After my book blast for Just Fall, I followed up with Nina Sadowsky about the unique setting and chapter sequences she used in the book. Here are her answers.
Michael Niemann: The story opens with a sensuous description of a beach and a hotel. Tell me about the setting. Did you go to St. Lucia to research the setting?
Nina Sadowsky: The opening of the book came out of a personal experience. My husband and I were newly married and trying to blend a family of four teenagers (two mine and two his). It wasn’t going well. In particular, my stepson was very angry and acting out in hurtful ways. He wouldn’t speak to me or eat anything I cooked, he refused to be at our house when my children were there, he was beastly to my husband and awful all around. The situation was stressful for everyone. I needed my husband to back me up about his son’s bad behavior, but he was terrified by the anger and resentment flowing from his son and afraid of driving him further away. My husband and I went away to Laguna Beach for what was supposed to be a weekend of re-connection and repair: cocktails on the beach, romantic dinners, and also a relaxed place in which to parse our problems. But even the weather didn’t cooperate. Our sunny weekend getaway was socked in by fog, the beach was out of the question, we even ended up going to the movies just to stay warm. But even worse, we weren’t talking about the problems our blended family was causing, I suspect because we both were afraid that bringing it up might prove too explosive for our relationship to withstand.
Continue reading “Time and Space in Just Fall: An Interview with Nina Sadowsky”
