Ask the Author: Sarah Ockler
Answered Questions (15)
Sarah Ockler
Hi Brielle,
I'm not currently working on a sequel, but a LOT of readers are asking for one, so... never say never! ;-)
I'm not currently working on a sequel, but a LOT of readers are asking for one, so... never say never! ;-)
Sarah Ockler
Hi Brielle! Thank you so much! I was inspired to write Twenty Boy Summer by my work with an organization that supports families whose loved ones have died and donated organs or tissues. Through their programs and events, I met so many teens who’d experienced the death of a sibling or friend, and their stories always stayed with me. When I started working on my first novel, I knew that I wanted to share a little bit of the love, loss, and hope I saw through their eyes.
I chose to do that by telling the story of two best friends struggling after the tragic and sudden death of someone they both loved very much. But I also wanted to show that life goes on, even when we don’t want it to — even when we don’t think it can. So in the book, while Anna and Frankie were trying to put their lives back together after the tragedy of losing Matt, they were also on summer vacation, which meant beaches, boys, makeup, best friend fights, sunsets, toes in the sand, and all of those every day things that keep going on around us, even when our hearts are broken. I just kept thinking about how those two things would come together — tragedy and life, heartbreak and hope, love and loss — and the story grew from there.
I chose to do that by telling the story of two best friends struggling after the tragic and sudden death of someone they both loved very much. But I also wanted to show that life goes on, even when we don’t want it to — even when we don’t think it can. So in the book, while Anna and Frankie were trying to put their lives back together after the tragedy of losing Matt, they were also on summer vacation, which meant beaches, boys, makeup, best friend fights, sunsets, toes in the sand, and all of those every day things that keep going on around us, even when our hearts are broken. I just kept thinking about how those two things would come together — tragedy and life, heartbreak and hope, love and loss — and the story grew from there.
Sarah Ockler
Hi Anitmeow! I know this is a bit of a delayed response, but you're right, I was a coach for NaNoWriMo, and it was awesome! I love chatting with other writers and sharing ideas.
Sarah Ockler
Aww, that means so much to me! Thank you, Sonia! :-)
Sarah Ockler
What do YOU think happens? ;-) I purposely left those strings untied in Elyse's story because I like to let the readers imagine what happens next. And you never know... I may decide to revisit Atargatis Cove in a future writing project! Thanks again for reading the story, Talia. :)
Sarah Ockler
Hi Talia! Thanks so much for reading The Summer of Chasing Mermaids! The song itself was fictional, but it was inspired by many different Soca songs I discovered while researching the book. One that really got me is a song by Alison Hinds called "Roll It Gal." Love that song, and the moment I heard it, I knew Elyse would be inspired and motivated by it.
Sarah Ockler
Hi Gina! Yes, I LOVE Supernatural. I watch it on Netflix, though, so after binge-watching several seasons at once, I'm now anxiously awaiting Season 10.
Sarah Ockler
This is probably the number one question I get from readers! My answer is... never say never! ;-) I'm thinking about doing some bonus shorts, or possibly even a sequel back in Zanzibar bay. I think it would be so fun to revisit those characters.
Sarah Ockler
Hi yooheereads! Thank you - I hope you love the story!
Like all of my book ideas, inspiration for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids came from many different sources, all crossing my path at the same time and ending up in a big daydreamy soup pot that eventually boiled down into a story! It went something like this:
1. The beach. I love books that take place in the summer on the beach, and the last time I’d written a story like that was in 2009 (Twenty Boy Summer). Five books and five years later, it was time for me to go
back to the sea!
2. Mermaids. Daydreaming about the ocean got me thinking about mermaids, and soon I found myself wondering how I might incorporate a bit of mermaid lore while still keeping the book grounded in a contemporary realistic setting. I re-read the original The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, and watched the Disney adaptation, and took a bit of inspiration from each!
3. Voice. This was a huge one for me. Denial of voice is a major theme explored in the book, and something I see so many young people—particularly girls and women—struggling with. From a young age girls are often taught—explicitly or implicitly—to be nice, accommodating, and selfless. Often we’re also told to “be ourselves,” and that we can do anything we put our minds to, but we’re not given a lot of direction on what that really means, or how to deal with the challenges that inevitably arise when we truly, authentically put ourselves out there. Not everyone will accept that—even (and sometimes especially) the people who claim to love us most. And so often I see—in my own life as well as the lives of girls and women around me—denial of voice in action, where we’re shut down and shut up simply because we don’t fit into whatever box society has built for us. We’re confronted by things like sexism, gender roles,
expectations, double standards, lack of opportunity, aggression, poverty, racism, fear, power dynamics, institutionalized misogyny, just to name a few. That’s a super simplified reduction of a complex issue, but one that’s very important to me. So I really wanted to explore that theme in a YA novel, symbolized by a character who literally has no voice—she’s permanently mute after an accident—and has to learn new ways of expressing herself, embracing her new life, and standing up for herself when others either speak for her or shut her out.
4. Trini Accent Tag. Around the same time I started thinking about the beach, mermaids, and denial of voice issues, I was randomly clicking through YouTube and came across an accent tag meme. I’ve always been fascinated by regional accents, slang, and language development, so I got totally sucked in to watching this meme about how differently English-speaking people say the same words and phrases, all depending on their accents. I ended up in the Trini accent tag collection, and one of the videos featured two sisters from Trinidad and Tobago who’d also posted other videos of themselves singing. When I saw these girls singing together, it just hit me so hard: Hey! There she is! That’s my character, and she has a twin sister, and they’re singers who live in T&T! From there, my imagination took over, flooding my brain with questions: what’s her name? What is her family like? Where does she live? How did she grow up? What does she do for fun? Why is she in the United States this summer? How can I explore denial of voice issues through this character?
