Spotlight on Sarah Ockler

Today I am pleased to have Sarah Ockler in the spotlight! Sarah is the author of this month's YA release, Twenty Boy Summer.

S: In Twenty Boy Summer, Anna secretly dates her best friend Frankie's brother. Have you ever dated a friend's sibling or dated someone in secret?

SO: I've never dated a friend's sibling, although my childhood BFF is freaking out a little bit after reading Twenty Boy Summer and jumping to that conclusion! ;-) I did however date my current husband in secret for a while! Secrets are kind of fun. ;-)

S: Loss of a loved one seems to be a trend in recent YA literature. What advice would you give to your readers if they are dealing with a personal loss?

SO: I don't feel like I can well advise anyone dealing with a loss as deep and tragic as the death of a loved one or close friend, because everyone's grief is so different and personal. But I do think it's important to know that you're not alone and that no matter what our fast food, get-over-it culture might dictate, it's okay to talk about and remember the person you've lost for... well, for always. There are no time limits on grief and the "appropriate" time for moving on simply doesn't exist.

S: What part of the writing process do you get most excited about?

SO: I really love coming up with new ideas, because it's always fun and exciting to work on a fresh and limitless blank page. But I think the part I get most excited about is the revision process, because it's in revising that the truest core of the story comes through, stripping

away the excess to reveal the jewel of a book beneath. At least, that's the *goal* of revision, anyway. ;-) But whether I'm revising for an early agent draft or alongside an editorial letter, I find that revision is when I finally figure out what the book is *really* about, and it's a great moment.

Fill in the blanks:

The most embarrassing fad I participated in as a teenager was definitely a tie between turning my hair orange with Sun-In and safety pinning my pants from the ankle to mid-thigh. Back then, the more pins the better. I cringe to remember the feeling of sitting down and hearing the dull snap of a pin popping open, stabbing my in the leg!

The fairy tale character I am most like is the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" I also have a bit of the Mad Hatter in me. And today just happens to be my Unbirthday!

If you were stranded on a desert island, you'd want to be sure to have a copy of Twenty Boy Summer with you because then I could set up a stage among the palm trees and act out the book as a play, taking turns playing each individual role with different voices and palm leaves and sticks for costumes and props. That ought to stave off the going-crazy-from-isolation thing for at least a few weeks, right?

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, Sarah!

To find more information about Sarah, check out her website.

To read my review of Twenty Boy Summer, check out my thoughts here.