Beachfront love blossoms in this refreshing summer romance, in the tradition of Sixteenth Summer and Seventeenth Summer.
Mandy Sullivan isn’t exactly looking forward to the summer months as tourists invade her seaside hometown on the coast of Maine. Her best friend, Cynthia, has abandoned her for camp and her older brother just announced he’ll be staying at college taking classes for the summer, leaving Mandy with nothing to do and no one to hang out with. Hoping to keep herself busy, Mandy takes a volunteer job at the Rocky Pointe Lighthouse. On her very first day, Oliver Farmingham asks for a private tour. A new—and incredibly cute—face in Rocky Pointe, Oliver seems more interested in Mandy than the lighthouse and its history.
Without her best friend at her side, Mandy is scrambling to act the right way and say the right things when Oliver is around. Cynthia—not Mandy—has always been the confident, flirtatious girl that everyone wanted to be around. As Mandy and Oliver spend more time together exploring the coast, biking through the woods, and attending the local summer festivals, their budding friendship becomes much more. But with Mandy’s insecurities creeping to the surface, can she open her heart to someone who will only be in town for three months?
What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
A few things percolated in my mind that seemed to go together. I’d been thinking about my time in Stonington, Maine (hoping to make a return trip!) and how the tiny fishing community expanded because of summer visitors. It occurred to me that some residents would find their little town too small, and others love it. Then I had houseguests who had never been to New York City. Their visit made me see my own city differently, the way Oliver changes Mandy’s perception of Rocky Point.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Oliver is SO my type, but I had a lot of fun writing Freaky Framingham. Not just writing the scenes he’s in, but also the way others viewed and talked about him.
Which came first, the title or the novel?
The novel.
What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Probably the scene by the river. It’s on this picnic that their relationship shifts. I wanted the reader to feel along with Mandy why Oliver might be the right boy for her. I worked hard to capture the sense of the place, along with the intimacy of their changing relationship. It needed to be subtle, delicate, and the environment had to reflect what was happening emotionally. I think maybe I managed it.
Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you've learned as a writer from then to now?
To write a REAL first draft. In other words, a draft that is a total mess and that no one but me will ever see. It lets me get the basic plot and ideas onto the page. I was an editor before I was a writer, so at the beginning, I’d get tripped up writing and rewriting sentences, trying to get each one perfect before moving on. That’s a very good way to NEVER finish!
What do you like most about the cover of the book?
I love the light – the cover really captures a specific time of day on the Maine coast.
What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2015?
I’ve been so busy I have no idea what’s coming up in 2015. I’m still trying to catch up with what I missed in 2014!
What was your favorite book in 2014?
It’s SO hard to pick!!!! But if I have to choose just one, I’d have to say David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing. It’s not just beautiful and heartbreaking and compassionate, he uses such an interesting storytelling approach.
What’s up next for you?
I just finished writing a really fun “choose-your-own-adventure” style book for Disney, based on an upcoming movie, which I’m not allowed to talk about yet! And I’m about to go back to writing a YA fantasy I’ve had in mind for a long time that I’m dying to finish. It’s based on an old Scottish folktale, so I get to combine my love of history and research with contemporary YA issues.
Is there anything that you would like to add?
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Michelle Dalton is one of the many names Carla Jablonski uses when writing. Her two YAs written as Carla Jablonski (published by Razorbill/Penguin), Thicker than Water and Silent Echoes, were included on the NYPL Books for the Teen Age list, and her graphic novel trilogy Resistance (illustrated by Leland Purvis, published by :01 Books) has won several awards, including the Sydney Taylor Silver Medal. In addition to writing novels she is an actor, playwright, and former trapeze artist. A native New Yorker, she is eternally grateful to her friends who invite her to their beach houses.
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