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A Q&A with Saskia Sarginson

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We sat down with author Saskia Sarginson to find out more about her book, Seven Months of Summer . . .


Tell us a bit about Seven Months of Summer and what made you want to write it?

It’s a love story about two people destined to be together but torn apart. I was inspired by the Jane Austen quote from Sense and Sensibility I use at the front. To paraphrase, she says that some people you can know in seven days, whereas seven years isn’t enough for others. I ran with that idea as Summer and Kit know each other for seven days before they’re separated. They have seven months to find each other. Ironically, they end up living close to each other on the Suffolk coast, but with no idea the other one is only a few miles away.

 

What inspired the setting of the novel and is it an important part of the story?

As it’s a summer book, I thought it would be good to set it by the coast. I like the contrast between the two seaside settings – one lush and tropical, and the other wild and pebbly. Kerela in Southern India is somewhere I’ve been on holiday several times, and I’ve always wanted to incorporate it into a book. The other setting is coastal Suffolk. I grew up there and the landscape and the North Sea are etched into my bones, so I really enjoyed writing about it.

 

Which other books or films you would compare Seven Months of Summer to?

I wouldn’t compare them exactly, but some films that have parallels to my novel are Before Sunrise, where two people fall in love on holiday in a short space of time, and are then separated; Sliding Doors, where we see the different lives that can happen depending on luck or a moment’s decision; and Monsoon Wedding, for the Indian setting and the wedding, because there is a wedding in the novel. But I’m not saying whose!

 

What book made you want to become a writer?

I lived in the world of C.S Lewis’ Narnia when I was a child. I consumed each of the novels, feeling bereft every time I finished one. They had a huge impact on me, illustrating the way fiction could transport and inspire, and the way characters could feel like my new best friends. They inspired me to want to write stories.

 

Where do you write?

I’m lucky enough to have a room of my own – it’s a small space at the top of the house, and my desk looks out over someone else’s garden, with trees full of birds. So even though I’m in London, it’s quiet. I’m surrounded by photos of my children and dogs, lots of pens, stacks of novels and notebooks, several plants, and I have inspiring poems, pictures and quotes pinned to a cork board. There’s usually a cat or dog or both sprawled under my desk.

 

What’s your favourite book?

I don’t have one favourite book. There are so many wonderful novels. Just a few of my all-time favourite authors are Sebastian Barry, Maggie O’Farrell, Elizabeth Strout, Tessa Hadley and Anne Tyler.

 

When and where did you first get the idea for Seven Months of Summer?

It wasn’t a single ‘aha’ moment. Finding the Jane Austen quote was a starting point – and I knew I wanted the story to begin in India and move to Suffolk. The characters formed quickly in my head, but then different ideas occurred to me as I began to write, and the book evolved a lot over the various edits.

 

What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Read a lot and read out of your comfort zone. Write every day, even if you end up by throwing much of it away. It’s important to stay inside your story until you have a first draft. Then take a break of a week or more before coming back to it with a fresh perspective; give it to one or two trusted readers to get their feedback. Editing is everything.

 

Find out more about Seven Months of Summer now