Perfect for fans of If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout, What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum, and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, I Love You Like That is the second book in a poignant young adult duology about addiction, sexuality, peer pressure, and first love.
We had the pleasure of talking to Heather Cumiskey, the award-winning author of I Like You Like This. Heather chats about I Love You Like That, which is the second book in her duology, along with book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi Heather! Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi! I grew up in Long Island with three older brothers. As a kid I was a competitive baton twirler, played the flute, and danced with my high school’s kickline. We were called the Trojanettes! I was somewhere in the middle of the student hierarchy and not really comfortable in my own skin until much later.
I Love You Like That is the second book in your YA duology. For those who haven’t read the first book, I Like You Like This, what can readers expect?
I Love You Like That picks up with Hannah coping with Deacon’s presumed death and filling the loss with people who aren’t good for her while her mother’s growing addiction threatens her little sister. Deacon’s chosen occupation has finally caught up with him. He’s placed in the middle of a federal undercover operation where he’s stripped of his identity, left powerless and fighting for his life. Both of these characters endure a lot before they are able to come out on the other side and decide who they want to be.
What inspired you to write this duology?
The first book in the duology, I Like You Like This was inspired by a short piece I wrote about a 16-year-old girl taking LSD alone in her family’s basement. It later became the seed for the character, Hannah Zandana, a high school loner with bad acne and wild uncontrollable hair from a dysfunctional family with secrets who longs to change her life. At the end of book one, I knew that there was more to Hannah’s and especially Deacon’s story. They still had so much to learn about themselves and the truth behind their families.
Were there any particular parts of the novel that challenged you?
The scenes revealing her mother’s growing addiction were tough to write. Like when Hannah finds her mother asleep in their driveway and later stumbling into the house. Hannah’s flashback to when her mother had left her as a small child alone for hours in a car were all heartbreaking moments to capture.
Did you have to do any research for your duology?
I researched the lives of drug dealers to help draw Deacon’s character and chosen livelihood. I also examined types of substance abuse in the 1980s and families dealing with alcoholism and addiction from the child’s point of view. And I spent some time learning about classic cars for Deacon and Toby’s storyline.
What’s a typical writing day like for you?
A great day is when I can spend a good part of my morning working on a manuscript then curling up with a book in the afternoon. Those days don’t happen very often. Other projects and writing demands spring up and I’m writing all sorts of things at once from essays to ad copy.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Use your life for fodder. Write down what you’re going through, the good and the bad, your first crushes to the heartbreaks, etc. Not only will you be unloading all those feelings onto the page and freeing yourself from carrying them around, they may just turn into a great story down the road.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently turning the duology into a screenplay, a craft I’ve always wanted to learn how to do. I’m also working on my third novel, a young adult love story set in present-day New York City. There’s some mystery with this one and it’s kind of cool to figure out how it unfolds in order to keep readers guessing until the end.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
YES! I enjoyed Leah on the OffBeat (Becky Albertalli), The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas), My Year of Rest and Relaxation (Ottessa Moshfegh), and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman).
You can find Heather on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, along with at her website.
