Interview with Abby Slovin and a GIVEAWAY!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Abby Slovin, the author of Letters in Cardboard Boxes.

About this author

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Abby Slovin was born in the summer of 1983 and lived in the same house on Long Island until attending the University of Michigan. She has a deep love for New York City, Brooklyn especially, where much of her family has its roots. She loves to spend time outdoors, travel, research family genealogy, and relax at home in Jersey City with her husband, Dominick and dog, Grumpy.

LETTERS IN CARDBOARD BOXES:

Experience what advanced reviews are proclaiming, "An absolute must read...this is a novel you will want to keep with you for the rest of your life" and "A poignant and moving story...a true work of art."

Letters In Cardboard Boxes tells the story of an eccentric grandmother and her granddaughter alongside a series of fantastical letters they once exchanged. Their letters once traversed the East River to help Parker escape the loneliness of a childhood without her globe-trekking parents and communicate during her turbulent teenage years. Now, nearly a decade later, Parker begins to rediscover the evidence of this letter writing tradition, as well as the family’s untold stories and, unexpectedly, letters from her grandmother’s own youth that paint a very different portrait of the woman who raised her.

Letters carries us through the universally-shared experience of loss and the process of coping with life’s unexpected twists and turns. Through unusual and bold characters, the story moves through some of its heavier themes with honesty and humor. 

Here is what she had to say:

Hello, Abby and welcome to The Ultimate Book Nook!

I love hearing random facts about people so lets hear 3 about you.

1- A few articles of clothing in my closet have been with me for more than 20 years. I love the feel of a perfectly broken in t-shirt or pair of jeans.
2- One of my favorite things to do is sit in a park or in front of my window with a cup of coffee and watch the world pass.
3- I have never owned a car.  

Obviously, we are big readers around here. Do you love to read? What are some of your favorite books?

I love to read. I'll read pretty much anything recommended to me, in fact. I think one of the best aspects of reading is keeping your eyes open to new worlds and new experiences that you don't ordinarily have access to. Honestly, some of my favorite books have been recommendations I would never have tried on my own. Some of my favorites are One Hundred Years of Solitude, White Oleander, A Feast of Love, All Over Creation, anything Kurt Vonnegut, and Ishmael.  

Did you always want to write books?

I don't think I ever thought about it in a serious way until I was relatively far along in the process of writing Letters. Until then, it was a hobby that I enjoyed, no doubt. But during this process, it became such a huge part of me that it evolved into something more. 

How did you come up with the concept for Letters?

Although the story is completely fictional, it was inspired by a personal moment in my own life. While I was cleaning out some of my grandmother’s possessions after she had passed away, I found letters she had exchanged with my grandfather during their courtship and was hit with a lot of emotion. In particular, guilt at not having known this part of her life, sadness for not being able to talk to her about it, but also a lot of happiness that these letters breathed life into someone I loved who was no longer around. I started imagining a story with this idea at its center — of finding remnants of a person’s life after they’ve passed — and organized a fictional story around it. I named the main characters after my grandparents simply because it felt good to hear their names spoken out loud again. 

Do you use a lot of your own life experience while writing?

I tend to gravitate toward writing completely fictional worlds and feel they provide a good escape for me and an opportunity to give life to characters that don't exist in the real world. I love the challenge of creating truly genuine characters from a fictional place. But, as is the case with Letters, a lot of the inspiration has its roots in some of my own life experience. 

Lastly, can we expect anything new from you in the future?

Right now, I'm moving forward with two new projects. The first, being released monthly on the Dunce Academy blog, is a humorous story about a recent college graduate searching for work  (You can find out more here)

The other will be my next novel, called 10:15 on a Tuesday, tells the story of an unlikely friendship that develops between an upper-middle class widower and a psychic (find out more here)

Thank you for being with us Abby. I can't wait to read more from you.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Erin! If your readers have any questions for me or want more information about the novel, they should definitely email me at abby.slovin@gmail.com or visit the novel's website: http://www.abbyslovin.com/

Abby has been so gracious to also allow me to give away an e-book of Letters to two of you! In case you don't remember here is my review.

It's easy to enter, simply subscribe to the blog and like this post and click the link below and you are entered!. There are a few other things you can do to get some extra entries. The winners will be picked on May 2.
GOODLUCK!

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