1--What is the title of your latest release?
DEAR DOTTY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In DEAR DOTTY, Rosie Benson is giving adulthood her best shot – with mixed results. She tries to please her (controlling) mother, keep up with her (over-achieving) brother and (workaholic) best friend, and pretend that she doesn’t hate selling software at a trendy start-up. When her life unravels, Rosie turns to her great aunt Dotty, a globetrotting, martini-swilling, pug-toting octogenarian for support.
But then Dotty dies, and Rosie is left to pick up the pieces all on her own. As she learns more about how Dotty lived through a series of emails from her many friends, Rosie starts to think that maybe there’s more than one right way to be an adult.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I spent the majority of my twenties in San Francisco – it’s where I figured out how to be an adult (well, mostly) so it only felt natural to share that experience with my protagonist, Rosie. Rosie is twenty-four and has a lot to figure out. If you’re feeling a little lost, San Francisco is a great place to find yourself.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I’d love to! But, I’d have to be careful not to get all big sister-y on her. Rosie is the younger child and everyone in her life thinks they know what’s best for her. In reality, the best thing for Rosie is to let her figure it out on her own! But I think Rosie would be a fun hang – she’s a good listener, has a witty sense of humor, likes great food, and loves animals. Plus, she’s always down for an adventure – as long as you’re the one planning it.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Messy, well-intentioned, plucky
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned to trust the writing process. There were many (many!) times when I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish an entire book but being consistent and persistent paid off. It can feel like an impossible project if you zoom out too much, so taking things one day at a time helped. I also grew to love getting feedback – it can be scary to let other people in on your world, but if you find the right people, they can help you to make your story so much stronger.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’ll make light edits as I go – I usually like to re-read what I wrote the previous day and I inevitably spot things I want to change. But I save the big revisions for after I’ve completed a draft. It’s a lot easier to spot issues when you have the entire picture in front of you.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Give me a loaf of bread and a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar sprinkled with some yummy herbs and I’m in heaven! Bonus points if this also includes a glass of red wine.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Technically, I’m supposed to write at my desk that I spent a lot of time building and organizing. But, in reality, I mostly write on the couch so that I can snuggle up with my co-author, a 15-year-old dachshund mix named Indy.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I think Jo Piazza is the coolest. I love her novels and her characters are always so interesting and layered and complicated! They feel real. Jo also seems like she’d be so fun to hang out with in real life.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I think every book I read changes me a little bit. That’s why I love books so much! But, if I had to pick one, Brigit Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding has always been really important to me. I loved reading about a female character who didn’t have it all together and was honest about it. I related to Brigit in so many ways and it was refreshing to get to spend time with a female protagonist who made mistakes but kept going anyway. If that’s not an essential life lesson, I don’t know what is.
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.
I’d had a call with an editor a day or so before I got “the call,” so I was waiting on pins and needles for an official offer. My agent, Rachel Beck, called me in the morning with the news and I think I blacked out for a second there. I called my husband, Brian, who was in Las Vegas for a work conference first, then my parents, then my in-laws, then all of my friends. It was so much fun to share the news with the people I love the most!
That night, Brian flew home early and my brother-in-law, Kirk, met us for dinner. I drank a martini (Dotty’s favorite drink) to celebrate. Then my parents texted me a picture of them drinking martinis in solidarity. It was so cute!
Full disclosure: I cried when I got home that night. It was a good cry! I was just so overwhelmed that my dream was actually going to come true.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I bounce around quite a bit! I love thrillers, romance, light horror, and mysteries. But if I had to pick one, I’d say women’s fiction.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Choose one? Impossible! In no particular order, they’re: When Harry Met Sally, Bring it On, The Devil Wears Prada (also love the book), Confessions of a Shopaholic (I’ll read anything Sophie Kinsella writes), You’ve Got Mail, and Little Women
15--What is your favorite season?
I’m a fall girl through and through! I love gloomy weather, wearing plaid, drinking spiked hot cocoa, and curling up by the fire with a great book. I’m also a much more productive writer when the weather cools down.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Like many writers, I consider myself to be an introvert. I don’t relish being the center of attention – I’d much rather go to a friend’s birthday party than my own! So, on my birthday, I like to go away for a chill weekend with my husband. In a perfect world, I’ll get to order room service for breakfast and then drink a margarita by the pool while I read. The dream!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I adored Shrinking and can’t wait for it to come back. Right now, I’m really into Loot. Maya Rudolph is the best. The Mr. and Mrs. Jones reboot was awesome too (a warning to my fellow animal lovers – you might want to look it up on www.doesthedogdie.com before you watch. I do that for pretty much every show or movie I see if I know there’s an animal in it!).
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I love Italian food! Give me a big plate of pasta and I’m a happy camper.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I like going on hikes*, meeting friends for dinner, hanging out with my husband and our dog in the backyard, reading (no surprise), watching reality TV, and – this is a little embarrassing – organizing things. It soothes my busy brain!
*When I say hikes, I mean walking along a flat path with a pretty view
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m thrilled to share that I have another book coming out in the summer of 2025! This one will follow a slightly older protagonist (she’s thirty-two) as she tries to get a fresh start in a midwestern lake town filled with quirky characters who might be hiding a very big secret.
Rosie Benson does not have it all together. Like most twenty-somethings, she struggles to figure out life and soon finds herself following the advice of her late great-aunt through a series of revelatory emails about pursuing long-buried dreams rather than society’s idea of perfect in this fun, highly relatable debut. Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, and Sophie Kinsella.
What’s a twenty-something gal to do when her parents announce a divorce after thirty years of marriage, she finds out her best friend has cozied up to her archnemesis, and she accidentally sleeps with the Wrong Guy? Turn to her great-aunt for advice, of course.
Rosie Benson has always struggled to fit in with her over-accomplished family, type-A roommate/best friend, and workaholic boss. But she’s nearly losing herself as she strives to become everyone else’s idea of perfect. When Rosie is abruptly fired from her job at a tech start-up where her boss was way too enthusiastic about synergy and company swag, the illusion that she has life figured out is shattered. Knowing she needs a push, her great-aunt Dotty—a globe-trotting, martini-swilling occasional nudist, and the only person Rosie has ever truly felt herself around—challenges her to pursue a long-buried dream, others’ expectations be damned.
But then Dotty dies.
And Rosie spirals.
As new details of Dotty’s past emerge through revelatory emails from her many friends, Rosie realizes that maybe her aunt’s life wasn’t as charmed as she thought. With her career, friendships, and family unraveling, Rosie must drown out the noise of the world telling her what she should pursue—boyfriend, babies, boss-babe role at a corporate job—and finally focus on what she actually wants.
Women's Fiction Contemporary [Avon, On Sale: June 4, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063340718 / ]
Jaclyn Westlake is an alumna of the Stanford Continuing Studies Novel Writing Program. A former recruiter turned career advice columnist, her work has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, and Inc. She lives in California with her husband and their dachshund mix, Indiana Jones (but you can call him Indy). Dear Dotty is her first novel. Pickles are her favorite food.
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