Teenreads.com -- Author Profile: Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and attended UNC-Chapel Hill, graduating with highest honors in Creative Writing. She is the author of nine acclaimed novels, including JUST LISTEN, which spent a total of 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her first two books, THAT SUMMER and SOMEONE LIKE YOU, were the basis for the movie How to Deal starring Mandy Moore. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her family.

Visit her website at www.sarahdessen.com or check out her blog at: http://www.livejournal.com/users/writergrl/.

May 2008

Sarah Dessen is the author of eight novels for teens, including SOMEONE LIKE YOU, KEEPING THE MOON, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, JUST LISTEN and the newly released LOCK AND KEY. In this interview with Teenreads.com's Amy Alessio, Dessen describes what makes the protagonist of her latest work of fiction different from her others, and discusses the ideas of home and family that she presents in the book. She also explains how her Southern roots have affected her writing, how she deals with criticism and rejection, and --- in the absence of sequels --- how she envisions her characters after their stories have ended.

Teenreads.com: Smart, independent teens star in all of your books, though they may struggle with big issues. Ruby from LOCK AND KEY is afraid to depend upon anyone and can't define who her family is. What was your inspiration for this particular novel? What did you enjoy most about creating Ruby and her story?

Sarah Dessen: In my previous books, the narrators have usually been girls from upper-middle class families, living in suburban neighborhoods. This time, I was interested in exploring a different kind of girl, someone who came into that world from somewhere else. There are so many books out there these days about regular girls who suddenly become celebrities, or princesses; this idea of a Dream Come True. I was curious to explore a girl who suddenly got everything you'd think she'd want --- a big new house, money, a fancy school --- and wasn't sure how to handle it.

TRC: The supporting players are as colorful as your main characters. Gervais, the obnoxious young genius who carpools with Nate and Ruby, is memorable in every way and provides lots of fun surprises in the story. When you begin working on your books, how do you plan the cast of characters?

SD: When I begin, I usually have only the narrator and the most important secondary characters --- Cora, Jamie and Ruby's mom, in this case --- in my mind. I like to give myself a little leeway with the rest, just to see what develops. What's funny about Gervais is that I'd written another book, which never got past draft form, where he played a small but somewhat important role. So when I needed a good character for the carpool, he just popped into mind. I was so happy to finally get to use him!

TRC: Many of your books have realistic and affecting themes. In LOCK AND KEY, parental abandonment and abuse affect many characters. What do you hope readers who may be experiencing similar struggles can find in your books? What do you think readers who are lucky enough not to be similarly challenged will take away from your stories?

SD: The main idea behind LOCK AND KEY, for me, is that family isn't any one thing. Just because you don't have a standard Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister setup doesn't mean you can't have the support and love and history that we associate with being part of a bigger group. So I'd hope that readers, no matter what situtation they find themselves in, and what home means to them, would find that you can create a family just about anywhere, whether it be with relatives or friends or anyone.

TRC: Jamie's obsession with the pond he builds in his yard is a fun thread in the story. Where did this idea come from?

SD: My husband was building a pond in our yard right before I began the book. It was incredibly hot and I'd see him out there, digging away, and I was sure he was going to collapse. But it was amazing to watch this entire little world --- fish, plants, and then baby fish --- grow from where there had once been nothing. I can see it right from my office window, so it gave me a lot of inspiration while I was writing.

TRC: You have lived most of your life in North Carolina. You mention on your website that you are reading Anne Tyler, a writer with a strong Southern voice and skilled, powerful themes of personal struggle and hope. Ruby reminds me a bit of Ian from Tyler's SAINT MAYBE (one of my favorite books), in that she accepts her life and tries to make the best of it. Your themes are similar. Do you think your life in the South has affected the style of your writing and your themes? Are there other Southern writers you enjoy?

SD: First off, I have to say how much I LOVE and admire Anne Tyler, so that is high praise. Thank you! In college, I was lucky enough to take classes with three other incredible Southern women writers whose work I adored: Doris Betts, Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle. So I would not be surprised if the Southern style rubbed off on me a bit. While I do aim for my books to take place anywhere, I think a lot of the Southern sensibility creeps in. There's an open quality, and instant friendliness, to many of my characters that I think is uniquely Southern.

