Q&A with Lisa Patton

  

 

 

Lisa Patton is the author of the new novel Kissing the Sky. Her other books include Rush. She has worked in the music industry, and she lives in Nashville. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Kissing the Sky, and how did you create your character Suzannah? 

 

A: Way back in 2019, I remember sitting on my couch watching the TV coverage of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. As a lifelong music lover, I'd always been insanely curious about that iconic weekend.

 

I'd seen the movie while I was in college and I remember having to hide the album cover from my parents for fear of them discovering the images of skinny dippers frolicking in the lake. After frantically googling to see if a novel had been set at Woodstock and learning there wasn’t one, I knew I should be the one to write Kissing The Sky. 

 

Suzannah came to me quickly. I thought a naive protagonist would be a whole lot more fun than a hippie girl who was already part of the free love movement. The idea of Suzannah’s eyes popping out of her skull the whole time she was at Woodstock gave me the excitement to start creating her.  

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you? 

 

A: Jimi Hendrix was Woodstock's headliner and kissing the sky comes from his song "Purple Haze." You know, "Scuse me while I kiss the sky." (Many people thought he was saying, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy.")

 

While the lyric is about the high someone gets from an acid trip, in my novel kissing the sky is about the natural high someone gets from first love and discovering who you really are.

 

Kissing The Sky is both a romance and a coming-of-age story about a young woman who finds her voice both literally and figuratively.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A fun story set in NYC in the ‘90s about a young woman who gets a second chance at her dream of singing on Broadway. While auditioning, and to support herself, she lands a job as a personal assistant to a major film star and is tasked with the job of helping that star plan her fifth wedding to a man best described as, let’s just say… a buffoon.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Only that I appreciate every single person who takes a chance and spends their precious time reading my books. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb