Lindsay and I met at the same place I meet most of my writer friends: at Grub Street, the writing center in Boston. We immediately hit it off, commiserating over launch worries—will anyone show up at our readings?*—and celebrating book successes, such as when Kirkus Reviews gave MONTEREY BAY a starred review. The Kirkus reviewer wrote, “Along with creating a fully realized, realistic heroine seen across decades, Hatton is a writer of often exceptional prose.”
*Note, I was at Lindsay’s launch reading; the bookstore was packed!
Lindsay’s debut novel, MONTEREY BAY, is about the town in California and its aquarium. Part of it takes place in 1940 on Steinbeck-era Cannery Row; part of it takes place in 1998 inside the aquarium itself. It tells the story of Margot Fiske, a troubled yet ambitious 15 year-old girl whose illicit romance with a renowned marine biologist changes the town forever.
If you haven’t already, pick up a copy, or RETWEET/SHARE this post to enter to win one! (US only; details below.)
Who is one of your favorite (fictional or non-fictional) characters?
I spend a good 75 percent of each day imagining I’m Dana Scully.
Talk about one thing that’s making you happy right now.
I recently taught my oldest daughter how to play chess and it makes me happy when she beats me.
When you were a teenager, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?
I thought I’d be a writer. I mean, there were some other options in the mix (epidemiologist, orca trainer, actress, cult leader) but writer was definitely the front-runner. In high school, I would embarrass my friends by using them as characters in serialized murder mysteries that I delivered to their desks in study hall each Monday morning. It’s a miracle they didn’t shove me into a locker and leave me there forever.
What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?
In high school and college, I worked summers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In addition to inspiring the novel, my time there definitely fell under the category of “strange.” I spent a lot of time in an otter costume. I decapitated and gutted hundreds of squid. I played with an octopus. I kept little kids from turning the sea stars in the touch tank into frisbees. It was an unusual and beautiful experience and it made other jobs seem a bit dry (pun intended) in comparison.
Do you have a regular first reader? If so, who is it and why that person?
My husband is my regular first reader because he’s always (and I mean ALWAYS) around. No, really: he takes the first pass at my writing because he’s really smart and I trust him. The only challenge here is that he’s such a nice guy that he rarely says anything truly negative, so I’ve had to start learning his special code. For instance: “It’s great!” means “It’s great!” and “I…like it!” means “Burn this immediately and tell no one it ever existed.”
GIVEAWAY: RETWEET on Twitter, and/or SHARE on Facebook by noon (EST) Friday, August 12th to win a copy of MONTEREY BAY (US only). We’ll select and contact the winner on Friday. Good luck!
Lindsay Hatton lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two daughters. She has a BA in Art History and Economics from Williams College, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. Once upon a time, she lived in Monterey, California, and worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. MONTEREY BAY is her debut novel.
I love the cover of this book. So surreal!
Here’s my tweet link — https://twitter.com/DedeZoomsalot/status/757788812307075072