I have long maintained that each of us has three chances a day to be happy: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
— Elin Hilderbrand
Without fail, the first question I am asked at any author event is, 'Are your books based on your real life?'
I can cook a good soup from scratch, this is true, and I do know how to drive a stick shift.
The nice thing about e-books is that if you're sitting on the beach and you finish one Elin Hilderbrand novel and don't want to get out of your chair, you can sit there, buy the rest, and load them on your device.
I was a huge fan of J. Courtney Sullivan's novel 'Maine,' and like that novel, 'Saint' is a family saga set in Boston. Irish Catholic family secrets - is there anything better?
It has always been a goal of mine to climb Kilimanjaro, so that's definitely happening, and I may write a memoir about it. When I was 25, I tried to trek to Everest Base Camp, but I got sick and ended up being carried out of Dingboche on the back of my Sherpa. So Kilimanjaro would represent a redemption of sorts.
Like most writers, I read constantly. I used to hide in remote parts of the yard and house so I could read in peace.
I am a very nerdy reader in that I am as disciplined about my reading as I am about my writing.
I live a life very similar to my characters in that I live a full-blown summer fantasy from June to September. I go to the beach and work there every day.
For graduate school I ended up going to the University of Iowa, which is, of course, the best graduate writing program in the country.
I have met women who said, 'I started reading you when I sat in the chemo chair, and it made me feel better.' That is as humbling as it gets, to know that you, in some way, made the worst day of their life a little bit better.
Over the years, I have come to realize that no matter how satisfying fiction is, it becomes that much better when it actually happened.
I have no skills! I can't speak French, I can't ski, I can't play the guitar... I can barely log on to the Internet! All I know how to do is write novels (thank goodness) and run, and anyone who has seen me run knows I'm not very good at that, either.
I may not want to write every day, but I have no choice - there are deadlines to meet.
My books, I will say one thing - they all have a driving narrative, and you have to turn the pages, and the way you do that is to create characters that you really love and care about and put them in a fairly dire situation.
I've tried to tell my kids: If you're reading something engrossing, you'll never, ever be bored.
I had a Kindle for a brief while, but I dropped it in the ocean, and that was the end of electronic reading for me.
I have this ridiculous exercise regime in the summer that I do not deviate from.
Iowa City is okay as Midwestern cities go, but there's no food, no culture, no ocean.
The world needs voices that are positive and grateful, and that can be me.
Venting your anger on anyone - especially complete strangers - is not a winning tactic. Be especially sweet to bartenders and people serving you food.
Americans are really in love with their summertime.
I jog every day for seven to eight miles a day.
I'm not going to give quotes about inventing the 'beach book,' but I was certainly at the forefront of it.
For women, my best travel tip is to invest in two to three cashmere ponchos. I buy the brand Minnie Rose. They're good cover in three seasons, and they make wonderful travel blankets.
I consider reading to be part of my job.
What I write about in my novels is also what's in my life.
I am a summer person.
