Here is a little about the book in case haven't heard of it already
I got Chelsey to answer questions about her book, her writing process, and share which book she most associates with summer.When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.
Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.
But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now
1. Twitter pitch Even In Paradise (140 characters or fewer)
Et in Arcadia ego. In light, dark. In greatness, tragedy. Fall in love w/ a girl, a boy, a family. #eveninparadise Oct. 2014
2. How would Charlotte describe Julia and Sebastian at the beginning of the novel?
Charlie sees the world with the perspective of an artist. She notices surface details—thumb-size holes in Julia’s sweater, a small scar through Sebastian’s eyebrow—but also understands the complex interiors beneath them. She would describe Julia and Sebastian as beautiful and fragile, golden and mysterious, vibrant and haunted.
3. Did you do anything specific for research purposes while writing Even In Paradise?
I undertake a lot of strange and wonderful things in the name of research for my articles and novels. For EIP, I read, traveled, and did all the other things you would expect an author to do while working on a book. But the most useful research I conducted was on myself.
While writing EIP, I went through boxes of dust-coated memories at my parents’ farm in New Hampshire. I worked my way through old yearbooks and stacks of high school papers, tests, and notes to make sure I was depicting boarding school life accurately. I read my old journals (a painful/embarrassing/illuminating experience) to help me remember the joys and depths of experiencing things for the first time.
EIP is not autobiography—I am not Charlie, Julia, Sebastian, or any other character—but it is informed by my memories.
4. What three things do you need while revising?
Coffee!
This hideous, too big, holey, old cashmere sweater I like to wear when I write. My college friends still threaten to burn it.
Early mornings and a window.
I know that’s four things, but sunrises and windows cannot be separated.
5. Your cover reminds me of summer. What book evokes the feeling of summer for you?
Stephen King’s The Stand. I’m not kidding.
The Stand was the first “huge,” “scary,” “adult” book I tackled on my own in junior high. I reread it at the beginning of every summer well into college. My copy is so water-stained and scarred from thunderstorms, backpacking trips, iced coffee spills, and unusual bookmarks that some pages are barely legible.
I don’t care. I’ll never get rid of it. For me, the shadow-filled, ominous, red cover of The Stand will always evoke memories of campfires, hammocks, hot days that lasted forever, and all the other joys of summer.
A big thanks to Chelsey for taking the time to answer these questions.
Here are the rest of the tour stops, so you can follow along. Plenty more interviews, guest posts, and reviews during the next two weeks. Be sure to check out my review tomorrow as well. I think it's the perfect cure for those end of summer blues.
October 13th: Kathy - A Glass Of Wine - Interview
October 14th: Siobhan - Conversations Of A Reading Addict - Review
October 15th: Emilie - Emilie’s Book World - Guest Post
October 16th: Ambur - Burning Impossibly Bright - Review
October 17th: Lily - Lily’s Book Blog - Interview/Character Interview
October 20th: Shilpa - SukasaReads - Review
October 21st: Sabrina - Hiver et Café - Top 5 or 10
October 22nd: Ciara - Lost At Midnight Reviews - Review
October 23rd: Meaghan - Feeling A Little Bookish - Interview/Character Interview
October 24th: Jess - Read My Breath Away - Review
If you want to order signed copies of Even In Paradise, Chelsey is working with a local bookstore to make that happen. Order from River Run Bookstore.
Order links - Harper Collins Canada // Chapters // Amazon // Kaleidoscope Books
Chelsey Philpot grew up on a farm in New Hampshire and now works as an editor and journalist. She's written for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Slate, and numerous other publications.
Like her main character, Charlotte, Chelsey attended boarding school in New England. You can visit her online at www.chelseyphilpot.com or on Twitter @ChelseyPhilpot.
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