Interview with Lauren Strasnick

1. Was Nothing Like You the first novel you wrote or just the first one published? It was the second novel I'd written. The first was my graduate thesis, which is now buried away somewhere on my hard drive.

2. Nothing Like You, like Her and Me and You, has a sort of love triangle in it. Have you witnessed this in a lot of real life relationships, or do your stories just happen that way?
I think real life love triangles are pretty horrifying. I'd run screaming if i saw one looming large on the horizon. Fiction is different. Those sorts of triangles provide a ton of story tension and really ratchet up the stakes. I can't say I've witnessed many triangles, though I did partake in one or two while still in high school. Never again!

3. Are you like Holly with your heart on your sleeve or the complete opposite? What's some advise you have for writing a main character that is nothing like you?
It's funny, I am a heart-on-my-sleeve kind of girl, though I'm pretty different from Holly. We've experienced some similar stuff, but Holly's a bit more destructive, more willing to screw up in bigger, badder ways. I don't think there's any special trick to writing a main character who's different from you, i just think it involves a bit of imagination.

4. What do you know now about the publishing/author world that you wish you knew when you started?
Oh wow, that's a tough question. I've learned a ton in the past few years, though I'm not sure there's anything I wish I'd known going in. You learn as you go, right? The publishing world requires a tremendous amount of patience. And, of course, there's more to this job than writing. Sorting out how to publicize your books -- that's something I'm still trying to figure out.


5. Tell us a bit about your upcoming novel Then You Were Gone.
THEN YOU WERE GONE is about a girl named Dakota Webb who sings in a popular underground band called Dark Star. She's bitchy & super hot & has legions of freshman girls worshiping at her altar of rock. Then one day she goes missing. Her ex-best friend, Adrienne, sets out to uncover what really happened, & while on that path, Adrienne kind of... becomes her.

6. What have you read lately that was amazing?
I just read GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn which was fantastic -- suspenseful, entertaining, incredibly well written -- I could not put it down. I'm also madly in love with her first book, SHARP OBJECTS. So good! She & Tana French are two of my favorites when it comes to crime fiction. & Just this past week I started reading SECOND CHANCE SUMMER by my friend, Morgan Matson. Heartbreaking & SO GOOD.

7. What else would you like to add?
Nothing! Other than: thank you, Brittany, for hosting me on your blog! Such stellar questions.

A big thanks to Lauren for stopping by and answering some questions.