In ALL SUMMER LONG, many of the characters are struggling with
money issues --- some don’t have enough, others want more, some think money
will buy them love and/or happiness. Can you tell us how you came upon this
theme for your latest novel?
My husband has worked
in and around the investment banking world for his entire career. As a
result we have come to know people who are firmly in the one percent. I
can say without reservation that money cannot buy you happiness but it’s better
to have some than not.
You seemed to enjoy pushing the limits of bad behavior with some
of the characters here, such as Ellen, the nanny from hell, and Dorothy, a
conniving, back-stabbing clothes hanger, among others. Is it hard to push those
limits yet keep the characters from becoming absurd? How do you keep from
crossing that thin line of credibility? Are any of these unattractive people
based on some you’ve come across in real life?
These terrible women
in my novel are the bathroom mirror personalities of many people I know.
What I have done is allowed them to do and say the things they think that they
would never have the nerve to do or say in real life.
As the author, what do you think the odds are of Bob Vasile
putting aside his adulterous habits in order to fully recommit himself to his
marriage and life with Maritza? Do you think he can change?
I believe in the power
of love. Many things happen in the name of it. Eyes are opened,
countries change hands. I’d like to think that Bob is finally going to calm
down and behave, not because he worries about Maritza cleaning his clock but
because he discovered that he deeply loves her and their daughter. And I
think the time they spend in the Nantucket house restores some kind of normalcy
to their lives.
Which location did you enjoy writing about the most: New York
City, Isle of Palms, or one of the fabulous locales visited with the Vasile
party?
Even as a daughter of
the Lowcountry of South Carolina, fully committed to its geography with all my
heart, I absolutely enjoy other places too. I have spent almost half of
my life in and around New York because it’s fabulous. The energy, the
creativity, the availability of top drawer anything at your fingertips is like
a drug. But it’s exhausting too. So I cherish the leisurely pace I
find in the Lowcountry and vacations in other places as well because we all
need time to refuel.
Let’s say it’s time to downsize the Frank household. Would you
compare yourself to Olivia, who has a tendency to hoard every beautiful object
that comes across her path, or are you more of a purger? What five things would
definitely make the move?
I purge. Five
things? I have a chandelier shaped like a pineapple that in the 1930’s
hung with seven others in a brasserie in Paris. I’d take the 1860 ship’s
skeleton clock we have because the movement is endlessly fascinating. I’d have
to pack my mother’s Bible, a wonderful picture I have of my father taken on a
battlefield during WWII and my great grandmother’s sugar shell, which even though
it’s not worth a fortune it is a treasure that reminds me of her gentility.
Truth time: Have you ever been to Necker Island? Swum with a
dolphin? Been on a luxury yacht like Le Bateau de l’Amour? If not,
what is the most “over the top” place you have been or thing you have done?
There’s no way I’m
getting mixed up with a dolphin in the name of a good time and the wildest
thing I have ever done is between me and my confessor. But let’s leave it
at this – I have a weakness for gorgeous boats.
ALL SUMMER LONG is filled with lots of what I call “eye candy for
the mind” --- descriptions of furnishings and accessories, fabrics and baubles,
all aspects of Olivia’s profession as an interior designer and decorator. Do
you use a decorator, or are you more in Dorothy’s (unnecessary annoyances!)
camp? How would you describe your personal style?
I have used a
decorator from time to time to gain access to fabrics and showrooms closed to
the public but mostly my sister jumps in when I need help. And to be honest,
at this stage in my life, I pretty much know what I like and don’t like.
Nothing tastes like summer so much as a simple tomato sandwich, a
delight that Nick introduces to Olivia upon their arrival to South Carolina.
I’m guessing it is also a favorite of yours, so here’s the big question: What
brand of mayonnaise do you use?
Dukes. And when
I’m out of it I make my own.
You split time between your home in New Jersey and the Low
Country. Do these homes have separate personalities, or would there be no
question as to who lives in both? Does your heart reside in both places, or
will the Low Country always be home with a capital H?
Our home in NJ is a
hundred year-old English manor house and it was slowly furnished over
twenty-five years with a lot of English antiques, old Persian rugs and Asian
ceramics because that’s what looks right here. Our home on Sullivan’s
Island is an ancient clapboard statement in minimalism, mainly because I
haven’t quite figured out what to do with it yet. But it bears only the
slightest resemblance to NJ. All the walls on the island are varying
shades of ivories and the palest grays on the spectrum. The art work is
all post 1990. And I have more than a few white pieces of upholstered
furniture. Still, somehow both houses reflect our taste, despite the
differences in their styles. But it’s capital H for the island, even if
we do have some major structural issues facing us.
If you were to write a sequel to ALL SUMMER LONG, which couple’s
future would you focus on: Olivia and Nick, and their new life in South
Carolina; or Bob and Maritza, and their attempt to reinvent their life
together?
Bob and Maritza offer
more color – no doubt about that. But I think you still need Olivia and
Nick to put it all in perspective. Would you like to see a sequel?
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