TRC: Ruby struggles with wanting to know how to help others. It was so hard for her to accept help from Cora and Jamie after being on her own. When she has a friend who badly needs help, she does not know what to do, a realistic situation for many people. If someone had a good friend in a dangerous situation, what could he/she do to be supportive?

SD: I think the best thing is to just try to talk to the person about what they're going through, as well as encourage them to talk to others. I hear from a lot of girls via my website who are having problems and want advice, and I always tell them to talk to someone they trust: their parents, a teacher, a friend, a clergyperson. Often just the act of opening up to someone --- and finding someone to listen --- is the hardest part.

TRC: You have said that you are still friends with some people you knew in high school, and that helps you to draw new stories from past experiences. What feedback do you receive from them about your young adult books?

SD: It's a bit of a different experience for them, I think, reading the books, because there's so much they recognize. I don't use much of my own high school life for plotlines, but in settings and occasionally, secondary characters, I'll draw from my own history. So my friends will often notice certain places and people and know who or where I'm talking about. The best response, though, is the same one I love to get from other readers, which is that the books ring true to them. It's the highest compliment.

TRC: You also refer to Lois Lowry and Judy Blume as authors whose books you remember vividly from your teenage years. What young adult writers do you enjoy reading today and think your fans may as well?

SD: I'm a big fan of Laurie Halse Anderson and John Green. I also really like Sara Zarr, E. Lockhart, and the books Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written together. There's so much good stuff happening in YA right now! It's a great time to be both reading and writing.

TRC: What should teens who want to write be doing to work on their craft and enjoy it?

SD: My main advice is just to write. Write as much as you can, as often as you can. And read everything you can get your hands on. Classes are great, but really, the best way to learn is by reading how others handle things like plot and setting and dialogue, and then sit down and try to do it yourself. It's all trial and error, writing and revising. You just have to keep at it. It's not always easy, but it's the only way anything ever gets done.

TRC: Your parents were both professors, educating others about the joy of words. You wanted to write since you were little and have referred to the typewriter you used from grade school on. Do you think your daughter will be a writer? How would you encourage her?

SD: I would love for her to write, of course. It's a great job. I'm doing my part by reading to her a lot, and she already really loves books. If my husband has his way, she'll be a professional mountain biker, so I guess genetics will make the final decision. Maybe she can do both?

TRC: Many writers speak of piles of rejection letters or bad reviews. Did anyone ever try to discourage you? How did you handle that?

SD: Getting discouraged is just part of the job, I think. I had a lot of people, especially when I first started out, who thought it was "cute" that I wanted to be a writer, and were condescending about it. I think that's normal, though. Writing isn't like accounting. There is no set trajectory, a path that you follow to get there. You just have to kind of figure it out on your own. For me, the best way to deal with being or feeling discouraged was to just keep working. I tried really hard to keep the rejection-letter part of my life separate from my writing life. It's the same way I try to keep my reviews separate from my writing now. You can't let one affect the other. No good can come of it.

TRC: I know many fans want to see a sequel to SOMEONE LIKE YOU. If writing a follow-up title to that one is not in the picture, I can't resist asking how you envision the future for Scarlett and Halley.

SD: I put Scarlett back briefly in THIS LULLABY, because so many people wanted a sequel, just so everyone knew she was in college, and working, and Grace was doing great. In my mind, Halley's also in college, and happy, and dating someone who respects her a lot more than Macon did. Call me an optimist, but in my mind everyone from my books is doing all right, and all the couples are still together. If you're creating your own world, you might as well make it a happy one, right?

TRC: What are you working on now, and when might readers expect to see it?

SD: I am writing a new book, but I'm always insanely secretive, so I can't tell you anything about it. Sorry! It's hard to say when I'll have another book out. I've been on an every-two-year kind of plan, but with the baby, everything has changed. So we'll see. I'm just happy to be back at work.

