Samantha Sotto: An Interview

Once I finished Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto I was intrigued to find out more about the lady behind the novel and about how the novel originated. I recently reviewed the novel and loved it (you read the review here ). With Before Ever After being Samantha's first novel, I was excited to find out what the futures holds for her. Read on to find out what she has to say.

Thankyou for taking the time answer my questions. I absolutly loved Before Ever After, as it seems does everyone who reads it. Where did the idea for the novel come from?
Thank you! I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. Max popped into my head while I was stuck in traffic. I think it came about as a result of the Doctor Who marathon I had just emerged from and the "hangover" I had from reading The Time Traveller's Wife.

Did you visit all the places that you mention in Before Ever After?

I've been to all the countries in the book except Slovenia - which is probably why I had the most fun writing the chapter about it. My imagination had a bigger playground.

Where has been your favourite place that you have travelled to?

I love Venice. I have absolutely no sense of direction and Venice is the perfect place to get lost in.

Did you have to do a lot of research to ensure all the historical facts in Before Ever After were correct?
 The book took me about a year to write and half of that time was spent on research. It was one of my favorite parts of the process. And yes, I'm a nerd. ;-)

Why did you decide to make chickens and eggs a focal point in Before Ever After?

I thought that a character like Max would have developed some interesting quirks in the course of his life. His love for chickens just made him feel more real and charming to me. On a symbolic level, eggs have long been associated with the concept of life and rebirth.

If you were to make Before Ever After into a movie, who would be your dream cast?
As much as I'd love to answer that question, I have to bite my tongue. (Ow.) I want readers to be able to imagine Max and the gang without influencing them.

How did you celebrate getting Before Ever After published?

I was in Hong Kong when my agent called me at 4AM to tell me about the book deal. My hubby and I ordered champagne and omelets from room service right after I got off the phone.

Do you have a special place where you do your writing?
I wrote Before Ever After at the same table at Starbucks for an entire year.

Do you advice to aspiring authors wanting to get published?

Show up for work and write even if inspiration decides to play hooky.

Will there be another book, and if so can you tell us what it will be about?

I'm working on my second novel. I can't say much about except that chapter twenty four is trying to sip my brain out with a very small straw ;-)

Thankyou so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I, and I'm sure everyone else, cannot wait for your second novel!

Thankyou :-)

Thankyou to the beautiful and talented Samantha Sotto for stopping by Chick Litaholic

You can visit Samantha Sotto's website here

And remember you can purchase Before Ever After below: