Sommersnakk med Simone Elkeles

Simone Elkeles har skrevet flere bestselgende romaner for ungdom, hvorav Perfect Chemistry, Rules of Attraction, Chain Reaction og Wild Cards er oversatt til norsk. Hun røper at hun egentlig ikke er noen fan av sol og varme, men at hennes nye bok som vanlig har et hett romantisk plot!

Tekst: Gro Johansen Raih/ Foto: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag/ Omslag: Harper Collins og Orion.

What are you planning to read this summer?
I plan on re-reading my favorite books this summer; adult romances by Susan Elizabeth Philips, Julia Quinn and Meg Cabot. I also want to read Tuesdays With Morrie. I might also re-read the teen romances Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

Which books would you recommend that we read this summer?
I say re-read your favorite books so you fall in love with them all over again! I’m truly enjoying Eleanor & Park. It’s a great book so far. My books are great to read in the summer, because they’re fun and enjoyable books to read.

Do you have a favorite summer book?
I love re-reading Meg Cabot’s The Boy Next Door because it’s written in all emails and I love it so much. I tried writing a book in all emails and its SO hard! I’d love to do it one day.

Do you read different types of books in the summer than the rest of the year?
I’ve been on deadline for so long that I haven’t read a book for pleasure in a long time. Luckily this summer I’m going to make time since I just finished writing a book.

Do you prefer a table or an actual book in the summer?
I will always love reading an actual book more than on a table. For some reason i feel a litte removed from a story when it’s on a table. If I’m going to read a book on a tablet, it’s a dedicated e-reader so I’m not tempted to go on the Internet. I hate to say it but I’m addicted to the Internet.

What is your favorite summer memory?
Going to concerts at Ravinia Festival is one of my favorite things to do! It’s an outdoor concert venue where people make picnics and listen to the concert by laying or sitting on blankets on the grass while eating dinner. Lady Gaga performed there a couple of years ago and i loved it! She has an amazing voice. My friends and I used to go there when we where teenagers where we learned that we could sneak in alcohol if you where under age by pouring vodka into a watermelon because it soaked up the alcohol … Two of my friends got caught with the «vodka soaked watermelon» and got arrested because the Ravinia Festival security guards caught in to the trick! Lesson: Don’t drink if you’re under age!

Do you have a favorite summer place?
I’m kind of a homebody and love being home with my dogs and my family. I also love the cold and snow, so summer isn’t my favorite time of year … I also have vitiligo (what discolored Michael Jackson’s face) so I cant’ really be out in the sun too much. But I love to go camping because it kind of brings me back to nature and I love nature.

What are your plans this summer? Will you be completely off on holiday, or will you be writing as well?
I’m always writing, but I’m going to a conference in Orlando, Florida where Disney World is located! I’m bringing my mother and daughter on the trip, so we can spend some time with Mickey Mouse! I’m also going to Colorado to speak to the boys at a juvenile detention center (a jail for youth). I’m going to be looking for areas to love in Colorado (not at the jail LOL), because I will probably be moving from Chicago to Colorado in the summer of 2018!

What can we expect of your next book? Is there any chance you would be willing to reveal some of it’s content?
I can’t talk about the content so much, but I guarantee it has a lot of drama, suspense and a hot romance in it!

I år som i fjor publiserer Deichmans litteraturblogg «Sommersnakk», en intervjurekke med barne- og ungdomsbokforfattere. Hver fredag forteller de om sommerplaner, gode sommerminner og lesefavoritter. Kanskje får du noen gode lånetips? God sommer!