Interview with Sarah AronsonAuthor of Beyond Lucky
What motivates you as a writer?
Getting to stay in my pajamas all day? I like being able to work from home.
But seriously, like many other writers, I am motivated by character. I love exploring characters and figuring out what they would do under different circumstances. You mention you haven’t always been athletic. What made you decide to write about sports?
I may not be coordinated, but I LOVE watching sports, listening to sports radio, analyzing every game. During a great game, I love watching the momentum turn—how one play can change the entire course of the game. It is so much like a story! I also have to confess that I enjoy competition. The higher the stakes, the more fun it is for me. Of course, I also like to hear about individual players. There are so many stories connected to any one game. It makes a great setting!
Do you have a favorite sport?
Pretty much everything but golf! Sorry, Tiger. It’s so boring!
Soccer and football are great to watch on TV. My family enjoys going to minor league baseball games. My son swims for his high school. So now I like watching swimming, too.
Did you enjoy reading sports books growing up?
Not really. I was definitely a reluctant reader. At one point, my mom paid me to read! The first books I enjoyed were actually plays. I LOVE reading dialogue and action. Description? Not as much.
What was the hardest part of writing Beyond Lucky?
Mac’s story. I love Mac, but he has some big problems he has to deal with. In real life, I don’t always like dealing with conflict. Ari and Mac and Parker had to be braver than I could ever be.
How long did it take you to write Beyond Lucky from the start to the publication?
It took me a looooooooong time to get this book ready for publication. I put it away a couple of times for many long stretches. But then I went back to it. Why? I loved the characters, but I couldn’t completely embrace the conflicts. It was not until after I finished my MFA and deleted the entire text (yes that is not a typo), that I could write this story the way it wanted to unfold.
What is your favorite book?
Are you trying to get me in trouble?
I like a lot of books. I think Charlotte’s Web is a perfect book. Some books that I use to teach writing are Nancy Werlin’s Rules of Survival, Barbara Park’s Mick Harte Was Here, and Katherine Patterson’s The Great Gilly Hopkins. When it comes to nonfiction, there is no better writer than my dear friend, Tanya Lee Stone. And I love funny books, too. Like Bunnicula and No More Dead Dogs. I just finished Tommy Greenwald’s Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading. It is hilarious.
Do you have a writing hero? Who? And why?
That’s a great question.
I admire Walter Dean Myers. Not just because he wrote Monster—one of my all time favorite books—but also because he is a writer who gives back to his community.
As part of my beyond lucky celebration, I am hosting an auction and fundraiser. You can check it out on my website. All the money goes to Grassroot Soccer, a local nonprofit.
Often boys are afraid write. What advice would you give to those boys?
Don’t worry. Write. It doesn’t have to be good. You can always rip it up and rewrite it tomorrow. The truth is: to be a writer, you have to be willing to fail every single day.
Are you working on another novel? If so, tell us about it?
I just started working on a companion novel to Beyond Lucky from Parker’s point of view. A girl who is friends with guys was too tempting to turn away. I’ve been thinking that maybe she should take up hockey!
Be sure to check out Sarah Aronson's website for her online auction. Click here to go directly to the online auction. All proceeds will benefit GRASSROOT SOCCER. Thank you Sarah for the great interview and for giving back to the community.
Click here for a chance to win a signed copy of Beyond Lucky.
Click here for a chance to win a signed copy of Beyond Lucky.
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