Deb Caletti Author Interview

Photo Credit: © Susan Doupé

Deb Caletti is an award-winning author and National Book Award finalist. Her many books for young adults include The Nature of Jade, Stay, The Last Forever, Essential Maps for the Lost, and Honey, Baby Sweetheart, winner of the Washington State Book award, the PNBA Best Book Award, and a finalist for the California Young Reader Medal and the PEN USA Award. Her books for adults include He’s Gone, The Secrets She Keeps, and her most recent release, What’s Become of Her.

Deb grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, and now lives with her family in Seattle.

        

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 18, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481415204
ISBN-13: 978-1481415200

Praise for A HEART IN A BODY IN THE WORLD

“Masterful… This is one for the ages.” ―Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay

“Caletti’s novel dazzlingly maps the mind-blowing ferocity and endurance of an athlete who uses her physical body to stake claim to the respect of the nation.” ―E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of Genuine Fraud and We Were Liars

“More than bittersweet… It will nestle inside your brain as well as your heart.” ―Jodi Lynn Anderson, award-winning author of Midnight at the Electric

“Remarkable.” ―Booklist, starred review

“A timely novel.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Powerful.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A moving novel centered on timely issues.” ―School Library Journal

  

When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill?
I realized this very early. I started writing stories in the second grade. But I got serious about writing after my two kids were born. I made a vow to get serious and get down to work. I didn’t want to end up saying, “I always wanted to be a writer…”

What was the single worst distraction that kept you from writing this book?
SO MANY this time! This is the book I wrote with teeth-gritted determination, because: our basement flooded (twice). Our water mains had to be repaired, so workmen were here for weeks. I got meningitis. Our oven broke (more repair guys). A new water heater (repair guy). We decided to get hardwood floors (utter upheaval, and more guys in the house). Added to that, a few more annoying health challenges and sad personal events. But, I turned it in ON TIME. (Insert victory whoop here.)

Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
So many. More importantly, books collectively have done that. They brought me to the life I have now. Reading has saved me in a million ways over the years. Books have been my refuge and my guides. My way out, and my way in.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Again – so many, since I’ve been doing this for a while now. The letters I get are always some of my most rewarding moments, though. When a reader says that a book of mine helped them feel understood, or led them to make a change in their life, or brought them joy, or moved them to tears… I’m just overcome.

In your new book; A HEART IN A BODY IN THE WORLD, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it.
In A Heart in a Body in the World, an anguished Annabelle Agnelli begins to run from Seattle to Washington D.C. after an unspeakable tragedy. Followed by her old Italian grandpa in his RV, and backed by her little brother and two friends, Annabelle’s personal trauma transforms into activism with each mile. It’s a story of resilience. And it’s a story of teens who mobilize in the midst of profound grief, one that became unfortunately even timelier when Florida students - and students across the nation - recently did just that. It also explores other timely issues – toxic masculinity and its links to violence. How women of all ages are told we are responsible for how we make men feel and what we make men do. What it feels like to be a girl in our world.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters?
I’m not a big believer in the “my characters surprised me” idea, since I’m the master of my writing ship. But my readers will get an unexpected surprise about one of my characters in A Heart in a Body in the World. If you are a regular reader of my novels, you will finally, finally discover the identity of the mysterious Captain Ed, whose RV can be spotted in some location in nearly every one of my books.

What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
I still have a lot on my mind about the power dynamics between males and females (of all ages!) in our society, so expect to see a novel or two that explores this issue from different angles. Also – surprise! I have a secret middle-grade novel that will be coming out next year.

If you could live in any period in history, when would it be?
1920’s Paris, when all the writers were hanging out there.

If you had to go back in time and change one thing, if you HAD to, even if you had “no regrets” what would it be?
Going back in time, I would give myself more insight and information about how our past – our upbringing, our childhood experiences, our family history, etc., etc. - affects our future. This would have allowed me to make better and healthier decisions, and to make necessary changes with more decisiveness, thoughtfulness, and courage.

Which incident in your life that totally changed the way you think today?
When I was in kindergarten, my teacher read Ramona the Pest aloud to us, and I felt understood. It opened the doorway to the world of books, and this has been my world from then on.

When everything has been taken from you, what else is there to do but run?

So that’s what Annabelle does—she runs from Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She’s not ready to think about the why yet, just the how—muscles burning, heart pumping, feet pounding the earth. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t outrun the tragedy from the past year, or the person—The Taker—that haunts her.

Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends (her self-appointed publicity team), Annabelle becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Her cross-country run gains media attention and she is cheered on as she crosses state borders, and is even thrown a block party and given gifts. The support would be nice, if Annabelle could escape the guilt and the shame from what happened back home. They say it isn’t her fault, but she can’t feel the truth of that.

Through welcome and unwelcome distractions, she just keeps running, to the destination that awaits her. There, she’ll finally face what lies behind her—the miles and love and loss…and what is to come.

You can purchase A Heart in a Body in the World at the following Retailers:

        

And now, The Giveaways.

Thank you DEB CALETTI AND SIMON PULSE for making this giveaway possible.

5 Winners will receive a Copy of A HEART IN A BODY IN THE WORLD by Deb Caletti.

WEEK ONE

SEPTEMBER 18th TUESDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW 
SEPTEMBER 18th TUESDAY Sweet Southern Home GUEST POST
SEPTEMBER 19th WEDNESDAY Movies, Shows, & Books EXCERPT
SEPTEMBER 20th THURSDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW
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SEPTEMBER 21st FRIDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW & INTERVIEW
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WEEK TWO
SEPTEMBER 23rd SUNDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW
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SEPTEMBER 24th MONDAY Vicky Who Reads REVIEW & TENS LIST
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SEPTEMBER 25th TUESDAY A Dream Within a Dream EXCERPT
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SEPTEMBER 26th WEDNESDAY RhythmicBooktrovert REVIEW
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