Jill Shalvis is the author of the new novel The Forever Girl. Her many other novels include Almost Just Friends. She lives in the Sierras.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Forever Girl, and for your characters?
A: I saw a picture online of a woman in a wedding dress and red beat up sneakers, and I knew I had Cat. Then I saw a pic of a group of clearly close friends sitting in lawn chairs in a semi-circle around a tombstone, cheers-ing in unison to the grave.
One of them was the hardened, unflappable, stoic warrior Walker, who couldn’t take his eyes off the woman across from him, the tough-on-the-outside-but-wounded-on-the-inside Maze. And I knew I had my story.
Q: The novel deals in part with the foster care system. What do you think the story says about definitions of family?
A: I’ve always thought family was more about unbreakable bonds than actual blood ties.
Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the book calls it "an appealing story of second chances." How do you see the idea of second chances playing into the novel?
A: That there’s always a second chance, but it’s not always what you think it’s going to be.
Q: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: To me, The Forever Girl refers to how Maze, our lead heroine, doesn’t bond easily, or at all mostly, except for this tight-knit group. She’s theirs, and they’re hers, forever. No matter what.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Putting the finishing touches on Love For Beginners, which comes out in June and asks the questions — if you had to start your entire life over, would you do things the same, or would you take a different path entirely?
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Come visit me on IG and/or FB if you want to see my daily pics of the crazy life of how a former big city girl is handling living on a mountain and writing books while surrounded by bears, porcupines, and mountain lions oh my…
https://www.jillshalvis.com/newsletter
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jill Shalvis.
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