Interview with Abigail Johnson for Every Other Weekend

Every Other Weekend

by Abigail Johnson
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: January 7th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

What if your safe place…is a person?

Adam Moynihan’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.

Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for.

Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed.

Can you briefly describe EVERY OTHER WEEKEND and its characters?

EVERY OTHER WEEKEND is a dual point of view story about two teens, a boy who thinks forgiveness makes him week and a girl who thinks love is for fools, who meet and spend every other weekend together the same rundown Philadelphia apartment building. It’s a messy, complicated, romantic, funny, heartbreaking and heart-healing story of first love. There are tons of movie references, deeply broken families, characters you love to hate, text messages, sneaking out, kissing, fighting, and kissing again. I hope readers laugh, they’ll probably cry, but I promise they’ll be smiling by the last page.

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

At different points of the story I would have given you different answers but overall I have to say Jolene. I loved how much was always go on with her and how the way she outwardly portrayed herself was almost always at odds when what she was feeling on the inside. I also loved writing her dialogue because she’s funny but the teeniest bit mean too. 

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

EVERY OTHER WEEKEND was inspired by an old episode of The Wonder Years where Kevin falls for a girl he meets on vacation and then has to leave her behind when he comes home. I started wondering about what it might have been like if they’d continued to see each other regularly, but briefly, and forged a relationship that was totally separate from their ‘real’ lives back home. Adam and Jolene’s story evolved radically from that inspiration—they always do—and there were other inspirations I drew from including ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell and my own childhood growing up in Pennsylvania.

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

Love Someone by Lukas Graham

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

I have a Pinterest board for EVERY OTHER WEEKEND (https://www.pinterest.com/AbigailJBooks/every-other-weekend/) that includes my casting picks for several characters including Hailee Steinfeld as Jolene and KJ Apa as Adam. 

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

This book takes place in Philadelphia during the winter and Adam spend a lot of time walking through the city sipping on hot cocoa. Oh, and a soft pretzel from a street vendor!

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish EVERY OTHER WEEKEND?

Absolutely! If you haven’t read my book IF I FIX YOU, it technically takes place after EVERY OTHER WEEKEND and shows you what happens to the character Daniel. Also, since I mentioned my undying love for ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell and it’s influence on my writing and this book in particular, I highly recommend reading it.

What’s next for you?

More contemporary YA! I’m working on loath-at-first-sight story right now that I can’t get enough of. I’m also beyond excited to be branching into a new genre with the release of my first YA thriller in October 2020!

Abigail was born in Pennsylvania. When she was twelve, her family traded in snow storms for year round summers, and moved to Arizona. Abigail chronicled the entire cross-country road trip (in a purple spiral bound notebook that she still has) and has been writing ever since. She became a tetraplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident when she was seventeen, but hasn’t let that stop her from bodysurfing in Mexico, writing and directing a high school production of Cinderella, and becoming a published author.

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