Interview With Jen Calonita, Author of Isle of Ever
Welcometo Smack Dab, Jen! Please tell us a bit about Isle of Ever.
Thanksfor having me! ISLE OF EVER is Outer Banks, the TV show, crossed with Piratesof the Caribbean, with some Tuck Everlasting vibes. I've never had so much funcoming up with a story. This is an adventure-mystery that keeps you guessing.What if you were given a huge inheritance you could only collect if you foundan island that didn't exist on any maps? And you only had two weeks to find it?I'm hoping readers enjoy cracking the clues.
Thisbook has such a fantastic blend of genres: historical fiction and fantasy issuch a great mix. How did you go about balancing the two genres (and readers’expectations)?
Thankyou! I think what's really fun about this story is that we see it unfold in twoways--we have diary entries from the 1800s from Evelyn Terry, and then we haveBenny Benedict, Evelyn's descendant, trying to crack this riddle and find theisland in 2025. My hope was always that the reader was figuring out thingsalong with Benny, using clues from Evelyn's diaries. There are weather charts,post-it notes, maps, newspaper clippings...it's a true treasure hunt!
It’s so easy, as an author, to getcompletely lost in research. What kind of research did you do on the 1820 timeperiod? Did it send the book in any unexpected directions?
Thefun thing about this book is the story is set on Long Island's north fork,where my grandparents built a home as a child. I spend a lot of my summers outthere so for this book I found myself visiting lighthouses, exploring churches,and old schoolhouses, and reading up on what the north fork was like in theearly 1800s. I was constantly asking myself what I could weave in and whatcould help me come up with clues.
Gamesare such a big part of this story. Are you a puzzle addict? How did you goabout crafting the riddles Benny solves?
Ilove a good game! But I think Benny is way better at cracking riddles than Iam! That said, part of the fun of this book was figuring out what the clueswere, and how I could craft fun ways for Benny to figure out where she had togo next.
Timeplays some fascinating roles in this book. The past weighs heavily, really, asthere’s a 200-year timeframe that the book covers. But you manage to also makethe book feel anything but past-tense, with the inclusion of the Blood OrangeMoon deadline. How did you approach time while drafting this book?
Thankyou for saying that. I worked really hard to try to figure out a way for thereader and Benny to feel up against a deadline, while also including a storythat spans a huge stretch of time. I think alternating chapters between diariesfrom the past, and present day chapters from Benny, really help ground thereader. I loved the idea of learning a clue in the past, that tied to what wasgoing on in the present.
Lovethe concept of an island that appears only under certain conditions. Where didthat come from?
Thankyou! As a kid, my grandmother used to tell me to dig for buried treasurebecause Captain Kidd supposedly left some treasure behind on Long Island thathad never been found. I liked to lie awake in their house at night and imaginewhere this treasure could be. Why would no one be able to find the treasure ifit was really buried on Long Island? And that's when I started to wonder if thetreasure could be hidden somewhere the rest of the world couldn't see.
Canyou tell us a bit about the exploration of home as a theme in the novel?
Bennyand her mom have been bouncing place to place the last few years, ever sinceBenny's grandmother passed away, and it's been hard on Benny, never being ableto put down roots. What she longs for is a sense of stability and a place shecan truly call home. And then out of nowhere comes this inheritance that offersher a place of her own. She, of course, wants this for her and her mom morethan anything and it's her initial motivation to beat this game Evelyncreated.
Strongfemale characters populate both timelines. What was the process like incrafting these characters from such different times (and making them allrelevant to today’s reader)?
Thankyou! As Evelyn and Benny are related, I wanted the reader to feel thisconnection between them -- they're both strong-willed girls who will dowhatever it takes to protect the ones they love. Evelyn's opportunities in 1825are clearly different than Benny's in 2025, and yet the girls have the samewants and needs. Protecting family is foremost in both their minds.
I’m always fascinated by the choices an author makes. What madeyou choose to tell the past through journal entries rather thanflashbacks?
Iactually wrote the diary chapters first and I rewrote them several times beforeI figured out the right direction to go. The diary felt fun because the readercould read along with Benny and learn more about the past. Then when I decidedBenny would get a new clue and diary entry every time she cracked anotherriddle, I knew I was on the right track.
Theparent-child relationship is so important in fiction for young people. Tell usa bit about how Benny’s relationship with her mother influences her approach tosolving Evelyn’s game.
It'strue, isn't it? What I've learned over the years, both from being a mom myselfand meeting so many young readers, are that there are many different types offamilies out there and so many different dynamics. I wanted Benny to have areason to want this inheritance beyond just wanting to get rich. That'sactually not Benny's motivation. Benny wants security. Her mom, unfortunately,struggles with money, and Benny feels this need to protect and care for hermother, and she decides if she can win this inheritance, this would solve alltheir problems. Benny is someone who carries the weight of the world on heryoung shoulders.
What’snext?
I'mactually sitting in a hotel room right now doing a final edit of ISLE OF EVER2! There are three books planned for the series, so I've spent a lot of timefiguring out what parts of the mystery we will learn in books one, two, andthree. It's been so much fun creating a story that continues to build andchange with each new book.
Wherecan we find you?
I'vegot a website: www.jencalonitaonline.com -- where readers will find a few freeshort stories and fun information on my books. I'm also on Instagramat @jencalonita and on TikTok talking abouts as @jencalonita aswell.
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