Archive for July 10th, 2010

FOR ADOPTION: Adorable, energetic Jack Russell free to a loving home. Previous owner could no longer meet his needs, which include lots of exercise and attention. But those willing to give him these will be rewarded with unswerving loyalty and love…

Noelle Ryan works as a veterinary technician at a New England animal shelter, helping pets find the perfect homes. If only it were as easy to find the same thing for herself. After discovering that she can’t have children—and watching her marriage fall apart after a shocking revelation by her husband—Noelle feels as forlorn and abandoned as the strays she rescues.

She can’t seem to get over her ex, Jay. Unfortunately, all Jay wants from her is a whopper of a favor: serving as a caretaker for his elderly mother, who still blames Noelle for the breakup. While Jay heads off to Atlanta to live the life of a bachelor, Noelle is left with only her Great Dane, Zeke, to comfort her. But when a carefree musician named Jasper gives her a second chance at life—and at love—Noelle comes to realize that home is truly where the heart is.

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Amanda Howells’ book The Summer of Skinny Dipping has a well deserved spot on our Top 10 Summer Reads 2010 list. It was one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it and when I found out about the opportunity to interview Amanda I jumped at it! Take a minute to get to know a little more about Amanda’s debut novel and also some exclusive info about the author you won’t have seen anywhere else! Enjoy!

1. Tell our readers your version of what The Summer of Skinny Dipping is about.

It’s interesting to me that I can answer this question differently every time it’s asked. I guess the book is about several things, one of which is something I have a very hard time with: living in the moment. My main character, Mia, is a very analytical 16-year-old girl who thinks she has everyone and everything figured out in advance. But over the course of a single summer she discovers that life—and love—is rarely predictable, and happiness is fleeting so you must make the most of it and live fully in the present.

2. Mia’s relationships with all the different characters in the book are what make the book so dynamic. How did you create such a diverse setting?

I knew at the outset that I wanted the various characters in the book to shed layers as the story progressed and that even the minor characters needed to evolve in surprising ways. This is in part because a key theme of the story is how appearances can be deceptive. The story is entirely fiction but there are echoes of me in Mia: when I was a teenager I thought I had my parents and everyone else all figured out, but part of growing up is realizing that your perception of people is rarely, if ever, the truth of who they are.

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