Today we are chatting with Rachel Roasek, author of
Love Somebody!
Read on for more about Rachel and her book!
Meet Rachel Roasek!
Rachel Roasek received her BA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2017, with a degree in Drama and two minors in Sign Language and Anthropology. When not coming up with fictional worlds, she works as both a voice actor and stage technician. She currently lives in Raleigh with a few dying plants and her dog, Lupe.
Meet Love Somebody!
A sparkling YA debut rom-com about a popular high-school girl, her ex-boyfriend-turned-best-friend, and the girl they both fall for–perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli or Casey McQuiston.
Sam Dickson is a charismatic actress, ambitious and popular with big plans for her future. Ros Shew is one of the smartest people in school–but she’s a loner, and prefers to keep it that way. Then there’s Christian Powell, the darling of the high school soccer team. He’s not the best with communication, which is why he and Sam broke up after dating for six months; but he makes up for it by being genuine, effusive, and kind, which is why they’re still best friends.
When Christian falls for Ros on first sight, their first interaction is a disaster, so he enlists Sam’s help to get through to her. Sam, with motives of her own, agrees to coach Christian from the sidelines on how to soften Ros’s notorious walls. But as Ros starts to suspect Christian is acting differently, and Sam starts to realize the complexity of her own feelings, their fragile relationships threaten to fall apart.
This fresh romantic comedy from debut author Rachel Roasek is a heartfelt story about falling in love–with a partner, with your friends, or just with yourself–and about how maybe, the bravest thing to do in the face of change is just love somebody.
Amazon * B & N * Indiebound
~ Author Chat ~
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Are you asking me to pick my favorite child?? I feel like I should say one of the main POV characters, since I relate to all of them and gave them bits and pieces of my life story, but honestly, it’s probably Christian’s best friend Monty. I loved every single scene I got to write with him in it.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
The novel, for sure. The working title for it was originally Cyrano’d, since it’s based on Cyrano de Bergerac, but that never felt quite right. Most of the time, for me, the title is the thing that comes last, because I like it to really fit the story and give the reader an idea of the plot and/or tone before they’ve even started reading. Love Somebody just fits better.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
That I can write a book in six months! Normally it takes me years. Writing Love Somebody forced me to learn and adapt to so many new techniques I can use to improve from now on. It also taught me that a few hours away from a manuscript can massively improve how I feel about it instead of just pushing on. Words never sound worse than right after you write them.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
It’s hard to pick! Dominic Bugatto and Elizabeth H Clark did such a fantastic job with it. It sounds weird, but my favorite thing is probably the characters’ eyelines. Christian looking up at Ros, who’s looking up at Sam, who has her eyes closed — it practically tells the story by itself! Such a cool detail.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
More books, I hope! I’ve got ideas for stories across all kinds of genres and age groups, and I want to tell them all.
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
Without spoiling anything, there’s a scene towards the end where Ros has a huge realization about her feelings while watching an old movie with her dad. She’s a pretty reserved character, and keeps herself in check for most of the book, so having to narrate her breakdown took a lot of emotional energy. My hands were shaking by the end of it.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Ros! Her character was a really tricky one to navigate. Her life is the furthest one from my own experience, and at the beginning she has a bit of a “not like other girls” complex, which can turn off a lot of readers, myself included. I wanted to do justice to her journey of outgrowing that way of thinking, while still balancing the her other personal and romantic arcs. It was definitely tricky.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Picking up new hobbies and then getting bored of them immediately. Faster than a speeding bullet!
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
The “write every day” adage is complete bunk. Not everybody has the time, energy, or spoons to crank out 4,000 words of award winning literary fiction every single day. As long as you still care about what you’re writing, whatever you can get down on the page is enough. Even if it’s nothing! Practice some self-discipline, sure, but don’t punish yourself with an impossible standard.
Love Somebody
Author: Rachel Roasek
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Publish Date: January 11th, 2022