. It's great for readers and authors because we can connect with one another and with you online through this incredible network of people who are super passionate about books, just like we are. It makes me so grateful and excited to be writing now (whoa, I almost said "nowadays" but that just makes me sound about as old as the wheel)!

In other words, you guys rock! *fangirls*

5) Did you always want to write for teens or did you just get luckythat your book turned out to be YA? ;D

I kind of snuck into YA fiction through the side door. :-) In 2003, I decided it was time to get serious about my writing (instead of just*daydreaming* about writing, which I'd totally perfected by then) and signed up for a memoir and essay class with Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver. At the time, I was doing a lot of journals, social commentary, and personal essay type stuff, so it was a good way to commit to writing without diving into a huge project like a book. But...

*insert movie announcer guy voice*

Everything changed when I submitted an essay about some *cough* trouble *cough* my BFF and I had gotten into when we were fifteen. My instructor thought I had a really strong young adult voice and asked me if I'd ever thought about writing for teens. I hadn't, but Lighthouse had a YA novel class starting up, so I decided to check it out. And then I never left -- I just kept re-enrolling each term! In the YA class, I found my voice. It was like angels singing or something (um, my literary voice, not my singing voice. You *don't*want to hear my singing voice -- so *not* like angels!). I wrote Twenty Boy Summer entirely through the workshop and other Lighthouse events, and I'll continue to write books about teens until I run out of ideas. Which will hopefully be never!

6) Are there any more YA books in store for you after Twenty Boy Summer? (If there isn't, I will riot and force you to write more. I'm sure some others will join me.)

I almost want to say no just to see what a YA blogger rebellion looks like! I mean, do you have capes and ninja masks and squirt guns and stuff? Or will this be more of a cyber riot? Hmmm...

Okay, no threats necessary. :-) I have another YA novel coming out in Spring or Summer of 2010 which is currently in revision. Once it's more finalized I'll start blabbing about it! I'm also working on a third novel, set in winter for a change. No sea glass there!

7) What are you most looking forward to about having Twenty Boy Summer being released?

I think seeing it on the shelf in the book store will just be the most amazing feeling. Like, hey, there's my book! Now it's really real! The publication process can be so long and windy that many of us lose sight of that most basic part of the dream.

I'm also looking forward to hearing from readers. I love love love hearing from readers!

8) Make up your own question and answer it! :D

Question: If your super awesome, fabulous, beautiful, intelligent readers decided to pitch in to send you on an all-expenses-paid trip to the destination of your choice, where would you go?

*Blushes* Aw, you guys are too kind! I would without hesitation go to Egypt. I've been fascinated with that area of the world since I was a kid and my grandmother brought me back an Egyptian doll and slides of the Pyramids at Giza from her own trip in the late 70s. So, you know, make checks payable to Sarah Ockler... ;-) Seriously, though, I hope to be able to travel there some time in the next few years. Now that I've published a book, going to Egypt is my next big dream!

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Thank you so much Sarah! You rock and so does your interview. *fangirls*

Has anyone else noticed that the 2009 Debs are really good at interviews?

Twenty Boy Summer sadly won't be out until June 1, but until then you can check out Sarah's website/blog here, and stalk her on Twitter here.