Author Crush Friday: Ruta Sepetys
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Ruta Sepetys, author of Salt to the Sea (February 2, 2016; Philomel). Thank you for talking to us today, Heidi! We’re honored!
GLITTER: For those who haven’t read your book yet, how would you describe Salt to the Sea?
RUTA: Everyone has heard of the Titanic. But during World War II, there was a ship that sank with a death toll dwarfing both the Titanic and the Lusitania combined. The story has remained hidden for over seventy years. Salt to the Sea exposes the secret.
GLITTER: Tell us five random facts about yourself.
RUTA: 1. I wrote my first book in third grade.
2. I used to work in Hollywood with crazy rockstars.
3. I have terrible motion sickness. Carsick. Airsick. Seasick. Yuck.
4. I dance every single day, even when I’m on a book tour.
5. A psychic in Los Angeles told me that I would become a published author. I didn’t believe her.
GLITTER: Who was your favorite character to write in Salt to the Sea?
RUTA: There is a character in Salt to the Sea named The Shoe Poet. He is kindness, wisdom, and truth. He was a joy to write.
GLITTER: Describe Salt to the Sea in 160 characters or less.
RUTA: Winter, 1945.
Four teenagers from four nations, all hunted and haunted by secrets and lies.
They are strangers until war makes them family.
Suddenly the message to their family is clear.
Run for your lives.
Fates converge as they board a ship that promises safety and freedom.
But not all promises can be kept.
Who survives?
GLITTER: Is it part of a series? Please say yes!
RUTA: It’s not a series…yet.
GLITTER: What are your favorite words to use?
RUTA: Hope. Love. Freedom.
GLITTER: What book are you currently reading?
RUTA: Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee. I love her books!
GLITTER: What are you currently working on?
RUTA: I’m working on a secret story set in the 1950’s that affected hundreds of thousands of children.
Photo Credit: Magda Starowieyska_ Fotorzepa
ABOUT RUTA SEPETYS: The daughter of a refugee, Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and is now a longtime resident of Nashville. Sepetys is considered a crossover author; her critically acclaimed novels Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy are read by both students and adults. Ruta is a New York Times bestseller, a two-time Carnegie Medal nominee, and is currently published across forty-five countries and thirty-three languages. Her debut novel Between Shades of Gray was a New York Times bestseller and received widespread acclaim. It was aNew York Times Notable Book of 2011 and appeared on the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus and iTunes Best Book of the Year lists. Between Shades of Gray is now headed to the big screen in a feature film entitled Ashes in the Snow, starring Bel Powley (Diary of a Teenage Girl) and directed by MariusMarkevicius. In 2015, Ruta was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Center writing residency based on her forthcoming historical novel Salt to the Sea.
WHERE TO FIND HER:
Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
