Author Confessions: Jane L. Rosen
On her new book and why romance is the comfort food of literature.
I first met Jane Rosen in 2022 at an epic summer party at Zibby Owens’ house the night before a glittery book event called East Hampton Author’s Night. I loved her from the start, thanks to her sense of humor. So it didn’t surprise me that Jane’s latest novel Seven Summer Weekends is just as much fun as she is.
Here’s what I loved about Seven Summer Weekends: the premise. A young woman named Addison suffers the ultimate humiliation at work in the same week that she inherits a Fire Island summer house from an estranged aunt. Off she flees to the pristine barrier island in eastern Long Island to this imperfect (but kind of perfect) beach house, and Addison’s life is changed forever.
But if it’s the premise that got my attention, it was the characters and setting that kept me turning pages. For example: Cute guy next door seems fairly intolerable until we realize he’s actually a total dreamboat. He’s also the one of the characters in Jane’s popular last novel On Fire Island, which came out last summer. Both books are fabulous beach reads.
Now let’s welcome Jane to Dear Fiction. We’re so excited that you’re here with us!
Let’s start with the fact that Seven Summer Weekends is connected to your last book. When did you know that you would write a novel involving the same characters as On Fire Island?
My editor encouraged me, and I was happy to spend time with them again. In fact the novel I am editing now, Songs of Summer, will take us back there yet again, but about six years after Seven Summer Weekends. The beauty of the three books is that they can be read as stand alone or in any order.
What part of the writing process is hardest for you? What was most challenging about writing Seven Summer Weekends?
It was a challenge to take something that has been done—a woman inherits a beach house—and make it unique—a women inherits a beach house along with seven weekends of guests.
Yes, that’s part of the fun of this book. Addison is stuck with seven weekends of guests who “booked” the house before her Aunt Gicky passed away. Each set of guests bring drama and lessons from the past. I loved that. As a former screenwriter, is dialogue something you’ve had to master?
I love writing dialogue. And to be honest, I like writing it for a screenplay better than for a novel. In a screenplay you just write the persons name with what they will say underneath it. There is no worrying about he said, she said, he whined, she proclaimed, and so on.
What is your idea of the perfect day on Fire Island, from opening your eyes to closing them that night?
My perfect day would begin with a walk on the beach, either with my dog Rosie, or a friend, or both. After that, tennis clinic at ten, followed by a ride to the market to pick up lunch. I have a terrible habit of (or a wonderful one) of shopping for each meal before I make it. I usually ride home with my groceries in my basket, one hand holding the handlebar, the other holding an iced coffee. I'm often editing in the summer so I would fit in a few hours of that or head to the beach with a book. Dinner at home, or at a friends or in town.
Romance is having a moment in book publishing, and you do a great job of making your story and characters believable and unique. How do you keep your romances from feeling similar?
When I was a screenwriter, I only wrote rom-coms, so I have a whole stack of meet-cutes in my brain just waiting for me to use them. I do make efforts to make everything believable—more akin to a current romantic comedy than the ones I grew up on in the 80’s.
There are only a certain amount of romance tropes, the second chance, enemies to lovers, forbidden love—the key to the story being unique is in the characters and the setting.
Maybe romance readers want the story to feel like a story they've read before…
To a certain extent they do. Romance is like the comfort food of literature. There is a certain amount of comfort when you are basically guaranteed a happy ending.
Is there a part in Seven Summer Weekends that made you emotional?
Yes, but it’s a spoiler! I will say that I welled up in a few times writing this one. I think I did a good job exploring Addison’s growth throughout the book.
Agreed. What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever received?
Don’t give up. It’s the one thing that every unpublished author has in common.
Lastly, fill in the blanks, Jane:
The best part about falling in love is:
the peace of mind.
The best romance I've ever read is:
The Thornbirds
The most romantic movie ever made:
The Way We Were
Brooke and Jane, this was informative and lots of fun. Kudos!