The Debutante Ball welcomes Deb Alum Sarah Jio!

Sarah JioDeb Ball alum Sarah Jio‘s first novel, The Violets of March, was published by Penguin (Plume) on April 26, 2011 and was chosen as a Best Book of 2011 by Library Journal. Her second novel, The Bungalow, was published on December 27, 2011, also from Penguin (Plume). Her third novel, Blackberry Winter, was just published. Her fourth novel, The Last Camellia, will be published in May 2013. Sarah recently sold her fifth and sixth novels to Penguin and is at work on those. In total, to date, Sarah’s books have been sold/translated for publication in 17 countries. A former journalist, Sarah written for O, Glamour, Redbook, SELF, Health, Cooking Light, Marie Claire and many other publications. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Jason, and their three young sons.

BLACKBERRY WINTER, which was praised by Real Simple and chosen as a “Most Anticipated Book of Fall” by Kirkus Reviews, has just been released.

 

 

And now, we are thrilled to bring you Sarah, who takes the Deb Interview and answers our burning questions…

Talk about one thing that’s making you happy right now:

My houseboat! My husband (very generously) offered to rent me a houseboat as an office for the next four months while I write my fifth novel for Penguin, which is set on a houseboat in Seattle. I’m loving the houseboat experience and spend as much time there as possible. It has a porthole window in the loft bedroom, and a cozy little living room that looks out to Seattle’s Lake Union and a family of ducks.

Where do you love to be?
Home! I’m a hopeless homebody and would rather be here in my home in Seattle than anywhere else. I think I will be forever in love with Seattle, too. I’ve lived in and around Seattle my whole life, and I’ve yet to find a more perfect place (in my mind). I also love the rain, and the excuses to drink hot beverages and wear sweaters.

What time of day do you love best?  
8:00: Kids are all in bed, and the house is quiet. My golden retriever retires to my office where she lets out a sigh under my desk and settles in for a snooze while I start working on my novels. Even better, when it’s a stormy night and I can open my window and listen to the rain falling outside.

Share one quirk you have that most people don’t know about.
I sneeze, without fail, after I take my first bite of chocolate! (Doesn’t stop me from eating chocolate, though!)
Cover of Blackberry Winter
Do you have a regular ‘first reader’?  If so, who is it and why that person?
My husband, Jason, is always the first person to read my early drafts. It’s always so hard for me to hand them over to him, and I frequently pace the floors asking him for feedback every five minutes, but I trust his impressions and he’s a great filter before I send on to my agent to read. He’s also really good at helping me with male dialogue. He’ll sometimes find passages where males are speaking and point out that guys would “never say something like that!” While I don’t always agree with his ideas, I have to admit, he’s right about 95 percent of the time. 🙂

 

Find Sarah online:

Facebook        Website        Twitter

Find BLACKBERRY WINTER at Amazon at or at your local bookstore!

Thanks for being here, Sarah! We cannot wait to dig into Blackberry Winter!

Sarah has generously offered to send a signed copy of BLACKBERRY WINTER to one of our lucky commenters (U.S. addresses only please)! For a chance to win, leave a comment below and tell us what time of day makes you as happy as 8pm makes Sarah…

12 Replies to “The Debutante Ball welcomes Deb Alum Sarah Jio!”

  1. Hi Sarah!

    I’m with Kathy–oh, that houseboat! You were so generous to share pics of that incredible interior over FB–what a dream! (Or perhaps, a dreamboat?;))

    So glad to see you back on the dance floor–and SO excited to read BLACKBERRY WINTER!!

  2. I love all Sarah’s books and I must say I’m tickled to be connected through The Ball!! I think it’s amazing that after a day with three little boys that Sarah writes at 8pm! I’d have to go to sleep!! 😉 (I’m a morning person anyway, lol)

  3. Right now my fav time of day is 10:30… I pick up my BLB from toddler school, and hear about the adventures he had that morning. He gives the best hugs and kisses when he sees me! Those five minutes could fuel the rest of the day (and sometimes they have to)!

  4. I’m pretty similar to Sarah: I love the last few hours of my evening. By then I’m fully relaxed (probably having had a glass of wine or two and a yummy meal), but it’s my time to do whatever I want to do. Some nights I read, some nights I watch a movie, some nights it’s tv. And some nights, I just sit with my husband and talk. It’s magical.

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