From there, I immediately dove into research mode, learning as much as I could about Trinidad and Tobago, the culture, the food, the music, the history, the people—it was such a rewarding process; I didn’t know much about the country at all when I started. So thanks in large part to random strangers on YouTube, Elyse was born, one of six sisters (like in The Little Mermaid), a girl who grew up singing with her twin, both of them en route to stardom. But then she loses her voice, and everything changes. She can’t sing. She can’t even speak, and never will again. So who does she become? What happens to her sister? What about the rest of her family back on the island? Where does she belong? Who is she, if not the girl from Tobago with the beautiful voice? I wrote the book to answer those questions.
5. Supernatural. Christian Kane is basically Dean Winchester on a boat, so that’s pretty inspirational IMO. ;-)
Like all of my book ideas, inspiration for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids came from many different sources, all crossing my path at the same time and ending up in a big daydreamy soup pot that eventually boiled down into a story! It went something like this:
1. The beach. I love books that take place in the summer on the beach, and the last time I’d written a story like that was in 2009 (Twenty Boy Summer). Five books and five years later, it was time for me to go
back to the sea!
2. Mermaids. Daydreaming about the ocean got me thinking about mermaids, and soon I found myself wondering how I might incorporate a bit of mermaid lore while still keeping the book grounded in a contemporary realistic setting. I re-read the original The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, and watched the Disney adaptation, and took a bit of inspiration from each!
3. Voice. This was a huge one for me. Denial of voice is a major theme explored in the book, and something I see so many young people—particularly girls and women—struggling with. From a young age girls are often taught—explicitly or implicitly—to be nice, accommodating, and selfless. Often we’re also told to “be ourselves,” and that we can do anything we put our minds to, but we’re not given a lot of direction on what that really means, or how to deal with the challenges that inevitably arise when we truly, authentically put ourselves out there. Not everyone will accept that—even (and sometimes especially) the people who claim to love us most. And so often I see—in my own life as well as the lives of girls and women around me—denial of voice in action, where we’re shut down and shut up simply because we don’t fit into whatever box society has built for us. We’re confronted by things like sexism, gender roles,
expectations, double standards, lack of opportunity, aggression, poverty, racism, fear, power dynamics, institutionalized misogyny, just to name a few. That’s a super simplified reduction of a complex issue, but one that’s very important to me. So I really wanted to explore that theme in a YA novel, symbolized by a character who literally has no voice—she’s permanently mute after an accident—and has to learn new ways of expressing herself, embracing her new life, and standing up for herself when others either speak for her or shut her out.
4. Trini Accent Tag. Around the same time I started thinking about the beach, mermaids, and denial of voice issues, I was randomly clicking through YouTube and came across an accent tag meme. I’ve always been fascinated by regional accents, slang, and language development, so I got totally sucked in to watching this meme about how differently English-speaking people say the same words and phrases, all depending on their accents. I ended up in the Trini accent tag collection, and one of the videos featured two sisters from Trinidad and Tobago who’d also posted other videos of themselves singing. When I saw these girls singing together, it just hit me so hard: Hey! There she is! That’s my character, and she has a twin sister, and they’re singers who live in T&T! From there, my imagination took over, flooding my brain with questions: what’s her name? What is her family like? Where does she live? How did she grow up? What does she do for fun? Why is she in the United States this summer? How can I explore denial of voice issues through this character?
From there, I immediately dove into research mode, learning as much as I could about Trinidad and Tobago, the culture, the food, the music, the history, the people—it was such a rewarding process; I didn’t know much about the country at all when I started. So thanks in large part to random strangers on YouTube, Elyse was born, one of six sisters (like in The Little Mermaid), a girl who grew up singing with her twin, both of them en route to stardom. But then she loses her voice, and everything changes. She can’t sing. She can’t even speak, and never will again. So who does she become? What happens to her sister? What about the rest of her family back on the island? Where does she belong? Who is she, if not the girl from Tobago with the beautiful voice? I wrote the book to answer those questions.
5. Supernatural. Christian Kane is basically Dean Winchester on a boat, so that’s pretty inspirational IMO. ;-)
Sarah Ockler
Hi Caitlin! I would LOVE to visit Toronto! I haven't been there since a trip in high school to see Phantom. :) At the moment, I don't have any scheduled signings up there, but never say never. I always post my events news on my website here: http://sarahockler.com/events/
Sarah Ockler
Mmmmmmaybeeee.... ;-) Okay, yes, it totally is. I love Jessi's books!
Sarah Ockler
Hi Shannelle! I haven't thought about a sequel for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids yet, but never say never! I really enjoyed writing the story, and I'd love to revisit the characters of Atargatis Cove in the future. I'm so thrilled you loved the book! :-)
Sarah Ockler
Hi Alaina! It depends on what you like reading, but I highly recommend the Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater, the Program series by Suzanne Young, anything by Deb Caletti, Courtney Summers, or Jessi Kirby... that should be a good start!
Sarah Ockler
Hi Rochelle! While I'm happy with where I left the characters in Twenty Boy Summer, a lot of readers ask about a possible future for Anna and Sam. So yes, I've often thought about it, and I might even revisit them in a sequel one day. Never say never! :-)
Thanks so much for reading!
Thanks so much for reading!
Sarah Ockler
Hi Bre! My next book is still in development, so I'm not sharing *too* many details yet, but I can tell you that it features a recent high school graduate from Tobago who is living in coastal Oregon for the summer after an accident dashed her dreams of becoming a professional singer. It is a contemporary realistic story partially inspired by "The Little Mermaid."
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more