Perfect for readers on the go, this short but sweet novella is
an independently published modern take on T.S. Eliot’s famous poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Told in flashbacks and present day scenes,
Daltry weaves a modern summer beachside romance between two young lovers. Echoing the original poem, she expresses lonely,
desperate themes as seen here: “For eighteen years, summer was our chance to
find the key, and every fall brought disappointment, when we ended up back at
school with no new stories and we were the same people we’d been three months
earlier”. The character of Eliot’s narrator
is reimagined in Daltry’s short piece as she traces his life from a hopeful
past to a disillusioned present. Told in
the first person narrative, main character Jake meets Emily, a beach town
resident at a general store where he works.
Their romance quickly follows and hastens its pace through the summer
months. As autumn approaches, the two
begin to question what will become of their love and struggle to make every
attempt for a lasting affair. As the
cruel hands of fate sweep in they provide an unexpected close to the short
novel. This accessible modern
interpretation of such a widely read poem is a perfect bridge between readers
of novels and readers of poems. Grab
yourself a latte and this book and see if you agree with Eliot that “in a
minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse”.
Interview with Sarah Daltry:
1) What inspired you to begin writing?
I made up stories my entire life. My parents worked a lot and we didn’t have a
lot of money. I was always reading,
spending many days in the library. Writing
always came natural to me.
2) How did you come to choose T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to write your novella?
I taught high school English. I love classic literature. I started working on this piece, which took me
almost two years to write. I’ve always
loved that whole time period. For
example, when the movie “Midnight in Paris” came out I fell in love with the
setting and time. I was never a fan of
Hemingway until I read The Sun Also Rises. I loved teaching authors such as Fitzgerald,
Hemingway, and Eliot. I was inspired to
think about nostalgia and really loved Eliot’s poem. There were so many interpretations to be made
with unspoken pieces that were relevant to any decade.
3) Do you feel that you relate to either of the main
characters in your story?
I relate to the man a bit but he is older than me. I used personal observations in reimagining
the poem. I don’t live in New York City
but I have lived in New England my whole life so I tried to use a city I was
familiar with. I thought, how could I
take these observations and make it into a story. It was an experiment.
4) Can you talk a little about independent publishing, what
made you decide to go this route, and the difficulty level?
I’ve been writing for a long time. I have a lot of novels and many half written
pieces. Fifteen years ago I wanted to be
a writer. I tried the traditional
publishing route and got rejected many times, so I only ended up publishing a
couple short stories here or there. I
liked teaching and thought I would go after writing someday. A few years ago my grandfather died and I was
talking to my grandmother about writing.
I realized my aunt, who’s in her 60’s now never acted on her talent for
writing. I had all these ideas for
writing but knew that I would never actually do anything unless I started
writing seriously. My first novel was a
vampire romance based on biblical themes and was published through an imprint
of Harlequin. I decided to work on young
adult fiction, specifically a college story.
It turned into a sexy romance because of the stigma that ‘sex
sells’. It worked for self-publishing
and took off for a little but I knew I didn’t want this. I wrote Backward
Compatible and tried to go traditional with that, but I was told there
would be no market for it. I realized,
however, that this is what I wanted to be writing. I was making the choice to write what I want
not to write what’s marketable. I am not
a big advocate for either self-publishing or the traditional route, however, I
would rather sell 20 copies and be on a shelf somewhere than sell millions
writing about something I don’t care about.
I’m willing to work really hard but would like someone to filter
it. I would prefer the traditional route
but appreciate the self-publishing route, which gives opportunity.
5) What are you reading now and who are some of your
favorite authors?
Right now I am reading The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I
finished The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring this summer.
Also on my list is the third novel in the Anna and the French Kiss series, Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins and Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini
Taylor. My favorite classical authors
are Hemingway, the Bronte’s, and Salinger.
My favorite more contemporary authors include Courtney Summers, Lauren
DeStefano, Jodi Picoult, and Tom Perrotta.
I like to read realistic contemporary and young adult fiction. A lot of adult fiction tends to have a
certain focus, genre or literary.
Sometimes I just want to read a story that isn’t genre, just realistic,
but also not trying too hard to be literary.
6) What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
You need to know what your goal is. You need to write the story that matters to
you. Ask yourself, do you want to be a
storyteller or a businessperson? Why are
you writing it? It took me a while to
follow my own advice, but I’m happier now writing a book I’m happy with. Your first question you should ask yourself
is why are you writing?
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