Interview with Jennifer E. Smith!

Hey everyone! Colleen Clayton, here! Valentine's Day is just around the bend and what better way to get ready for the big day than to discuss THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT with author Jennifer E. Smith! Last summer, I went to New York City to meet my fabulous agent and amazing editorial team at Poppy. One of the perks of this trip was being loaded up with ARC’s written by other Poppy authors and among them was The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. The Goodreads.com synopsis of Jennifer E. Smith’s novel reads as follows:

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18B. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

-Goodreads.com

I was lucky enough to interview Jennifer E. Smith for today’s Apocalypsies blog post so if you want a little interesting “behind-the-book” insight into this romantic story, keep reading!

CC: Hi, Jennifer! I’d first like to congratulate you on the release of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and then tell you how much I lovvved reading this book! I read it straight through in one day! Part of it on a plane ride back from NYC!

JS: Thank you so much – I’m so happy you liked it!

CC: The first thing that struck me about this book was the terrific cover. The black and white picture of the couple kissing in a moving crowd juxtaposed with the YA-friendly font and then the red, hand-drawn heart are very eye-catching. But this cover is not the only one for this book! Some of the foreign editions have really beautiful covers as well. Do you have a favorite?

JS: There have been some beautiful jackets coming in from all over the world, but I do like the US version best so far, and that’s actually what the UK and Australia will be using as well. It just seems to fit the tone of the book really well, and I feel very lucky to have had such a great designer.

CC: Tell us how you came up with the premise for Hadley’s story. Did you come up with the plot hook first, or Hadley’s character first, or maybe the setting…?

JS: I knew I wanted to write about two people who met on a flight, and I was interested in playing around with the idea of fate – how even the littlest changes can set you on an entirely different course. I didn’t quite realize it was going to be so much of a love story when I started, but once Hadley and Oliver met, their relationship sort of took on a momentum of its own.

CC: Oliver is such a swoon-worthy love interest! While reading, I could actually hear his British accent in the dialogue! (and being the shameless Anglophile that I am, this made him even hotter in my mind…) Did you always know that Oliver (and consequently, Hadley’s new step-family) would be British?

JS: Yes, I did. I always knew his character would be headed home, and while I suppose that could have been anywhere, for some reason it was never a question in my mind that they’d be going to London. Part of the inspiration for this book came from a flight I once took from Chicago to Dublin, and so that probably helped, and part of it was that I’d only just recently returned from grad school in Scotland, where I’d spent a lot of time in London as well, so I think I just had the UK on my mind. Plus, as you say, who doesn’t love a great accent?

CC: Hadley struggles with some tough issues in this book, coping with her parent’s divorce and embracing a new step-family is chief among them. Why did you want to write about this topic?

JS: I’m not great about plotting out my books, so a lot of this just developed naturally as I started to write. My own parents are thankfully still together, so I don’t personally have any experience with this kind of thing, but I knew Hadley would be dealing with some family issues, and that meeting Oliver would help her get through that. I wanted to show the way two strangers with two completely different sets of problems could begin to heal simply by finding each other at the right moment.

CC: Okay, writing “process” question. What does your typical writing day look like?

JS: In addition to being an author, I’m also an editor, so I only write one or two days a week. I try to set aside an entire day, but I’m not a particularly focused writer. Unless I’m having one of those rare days where everything is really clicking, I tend to get up about a million times; I’ll take my dog to the park, or do the dishes, or watch a little bit of TV, or just wander around my apartment. This whole process usually begins around 7am, but sometimes I don’t actually get any worthwhile writing done until very late in the day. Then I start to panic about how much time I’ve wasted and how small my word count is, and I finally buckle down and crank out a few pages. It’s not the world’s best process, but it gets the job done…eventually.

CC: What were some of your favorite books when you were a child? Picture book, middle grade book, and young adult novel.

JS: I loved all those classic picture books like Make Way for Ducklings, Goodnight, Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are. I was also really into horses as a kid, so I read all the Black Stallion books and others like that when I got a little older. And then three of my other favorites from that age are still at the top of my list today: Bridge to Terabithia, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Tuck Everlasting.

CC: If you could pick any author (living or dead) to be marooned on a deserted island with, who would it be and why…?

JS: This is always such a tough question! I’m not sure what author, and I don’t think I could even narrow down what book. It sort of depends on the day, but it would probably either be The Great Gatsby, Harry Potter, something by Dickens, or a book of W.H. Auden poems. How’s that for all over the map?

CC: All good choices! :) Okay...In your “dream movie” of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, who would you cast to play Hadley and Oliver?

JS: I’m not sure about Hadley, but I think the actor who played Neville Longbottom would make a great Oliver...

CC: Lastly, another writing question…If you HAD to choose, what is your favorite bit of writing from The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight? A line or metaphor or even a scene that you are most proud of?

JS: That’s a great question! My favorite lines are probably these ones, where Hadley is thinking about Oliver after they’ve parted ways: “He’s like a song she can’t get out of her head. Hard as she tries, the melody of their meeting runs through her mind on an endless loop, each time as surprisingly sweet as the last, like a lullaby, like a hymn, and she doesn’t think she could ever get tired of hearing it.”

Thank you so much Jennifer for taking time to visit The Apocalypsies today!

JS: Thank you – it was a lot of fun!

Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is available in bookstores and online now! You can learn more about Jennifer and her other novels at www.jenniferesmith.com. Or follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenESmith.