Interview with Sarah Pekkanen, 6/25/10, Chevy Chase, MD

MA: I'm here with Sarah Pekkanen. We're talking about her book "The Opposite of Me." It came out this summer. We're here by Washington DC. We live in nearby towns, so we got to meet up and actually talk in person. I wanted to ask her a few questions about her book.

Do you want to say a few things about yourself first?

SP: “The Opposite of Me” is my first book. It was published a couple months ago. It was a lot of fun to write. I wrote it in coffee shops, Chuck E. Cheese, in line for carpool at my kids' school... and I thought it would be fun to meet at a coffee shop today because it's kind of my natural environment. I usually have my laptop nearby. I thought it would be great to come do this and I'm loving Melissa's Facebook page and blog so I'm really happy to be here today.

MA: Thank you so much for meeting with me. The first question is, how did you feel the first time you saw "Opposite" on a shelf at the bookstore?
SP: It was amazing. I still didn't believe it was actually going to be published until I walked into the store and saw it. I just kind of sat there for five minutes and I walked around and I looked at other people and I prayed they’d pick it up and buy it. They didn't in the first day that I was there. I was only there for a few minutes, but since then I've gone back to the bookstore and I've seen people actually pick up the book and buy it, which has been such a thrill.

MA: Recently on your blog, you requested motivation to exercise? What would you say to someone who requested motivation to write?
SP: I think it's actually very similar. I think it's something you have to do every single day and you have to make time to do it. I know it's really hard, especially if you're working full time and, you know, if you have kids, to fit in that little bit of extra time because you probably feel like you have no time for yourself anyway. But if you have a specific time per day, first thing in the morning or last thing at night, or maybe your lunch hour, to sit down and make yourself write. It doesn't have to be perfect, but just say 'I'm going to write 500 words a day until my book is done.' A page a day and you'll have it done in a year. So these tiny little bits really do add up.

MA: Who are you more similar to, Lindsey or Alex?
SP: Well, my book is about twin sisters who are total opposites and I'm not really like either of them. I think there are tiny bits and pieces of me in some of my characters, but it truly is fictional. It's not at all autobiographical. I don't even have a sister or even a twin. So I think I rooted more for Lindsey because she is the underdog and she feels like she has always lived in her sister's shadow. I think I tend to be a little more sympathetic to the underdog. But they're both purely made up.

MA: Was it easy or difficult was to write about either of the girls?
SP: It was easy. I had a lot of fun writing the book. There were definitely hard days when I felt like 'Oh, this is the worst page anybody has ever written. How horrible is this?' And sometimes I’d spend about three hours writing a chapter that I knew I going to have to delete tomorrow. Everybody has those days. For the most part I loved writing it. It was really enjoyable.

MA: Did you make any huge changes to the book between the draft and publication stages?
SP: Definitely. The first draft I had four sisters and then realized it would be more interesting to just have two who were total opposites and focus on that, so yeah, the book definitely transformed. I think you have to throw whatever you can down on a page in the beginning and kind of see what sticks.

MA: In "Opposite," Lindsey's closest friendships are with guys. She has those two guy friends who she talks about a lot. What made you choose to only give her guy friends and not female friends, aside from her sister who she was distant from anyway?
SP: You know, I really wanted the focus to be on her relationship with her sister. I felt if she had had close female firends, the intensity of her relationship with her sister might not have been there. I wanted the two of them to be the focus and Lindsey might not have felt the need to connect with her sister as easily if she had a best friend who was female and had focused on that friend. It's a little bit subconscious until you pointed it out. I didn't really realize that that was in the book but I think that was the reason why.

MA: You use fashion to enhance the visual descriptions of your main characters. Where did you get the fashion ideas from?
SP: Well, since I'm the mom of three young boys, and my fashion is limited to Old Navy most days, it was fun to look through magazines to get ideas. That's really considered research. I had to buy the glossy magazines as research. So, that's really where I got the ideas.

MA: If you could put a soundtrack to "The Opposite of Me," what kind of songs would be on it?
SP: You know, I listen to a lot of music when I write and I like songs that are upbeat and also kind of wistful, like Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and Sheryl Crow. A mix.

MA: I know you grew up by this area and lived here a long time. What is your favorite thing about living by Washington DC?
SP: I love the juxtaposition of the city and the monuments. They have beautiful walking trails. My son is right now is out hiking with a friend. There's a huge trail at Rock Creek Park so I love having that piece of nature nearby. Actually, that plays a part in my next book, coming out in February, called "Skipping a Beat." Rock Creek Park is a setting for some of the pieces of the book, as well as DC and Georgetown.


MA: Today (6/25/10) is the anniversary of Michael Jackson's passing and almost everyone has a favorite Michael Jackson song, so I wanted to know what yours is?
SP: I have a few. I think probably "I'll be there."
MA: That's from Jackson Five, right?
SP: Yeah.

MA: And what is one thing about you that would surprise people?
SP: Oh my gosh, you wouldn't believe how messy my car is. Even my 10 year old boy asks 'Do I have to get in there?' With three boys and a dog, it's a disaster.

MA: Thank you so much again for sitting here to talk about your new book.
SP: Thank you. It was great being here.
MA: I look forward to your next book coming out.