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AUTHOR TALK

April 2006

Sarah Dessen has written several critically acclaimed and award-winning books such as THIS LULLABY, THAT SUMMER, SOMEONE LIKE YOU and KEEPING THE MOON. Her latest effort, JUST LISTEN, contains the same trademark poignancy, wisdom and honesty that struck a chord with her young adult audience. In this interview, Dessen discusses the insecurities everyone experiences in adolescence and what she hopes her readers will take away from this novel. She also talks about her eclectic tastes in music and the book that ignited her passion for writing.

Question: Music plays such an important part of this novel. How important is music in your life?

Sarah Dessen: I've always loved music, although I can't say I'm anywhere near as knowledgeable --- or obsessive --- as Owen is in the book. I have to say, though, that when I got an iPod a few years back, it did change the way I thought about, and experienced, music. It wasn't just a car or radio thing anymore: you could take it anywhere, and so easily, and have a soundtrack to just about everything. A lot of this book grew out of that.

Q: Annabel feels like an outcast in her school. Did you ever feel this way in high school?

SD: I did. I think it's pretty normal, actually, to feel out of place at times. It happens to everyone, even the people you think have the "perfect" life, with all the friends and boyfriends you don't. That's what was so interesting to me about Annabel. She was the kind of girl --- beautiful, popular, successful --- that I would have thought had it made in high school. But even the girl who seems perfect has problems, and Annabel is no exception.

Q: What would you like readers to learn from Annabel? What about Owen?

SD: The quote at the beginning of the book is "The best way out is always through," and to me, that's the main theme of the story for both Annabel and Owen. Owen, of course, already knows this is true, but Annabel has to learn it, and it's not easy. In high school, and even now, I have a tendency to back off from things that make me nervous, or uncomfortable, or downright scared. But if you avoid, the problem only gets bigger and harder to deal with: sometimes, it's best to just take a deep breath and push on through. It might not be easy, but at least it will be over, eventually.

Q: Even if you attended high school post-1970s there is at least one Zeppelin song that will trigger a few high school memories. What is it about Led Zeppelin and high school?

SD: Isn't that crazy? I totally associate Led Zeppelin with high school. Maybe it's because when you're younger, you just don't have that much contact with their music: I mean, it's not usually the sort of thing you hear at the doctor's office or in elevators. For me, Led Zeppelin is an adolescent rite of passage, like prom and your first real relationship. You've just got to have it to make it all count.

Q: Owen has a very eclectic taste in music. What kind of music do you listen to? Do you have a favorite song?

SD: I listen to all kinds of music. I'm famous for making mix CDs that jump from ABBA to Tom Waits with no time to adjust in between. I used to actually be more self conscious about the music I liked, because so many of my friends were into more alternative stuff. They'd come over for parties and pick through my collection, saying, "Oh, my God, is this the SPICE GIRLS?" And I'd just die. But over time, I've come to realize that's the great thing about music: there is no right or wrong. You love what you love, and you don't have to explain or justify it to anyone. As far as a favorite song, it would be impossible to pick: it changes almost daily. But if forced to choose, I'd say "Blind Love," by Tom Waits, although by the time I finish writing this sentence I'll probably have thought of another one.

Q: What is the one book that has most influenced you throughout your life?

SD: Again, it's so hard to pick just one! I will say that when I was about twelve, my mom gave me a book called COMING ATTRACTIONS by Fannie Flagg. I read about twenty pages into it and thought, "I want to write a book like this someday." I had never had that thought before, but I never forgot it. It was the first time I ever realized I wanted to be a writer. I still have the book, this dog-eared paperback, on my shelf.

Q: What adjectives would you use to describe JUST LISTEN?

SD: I guess the first word that comes to my mind is complex. When I started the book, I had this one idea that I wanted to write about a girl who appeared perfect but was keeping a secret. It seemed simple...at first. But then, once I got going, I realized there was a lot more to it: not just her story, but her family's, and this boy she met, and how they all tied back to the things she thought she couldn't say. I like to think the book is hopeful, as well, and maybe even a bit funny, in places. Right now, though, the main adjective to me is done, because it is. Now it's up to the rest of the world to decide what it means to them.

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