Author Interview: Sometime in Summer by Katrina Leno
You may know Katrina Leno from her horror. Or maybe her contemporary. Perhaps her fabulism. What I’m trying to say is…Katrina writes it all – and she’s back this summer with a fabulist story that is the perfect beach read. As fans of her other stories, we checked in on what to expect with Sometime in Summer. Check out our interview below and pick it up TODAY!
Sometime in Summer
by Katrina Lenoon June 28, 2022
Genres: Young Adult
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From critically acclaimed author Katrina Leno comes a tender love letter to books and summertime, with a touch of magic.
Anna Lucia Bell believes in luck: bad luck. Bad luck made her best friend stop talking to her. Bad luck caused her parents' divorce. Bad luck is forcing her mother, Miriam, to sell the family's beloved bookstore. And it is definitely bad luck that Anna seems to be the only person in the world Miriam is unable to recommend a life-changing book.
When Anna finds out that she and her mom are spending two months in a New England seaside town called Rockport, she expects a summer plagued with bad luck too. But Rockport has surprises in store for Anna, including a comet making its first appearance in over twenty years and two new--but familiar--friends.
In what will prove to be the most important summer of her life so far, Anna learns about love, herself, and the magic that an ordinary summer can bring.
Interview with Katrina Leno
You’ve written stories through multiple genres, most recently horror. What will fans of your most recent work find in Sometime in Summer?
My intention with my writing—no matter the genre I’m currently working in—is always to explore human relationships, either family or friendship (or enemies!). These relationships are the crux of every story I write. The plot and the genre are always secondary to the relationships of my characters. In that way, I think fans of my darker works will see that same baseline in SOMETIME IN SUMMER. It’s a very different novel, plot wise, from HORRID or YOU MUST NOT MISS, but when you strip it down to its bones, they’re all about people just trying to navigate their way through their relationships.
What went into choosing Rockport as the setting for the story? How does the setting intersect with the characters and story?
As a child, I vacationed in Rockport, Massachusetts every summer. My family and I would sleep in a camper and spend everyday walking around the town, swimming at Wingaersheek Beach, visiting the bookstores and vintage clothing store—Bananas. Rockport is very magical to me, in the way that childhood memories often are, and I always knew I wanted to set a book there. Anna is discovering this magic for the first time, and it was truly a joy to walk around Rockport with her fresh eyes. It’s the quintessential New England town, and I tried to imbibe the pages with the scent of saltwater and the almost old-fashioned charm of a tiny seaport community. The town is really its own separate character in that way, and it lends a lot of its magic and lore to Anna, setting her off on a journey she never would have expected.
Sometime in Summer and Summer of Salt both have fabulist elements to them. What advice would Georgina give to Anna about navigating the magical elements within the story?
I love this question! Georgina (from SUMMER OF SALT) is much more open to magic than Anna, but at the same time, I think they both have a resistance to it. Georgina knows it exists but still resists, and Anna has no idea it exists but, once she’s clued in, also pulls away from it. I think Georgina would help Anna learn how to live alongside the magic without letting it run your life. Almost like—YOU have magic, magic doesn’t have YOU. You are the storyteller of your own book, and the magic can help you reach the final chapter, as long as you let it in.
