1--What is the title of your latest release?
EVERYTHING WE NEVER SAID
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A high school girl is wracked with guilt and grief after her best friend dies over the summer. When she finds comfort in her dead-best-friend’s boyfriend, to her horror, she starts to fall in love with him. But nothing could prepare her for the secrets she finds in her best friend’s diary, secrets that start to unravel everything she thought she knew.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This was one of the first things I’d figured out, actually! It sort of snapped into place. I kept picturing the small town in North Georgia where I grew up as I imagined Ella navigating this dark story, so I was like, “Well, why not?” Also, I feel like there’s something about the brutal Georgia heat and humidity and how loud and alive the woods are at night that lends itself to thrillers.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Though, honestly, Ella might get annoyed at my intense urge to “big sister” her. As the oldest of two younger siblings, I’ve been told this can come across as a little overbearing [read: incredibly bossy].
Over the years, I’ve chilled out, so I’m sure I can manage to take her to a cat café to drink some boba tea without giving her a lecture about her future...pretty sure.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Devoted, heartbroken, resilient
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I’m still very much learning this, but it was while writing this book that I got to see just how important self-care and a self-care routine is. Going to bed and getting up at the same time. Making sure I was seeing my therapist weekly. Drinking enough water. Doing non-book related activities to give my brain a break. Have I nailed the consistent self-care routine? It’s a work in progress.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I would love to be able to turn off my editing brain until the end. It’s incredibly hard for me to draft when my inner editor is activated. I usually do a light editing pass every chapter or two –but to be honest, I’m still figuring out and working on my editing/drafting flow.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Oh my goodness, cheeseboards. This might not count because I almost don’t care what you put on that wooden plank as long as it’s cheese or cheese adjacent. That being said, I had a cheeseboard once with actual honeycomb and dear, sweet Lord, nothing’s the same ever since.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I’m all over the place, so my writing space is too. Sometimes I need my noise cancelling headphones in a bustling, late night coffee shop. But usually (especially since late night coffee shops aren’t really a thing in some places) it’s just a chair pulled up to whatever table surface I can find, my cat, Pabu, sitting in my arms, as I type on my laptop, usually at 3:30 AM (like I said, still working on that self-care routine).
10--Who is an author you admire?
I have so many! Cheryl Strayed, Will Manwill, Mia P. Manansala, Michelle Zauner, and Annabelle Tometich…just to name a few.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
It’s hard to pare the list down to a single book – one that stands out is “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.” I read it when I was nine, and was blown away by how epic it felt, how Charlotte, at only thirteen, was just as strong and brave as any of the heroes I had ever seen in movies.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
What an incredible moment – I tried taking notes during, but my hands shook hard enough to make it illegible. I got off the call and there was a puddle of sweat under my armpits. I was so thrilled/ecstatic/terrified that I ended up getting an intense migraine that had me bedridden for two days, no joke. It was such life-changing news that my body was like, “Hold up, we’re gonna need some time to process.”
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’m a huge sucker for romance, but my favorite is a romance with a little kick or edge to it. Like, a good mystery-romance or a romantic-thriller will have me cancelling dinner plans in a heartbeat.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Ahhh but I love movies so much! When I ask this question, I always ask, “What are your top five?” because whittling it down to one is impossible. But since you asked so politely, I will do my best, which is a tie for first between “Jurassic Park” and “Amadeus.”
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall! Where I grew up, fall was a holiday. I grew up next to a farm with a corn maze, and every year there were fall festivals with bonfires, s’mores, hayrides, cake walks, apple cider, and field trips to pumpkin farms. My favorite moment growing up is when I’d step outside on an early October night to find the air had finally cooled and smelled like burning logs.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With the people I love, but especially my family. Nothing beats giving my parents and siblings a Harvard-level presentation on my current hyperfixation (usually a fanfic ship complete with fanart and fanedits), and they aren’t allowed to leave because it is my birthday.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just discovered “The Mango Tree” by Annabelle Tometich – it’s an incredible memoir, and I can’t put it down! As far as shows go, I’m always somewhere in the middle of a “Better Call Saul” rewatch.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I don’t think I’ve ever met a food I didn’t like, but I LOVE Filipino food! Especially a Filipino breakfast. My siblings and I grew up on sunny side up eggs and Spam on top of rice. Our favorite, though, was when there was this sausage called longanisa that’s sweet and garlicky…literally my stomach grumbled just typing that. Between that and having ube-flavored desserts, I could eat only Filipino food for the rest of my life.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love comedy! Watching, writing, performing. I’ve done mostly improv comedy, and it’s where I’ve met a lot of my closest friends. Nothing bonds you to someone else quite as much as getting onstage together and making up stuff to try (and oftentimes fail) to make strangers laugh. I also love playing video games, binging shows and movies, and staring at my cat while she sleeps.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I have been so excited about this next project I’ve been working on! My little author heart just loves all things dark, dramatic, and twisty…so be prepared for that! And romance. Definitely, definitely romance.
Dark romance, high stakes, and plot twists abound in this paperback original YA thriller that's perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover.
What you don't know can hurt you....
It’s been months since the accident that killed Ella’s best friend, Hayley, and Ella can’t stop blaming herself. Now Ella is back at school, and everywhere she looks are reminders of her best friend—including Sawyer, Hayley’s boyfriend. Little by little, they grow closer, until Ella realizes something horrifying . . .
She’s in love with her dead best friend’s boyfriend.
Racked with guilt, Ella turns to Hayley’s journal, hoping she’ll find something in the pages that will make her feel better about what’s happening. Instead, she discovers that Sawyer has secrets of his own and that his relationship with Hayley wasn’t as picture-perfect as it seemed.
Ella knows she should stay away but finds herself inextricably drawn to him—and scared of everything she never knew about him. Perhaps it’s his grief. Or maybe his desires, cut short by tragedy. Or could it be something twisted only Hayley knew about?
A dark, romantic thriller perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Laura Nowlin, Everything We Never Said explores the secrets in even the best of friendships and asks how well you ever know the ones you love.
Young Adult | Mystery | Thriller [Penguin, On Sale: June 4, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593855720 / eISBN: 9780593855737]
Sloan Harlow was interested in writing from a very young age. "Everything We Never Said," is her debut novel. She lives in Georgia with her black cat, Pabu, trying to eat as much Ube ice cream as possible.
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