In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.
Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.
Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.
Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok.
When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot.
Reviews~
"Amy Poeppel brings her signature “big-hearted, charming” style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in between." The Washington Post
"With sly humor and sharp understanding, Amy Poeppel hits The Sweet Spot in this funny, twisty, goodhearted novel about families lost, found, and made." — Virginia Kantra, New York Times bestselling author of MEG & JO and BETH & AMY
"Unabashedly warm-hearted and fun, THE SWEET SPOT serves up a fresh story about the chaos of family, flavored with classic components of the most entertaining dramedies: a charming New York setting, endearing core characters, and a hilarious supporting cast that often steals the show. Irresistible!" -- Mary Laura Philpott, author of BOMB SHELTER: LOVE, TIME, and OTHER EXPLOSIVES
"THE SWEET SPOT is an absolute delight. With its quirky characters, humor, and lovely writing, it is my favorite book of late. Amy Poeppel has the freshest, funniest voice around." -- Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of SISTER STARDUST
Author interview with Amy ~
Tell us a little about yourself and how you started
writing.
I guess you could say I’m a bit of a late-bloomer when it comes to writing. After doing a hundred other things with my life (from tutoring the Boston University ice hockey team to acting in plays to moving all over the country and raising three fabulous kids), I got this crazy idea to write a story about an unusual fact about my family: Although my grandparents were married to each other for over sixty years and seemed very much in love, they decided early in their marriage to design a house for themselves with separate his-and-her bedrooms. I was so puzzled by this arrangement as a kid, but never dared ask them about it. It was too personal! So I began to write a novel to invent an explanation for why a loving couple might choose to sleep in separate rooms for most of their marriage.
While I had a great time writing that book—a quirky southern comedy about a sexless, geriatric couple—it was never published (surprise, surprise) and will never be published. But the good news is that writing that flawed book taught me a lot about how to (and how not to) structure a novel. It also taught me how to create believable characters and develop a workable narrative arc. As soon as I finished writing that book, I began the next one, which was published after I turned fifty. I’ve been writing ever since.
What are some things you enjoy when not writing?
I love to cook, take walks with my dog, go to movies and plays, spend time with my grown kids, travel with my husband, wander around museums, and read.
Do you have a particular writing routine?
No! And I wish I did. I’m what you might call a “binge writer” – meaning I spend a lot of time thinking and not writing … and then I write for long stretches and fail to do anything else (like walk the dog, shower, or sleep). I would like to have a better and healthier schedule that would allow time for writing, exercising, and doing things to relax. #goals
Is there anything major that changed in this novel from when you first plotted it out?
When I was writing The Sweet Spot, I made a huge mistake and told the entire story from the wrong character’s perspective. After the book was finished, I had to start all over again, changing the narration of the book from 1st person to 3rd person. Instead of telling the entire story from one (minor) character’s perspective, I rewrote it to give several characters a voice in close 3rd person. Starting over from scratch was so disheartening, but I’m very glad I did the rewrite. The story just didn’t work the way I initially wrote it.
I can’t write without …
… keeping my sense of humor. Also, I need my dog by my side, Scrivener (the software application), and a bag of Haribo gummy bears.
If I had to spend a week on a deserted island, I would need…
… a stack of books, bug spray, white wine, and a hammock.
What career did you think you’d have as an adult?
As a kid, I always thought I would become a librarian. I loved going to my local public library as a kid, and I thought that would be the perfect job for me. But instead of becoming a librarian, I was a high school English teacher for many years, which was another great way to honor my love of books and reading.
If you have written
more than one book, in which story would you choose to live?
I
have two answers to that question! I would truly love to live in the fabulous
Greenwich Village brownstone I made up for my characters in The Sweet Spot (although I’d hope to
renovate it before I move in, lol). Or I’d be very happy living right by
Central Park in the spacious Upper West Side penthouse that my fictional
pop-star moves into while he performs on Broadway in my novel Limelight. BONUS: The condo in Limelight comes with a butler. J
How do you market your
work?
Marketing
is a challenge for many writers, and I’m no exception. I think the best strategy
is to find what you’re most comfortable doing, whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, and/or
newsletters, and lean into that. I found that one thing I like to do is to make
funny, original book trailers. I write a script that is in some way related to
my book, and then I go about filming it, thanks to my oldest son who is
fabulous at editing videos. Readers can find my book trailers—for The Sweet Spot, Small Admissions and Musical
Chairs—on my website and on YouTube. I hope these videos give readers a
laugh and make them want to dive into my books.
What are you working on
now?
I’m
working on my fifth novel, tentatively titled Far Flung. It’s a story about two families—one in Texas and one in
Germany—that swap homes for a year. I grew up in Dallas and spent a lot of time
in Berlin, so I’m having fun writing scenes in these fabulous settings.
Is anything in your
book based on real-life experiences?
So
many things! From my work in admissions to my love of Broadway theater to the
shenanigans of my family, many of my life experiences become fictionalized and
find their way into my books. The book trailer I made for Musical Chairs is about exactly that: how the elements of my life somehow
end up on the page.
Do you have a favorite
chapter or scene?
In
Musical Chairs, I wrote a big family
dinner party scene and introduced a new character named Jackie, an outsider who
is seeing all of these characters for the first time. Jackie, a young woman in
her twenties, is aghast at some of the things the family members do and say,
and her inner monologue was so much fun to write. She notes that the family’s
big dog helps himself to the cheese board, that the siblings fail to
acknowledge their privilege, and that the adults go back and forth between
completely ignoring her and putting her under the magnifying glass. I loved the
chance to bring Jackie’s special perspective to the story.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I
never feel like I’m in a position to give advice because I’m still figuring
things out. But one thing I tell myself is that writing isn’t magic; it’s simply
hard work, just like anything else. The most important thing is to have the
willingness and the stamina to sit down and write, to edit the same paragraph
over and over again, and even to throw out a whole book and start over when
necessary. (I hope that won’t be necessary!)
The
only other thing I know for sure is that to be a writer you have to be a
reader. Read in your genre, read out of your genre; make sure you’re reading a
wide array of books!
Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank you! That’s my main message
to readers – Thank you so much for reading, for reviewing, and above all, for
reaching out. It means the world to authors to hear from you. It’s because of
all the wonderful readers out there—whether they check out books from the
library or buy them from their favorite stores, download them onto their
e-readers or listen to them while they commute—that writers get to keep writing.
So thank you, thank you, thank you! And happy reading!
To connect with Amy~
Twitter and Instagram: @amypoeppel
No comments:
Post a Comment