Blog Tour: The Summer Without You by Karen Swan - Interview

I am so thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Karen Swan's hot new summer read, The Summer Without You! I got the chance to interview the lady herself and here's what we talked about!

1.  Describe The Summer Without You in 5 words.

Tender, passionate, funny, bittersweet, brave.

2.  How did you manage to write a summer book during the winter months in the UK? How did you 'get into the zone'?

Well, my writing timetable has shifted now I’m doing two books a year and whereas I used to start writing the Christmas book in September and deliver in January, I’ve also got to squeeze in another between February and August. That’s now my summer book slot so I’m pretty much writing about one season while I’m in it, which does help hugely, definitely.
Having said that, I’ve written out of season before anyway – in Christmas at Claridges, much of the action takes place in Portofino throughout the summer, but I was writing it in the winter, my legs pressed to the Aga for warmth. I always go to the places I write about and take literally hundreds of photos - from door knockers and roofs to drain covers! – which I can then refer to at home; But after a certain point, the world I’ve created becomes so real to me, I don’t need any aides-memoires. I can close my eyes and see / feel what I need. Once I’m in that zone, I don’t see what’s in front of me, I see what’s in my head, to the point where, if I sat on a beach writing about icebergs, I’d be shivering.

3.  I really enjoyed The Summer Without You! Tell us, how much research did you do for it? Did you go to the Hamptons for 'research'?

I did SO much research! I had been to the Hamptons before – my friend was the Editor of the Hamptons magazine so I’d done some fashion shoots with them and knew East Hampton particularly well. But when I came to write about the place in detail, I realised I didn’t know how the town joined up – how did you get to the beach from Main Street? Or where was the main coffee shop? I remembered snapshots of it, but didn’t have any of the ‘working knowledge’ that you need if you’re going to write about somewhere that actually exists. So I checked my diary, saw I had four days free before I was desperately needed for anything and flew out the next day. I drove myself from JFK to the Hamptons and spent those four days eating in cafes on my own, photographing menus, driving to each and every beach, finding out where the private airport was and then photographing the helicopters, timing how long it took to drive between the villages…Plus I grabbed every local paper I could find and went into the estate agents (realtors) to get details on property there and what’s considered particularly desirable. I went to a yoga class (I don’t do yoga so that was amusing), went to the local cinema and checked out what colour the popcorn boxes were… I needed to see and feel the place from an insider’s perspective – the Hamptons is so famous as New York’s summer retreat but of course, it’s so much more than that glossy cliche and I knew if I wanted to depict it as a real community, I needed to learn about the issues that concern those people living there year-round and the only way to do that was to immerse myself in it. I guess I’m a method writer!

4.  Could you tell us about your average writing day?

When I’m actually writing, it’s pretty formulaic: I drop my children to school by 8.15am and go off to walk the dogs on the forest; I think of it as my ‘commute’ and use it as thinking time for what I need to achieve in that day’s chapter. Several mornings a week, I do a Pilates class as I spend so much time sitting down, motionless, so I like to stretch out and keep strong, as well as see my friends there and have a natter.

I’m usually sitting down to work by 9.30am with a steaming hot cup of tea. Up till now, my daughter has been finishing school at 3pm so I down tools at 2.30pm, meaning I’m really only getting half days to work; but from September, she’s on a 5pm pickup so I’ll have till 4.30pm and that should make a big difference to my productivity levels, especially now I’m doing two books a year.
If I get stuck, I get up and wander around – there’s nothing worse than staring at the same bit of blank page – I make endless cups of tea and end up on Twitter or Facebook. Whenever my social media activity goes up, it’s a sure sign I’m stuck on something!

Things are less routine at publication time: I travel a lot more for one thing, I was in Canada in November for instance, I go up to London for radio and magazine interviews, signings, talks, lunches etc. I love the freedom of getting out and actually interacting with the world, but it’s only ever for a short time. I’m permanently on deadline these days and on the two-books-a –year schedule, I am quite often writing one book, editing another and promoting yet another. It’s a wonder I remember my own name, much less my characters’!

5.  Where do you get inspiration for your characters' names?

Do you know, I have no idea! I mean, Hump? Ro? Honestly, I can’t explain it. I don’t think I’ve ever met or even heard of someone called Hump and yet by the end of the book, it was as normal to me as ‘John.’ I guess names carry energy and personality within them and hitting upon one that ‘feels’ right for the character is my start point for every book. I remember in my first novel, ‘Players’, I couldn’t ‘see’ the main heroine. I wanted to call her Lily but nothing would come; then I changed her name to Tor and – boom! She arrived fully-formed. Now I just go with it. All my characters have unusual names, and if not, they have mad nicknames. Wait till you meet my girl in this Christmas’s book.

6.  What are you working on now? Can you sneak us a peek?

I’ve just finished the edits for the Christmas book, which is based in the ritzy ski town of Zermatt so there’s plenty of snowy scenes and après-ski fun. I actually took my inspiration for the plot from a true historical event, when in January 1951, there were over 1000 avalanches in the Swiss Alps in a three day period. My heroine is forced to confront a very dark lie in her family’s past, whilst at the same time, do boardroom battle with a man determined to destroy her career. Ultimately, it’s a book about trust, honesty and love.

7.  Quickfire Round!

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate   
Heels or flats?

Flats
Paperback or eBook?

Paperback
Summer dress or cashmere jumper?

Cashmere jumper

The Summer Without You is out on May 22nd. Get your copy here!

Head over to the other blog on the tour! :)