Author Interview with Jennifer S. Doktorski

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Today I am thrilled to be interviewing Jennifer S. Doktorski, the author of How My Summer Went Up in Flames and releasing TODAY is Famous Last Words. I was thrilled to be able to read and review Ms. Doktorski’s How My Summer Went Up in Flames back in April before it debuted. I quickly fell in love with it and to me, it is a quintessential summer read.

Welcome Ms. Doktorski!


I cannot begin to thank you enough for doing this interview. When thinking of whom I would like to interview for Summer Lovin’ Read-a-Thon, your name immediately popped into my mind. Not only do you have TWO books coming out during the summer season, How My Summer Went Up in Flames is the PERFECT summer read!

Without further ado, let's begin the interview:

Q1: I LOVED the main character, Rosie, with the growth she goes through in this book and the ever changing setting of the road trip. When you approach writing Summer, what came first? 

JSD: I wanted to write a fun, fast-paced, and hopefully funny book about a girl traveling cross country with three guys. For me, the story began with the phrase, “girl on the receiving end of a temporary restraining order.” I knew that had to be in the opening sentence somewhere. From there, I started to think of “Why?!” What type of girl would find herself in that predicament? I found Rosie’s voice in that opening sentence and the rest just flowed from there. So the story began with an idea and a character and then I took out my Rand McNally Road Atlas, which sat on my desk the entire time I was writing this novel. I loved taking the trip with these characters.

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Q2: Rosie’s character feels so authentic and natural. Is she inspired by someone you know?

JSD: Rosie is totally fictional but I used bits and pieces of people I have known or met to create her. I come from an Italian-American family and believe me, there was no shortage quick-tempered, passionate, good-hearted, generous people to draw from. There’s also no denying that Rosie is a New Jersey girl at  heart, and I’ve known my share of those as well.

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Q3: Have you ever gone on a road trip with friends like Rosie does in Summer? If you could take a road trip anywhere, where would you go?

JSD: Yes, I took a trip very similar to the one Rosie and the boys took across country. Well, I should say the route was similar, the trip was not. I traveled with a friend of a friend named Kenny. I didn’t know his last name until a week before we left, but he was willing to drive with me and fly home. I was at the proverbial crossroads in my life and heading to Arizona to live with a friend from college while I applied for jobs and decided if it was someplace I’d like to live for a while. Arizona is a beautiful state, but like Rosie, I love New Jersey. I would like to take another cross-country trip someday, only this taking a more northern route to visit states I've never seen. I’d love to see Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and maybe end up in Seattle. 

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Q4: Today is the release date for Famous Last Words. While I have not had a chance to read it yet, it seems like the two main characters are very different from each other. Can you tell us about Samantha?

JSD: Sixteen-year-old Samantha D’Angelo is sweet, sensitive and probably a bit too shy for own good. As she herself puts it. “At school, I’m not the head cheerleader or class slut or teacher’s pet. Just one of the nobodies who will graduate in approximately twelve months without a special mention in the yearbook.” She’s waiting for her life to begin, and oddly, it happens when she spends her summer writing about dead people all day.

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Q5: If Rosie and Samantha met in life, would they be friends?

JSD: Although they’re very different, I think they could definitely be friends. In fact, I’d think they’d be good for each other –they’d balance each another out. Sam would say things like, “Uh, Rosie. How about you hand over the lighter?” And Rosie would be all “Drop the journal smart girl, we’re going out tonight.”

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Q6: Shifting gears a bit, I would love to learn more about you as I am sure my readers would too. How did you end up becoming a young adult fiction writer? Was it something you have always wanted to do?

JSD: I always loved to read and write. I graduated college with a degree in English and started out as a journalist. I also wrote for magazines like Cosmopolitan and at one point had my own music column and published a local music ‘zine. But always dreamed of writing a book someday, it just took me a while to believe I could write fiction.

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Q7: What has drawn you to write young adult fiction? What do you want to say to all those who have not given young adult fiction a shot before?


JSD: Growing up, some of the books I was must affected and inspired by were young adult and middle grade novels. Judy Bloom, S.E. Hinton, Paula Danziger, and Lois Duncan. I was also a huge fan of John Hughes’s films, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. When I was in high school, I remember thinking that John Hughes was the kind of adult who never forgot what it was like to be a teen. When I was sixteen, I don’t know if I thought about writing books or movies for teens, but I did know that’s the kind of adult I wanted to be someday. Eventually, when I began to write fiction, I wanted to write books that would touch and inspire people the way my favorite authors and filmmakers had inspired me. 

What would I say to those who haven’t given young adult fiction a shot? There’s emotional intensity in YA. Probably because our teen years are such an emotionally charged time. I’m most drawn to YA stories involving some kind of romance and there are so many talented YA authors (Stephanie Perkins, Jenny Han, Susane Colasanti, Jennifer Echols, Sarah Ockler) who do a wonderful job of capturing the raw, intense emotion of being in love for the first time. There’s an endless list of crush-worthy YA leading men out there!

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Q8: Your daughter and husband seem like an amazing support system! I LOVE the bookmarks they designed for you. What does your daughter think about your books? Does she share them with her friends?

JSD: My husband and daughter are amazing. They inspire me every day to do everything better. My daughter thinks it’s cool that I’m an author. I’m going to enjoy that for all it’s worth right now because I’m not sure how much longer it will last. She has shared the bookmarks with her friends, but so far, not the books. They’re all too young for HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES, but I’m considering allowing my daughter to read FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

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Q9: Because we are celebrating summer and our love of reading this week, what is your favorite spot to vacation during the summer?

JSD: The New Jersey Shore. I’m hoping to write a book set there very soon.

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Q10: Lastly, what five books would you grab if they were the only ones you could have on a deserted island?


JSD: That’s always tough. It’s hard to decide between old favorites or new ones. I think I’m going to go with classics or classic-ish. 

1. To Kill a Mockingbird 
2. Jane Eyre
3. David Copperfield
4. Little Women
5. East of Eden

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For those of you reading this, be sure to run to your local library or bookstore to pick up How My Summer Went Up in Flames and Famous Last Words today!!

Thank you to Ms. Doktorski for providing these wonderful giveaways and for agreeing for me to interview you! I really appreciate all the time you took to answer my questions so thoughtful.

For those who are interested, the wonderful Ms. Doktorski is offering up TWO prize packages to be claimed. Please used the Rafflecopters to enter each. Please note, both are open to U.S. and Canada participants only. Thanks for understanding!


How My Summer Went Up in Flames Rafflecopter
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Famous Last Words Rafflecopter
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