Author Interview: Sarah Tregay

Sarah Tregay
Website / Goodreads

Books:

• Love & Leftovers (January 1, 2012)

My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy, daydream-worthy love.

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?

Love and Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

Describe your book in 5 words or less.

A love story in poems.


What has surprised you the most about the publication process?

I worked in my manuscript for two years, one year writing and one year revising. After all that, I thought I was finished!

But in the process of getting it published, I have made hundreds of changes. First, my agent and I rewrote the ending and then my editor had me take out a character (and the plot that related to him). I love how both of these changes made the story both more compact and more interesting. I like the new pacing and the new sequence of poems at the end.

After those edits were made the manuscript was flowed into the layout. Now that the pages were 5 x 7, not 8.5 x 11--and the poems no longer fit on the pages. I’ve been through two sets of revisions with the new page size--both rounds after the ARC was printed. These changes resulted in the poems looking better on the page and flowing to a second page smoothly instead of haphazardly.

So, yes, just when I thought I was “done,” the process taught me that it could be even better.


When you aren't writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I have an appaloosa gelding named Mr. Pots and we like to dabble in dressage. I am also involved in the model horse hobby. I sculpt, paint and show minis (sculptures of horses about three inches tall.) Their saddles and bridles are much smaller than Mr. Pots’s.


What do you hope to accomplish during your time as a writer?

I hope to reach that special place in a reader’s heart--the place that makes you laugh and cry.


What's something surprising about yourself that most people wouldn't think was true?

I played co-ed ice hockey in college. I was put on defense because I could skate backwards--our team wasn’t very good--and our games were scheduled at 2 am, when no one else was using the rink.


If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what book would you choose? Why?

Wow. Good question. I guess it’d have to be something I haven’t read recently, but that I know is really good. I’ll go with Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon.


Where can we stay up to date about you and your novel?

My author page on facebook and my website are probably the best places to catch me:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarah-Tregay/190704714306351 www.sarahtregay.com


Is there anything you would like to tell your readers?

I would love to hear from you, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail via the contact form on my website.

Thanks Sarah for stopping by!!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raised without television, I started writing my own middle grade novels after I had read all of the ones in the library. I later discovered YA books, but never did make it to the adult section. When I'm not jotting down poems at stoplights, I can be found hanging out with my "little sister" from Big Brothers Big Sisters or stressing over performance classes at a model horse show.

I have both a Bachelors and Masters of Fine Art in graphic design, and my obsession with typography and layout naturally translates into formatting poetry on the page.

I live in Eagle, Idaho with my husband, two Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots.