Interview with Katy Upperman for How the Light Gets In

How the Light Gets In

by Katy Upperman

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Release Date: August 6th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Since her sister’s tragic death, seventeen-year-old Callie Ryan has basically given up. Her grades have plummeted, she’s quit her swim team, and she barely recognizes the people her parents have become.

When she returns to her aunt’s run-down coastal Victorian one year after Chloe’s death, Callie resigns herself to a summer of guilt and home renovations. She doesn’t expect to be charmed by the tiny coastal town or by Tucker Morgan, a local boy brimming with sunshine.

But even as her days begin to brighten, Callie’s nights are crowded with chilling dreams, unanswered questions, and eerie phenomenon that have her convinced she’s being haunted. Will Callie be able to figure out what her sister is trying to communicate before it’s too late?

Can you briefly describe HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN and the characters? 

Sure! How the Light Gets In is a summer-set ghost story that explores sisterhood, grief, guilt, and what it means to “get better” after the trauma of an enormous loss. 

Here’s a more thorough summary, as well as some insight into a few of HTLGI’s characters: After her sister’s tragic death, seventeen-year-old Callie’s grades plummet, she quits her swim team, and she barely recognizes the people her parents have become. When she’s forced to return to her aunt’s run-down coastal Victorian a year after Chloe’s death, Callie resigns herself to a summer of guilt and home renovations. She doesn’t expect to be charmed by the tiny coastal town or by Tucker, a local boy brimming with sunshine. But even as her days begin to brighten, Callie’s nights are crowded with chilling dreams, unanswered questions, and eerie phenomenon that have her convinced she’s being haunted. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why? 

Callie, for sure. She was a huge challenge to write because she’s very, very sad for a great deal of the book. Her sadness sometimes makes her off-putting to the story’s other characters, but I didn’t want readers to feel that way about her. In an effort to make her more relatable—more than her grief—I gave her a passion: swimming. When I was Callie’s age, I was a swimmer, too, so it was cool to share that interest with this protagonist I was already spending tons of time with. I also love Callie for her fierce loyalty, her curiosity, and her huge heart. She adores her family, and she quickly comes to adore Tucker. I’m really proud of her and her journey throughout the story. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere? 

How the Light Gets In was the third manuscript I wrote, way back in 2010. I knew I wanted to write about a haunting, I knew I wanted an old mystery to tie into the contemporary storyline, I knew there had to be romance, and I knew I wanted to set the story in a beach town. The story grew from there. 

HTLGI has changed a lot since its early inception, but those original bits of ideas stayed the same. I found inspiration in lots of places: documentaries about the paranormal, movies like The Sixth Sense and The Man in the Moon, and Cannon Beach, Oregon, the real-life town my fictional Bell Cove is inspired by. I also tossed in a lot of the little things I love, like beach walks, kitties, and Jelly Bellies.  

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be? 

If I Die Young by The Band Perry

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters? 

Oh, gosh – I’m so terrible at this question because I’m pretty unhip to current teen/young adult actors and actresses. BUT. I can kind of picture Dove Cameron as Callie; like, the Liv & Maddie girl-next-door “Maddie” version of Dove Cameron. (How weirdly specific is that?!) And I’ve always imagined Tucker to look like Luke Mitchell from this (probably obscure) mermaid show my daughter and I used to watch called H2O: Just Add Water. 

Summer is still here and we love to go out and enjoy the sun. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date? 

I happen to think How the Light Gets In makes a pretty fantastic beach book. Read it with your toes in the sand, sipping something tropical and refreshing, while the waves crash just beyond. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN? 

How about a few summery YAs? I’ve recently read and loved The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood, When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington, Just My Luck by Jennifer Honeybourne, Stealing Home by Becky Wallace, The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren, No Place Like Here by Christina June, and Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett. 

What’s next for you? 

I have a couple of projects in the works, both contemporary YA romances that have me inspired. I can’t imagine writing anything other than contemporary YA romance, so I hope to be able to publish more books that are similar to Kissing Max Holden, The Impossibility of Us, and How the Light Gets In. Also, one of my favorite writer friends and I are in the earliest stages of planning something collaborative, which has been so much fun so far! 

Thank you so much for having me, FFBC!

Katy’s debut novel, Kissing Max Holden, was published August 1, 2017, and her sophomore effort, The Impossibility of Us, released July 31, 2018. Her third novel, How the Light Gets In, will be out August 6, 2019. All three books are with Swoon Reads/Macmillan. She’s represented by Victoria Marini of the Irene Goodman Agency.

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