We chat with author Ilana Long about Pickleballers, which follows pickleball newbie looking to recover from life’s swings and misses crosses paddles with love in this debut romantic comedy.
Hi, Ilana! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! Writing nurtures my core, as do my other creative loves. As an actor, stand-up comic, and improv comedian—I trained and performed at Second City in Chicago—I adore finding the funny in broad comedy and wordplay. I play guitar, piano, and I sing, and lately have been performing original music at open mics and hope to record this year. For my first-half-of-my-life career, before switching to writing, I taught high school English and drama in Washington State, and in Costa Rica and Mexico. Traveling and adventure light my fire. I’m the mom of twins, a hiker, distance swimmer, and of course, a pickleball player!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
It all started with reading.
When I was in middle school, my parents took me to the doctor—I found the aftercare note recently—because they were concerned that I spent “too much time alone in my room reading.”
As a teen, I wrote song lyrics and poems. Then, for years, I devoted myself to other pursuits like acting, then teaching. But once my twins were born, I found solace and humor in writing for a monthly twin-mom newsletter. There, I found the funny side of parenting and remembered my fondness for writing.
Ten years later, in my classroom, I encouraged my students to participate in the November National Novel Writing Month (NanoWrimo YWP). Many of my students wrote 20,000-50,000-word novels in a month! I thought, if they can do it, I can do it. I started my first novel. It took me seven years to complete. It still could use some work!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Changeling by young adult fantasy author Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I would lose myself in all of her worlds. I wrote Ms. Keatly Snyder, and told her I wanted to be a writer when I grew up and received a handwritten note in return. She said, “If you want to be a writer, you will be. You already are.”
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Actually, that was one of the most recent books I’ve read, but I can’t stop thinking about the idea of love/relationships/and the way we perceive the soul. I also masticated for a long time (no snickering!) on his book Klara and the Sun, which caused me to re-assess my perceptions on similar themes. I love speculative fiction and thinking about alternate universes. Naomi Aldrich’s The Power stuck with me for the same reasons. What if… In the latter case: What if women had all the power?
Your debut novel, Pickleballers, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Uplifting, broad comedy, fun, sexy
What can readers expect?
Banter and romance and situational comedy. Deep friendships, community, and a young woman’s ascent from a challenging and abrupt divorce, to finding herself through a new hobby (pickleball) and rediscovering her creative core.
*Also, I wanted to let you know that I narrated the audio book! This was a super exciting experience for me. I have performance experience, so I sent an audition clip to Penguin and they were on board. I have heard authors narrate their non-fiction autobiographies, but it is not common for an author to narrate fiction.
The most exciting part was hearing the characters’ voices come to life, just as I had been hearing them in my head. The surprise for me was that the easiest character to produce was Meg’s good friend Rooster, a wise and funny pickleballer in his 70’s. His voice came out of me exactly right.
The recording took four, seven-hour days in a studio in Seattle. I had a director and a sound engineer. It was really fun! You can hear a sample along with the details about PICKLEBALLERS on the Penguin Random House site.
Where did the inspiration for Pickleballers come from?
The idea to write a sporty romcom arrived by accident in the spring of 2020 when my YA sci-fi manuscript, the novel I wrote about a tragic pandemic, ran into some bad timing. “I think people need a lift right now,” my agent had said. And knowing my background in comedy, she suggested, “Why don’t you write something funny about something you love?”
So, I thought, “Well. I love pickleball. (It’s like ping-pong, if you got to stand on the table.) My own obsession with the sport actually began during the pandemic, when it was the perfect social and athletic way to play outside while standing six feet apart. Pickleball is a cinch to pick up. It’s pulse-pumping fun. And with all the camaraderie, flirting, and banter, pickleball is a hotbed for the courting scene. So that’s how my romance, PICKLEBALLERS was born.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
My very favorite scenes to write are the situational, physical, and slapstick comedy. I love getting my characters tangled up in crazy scenarios and seeing how they react: Like getting Ethan stuck in the seatbelt in Meg’s car, and her straddling him to try to unlatch it. Or Meg convincing Ethan to do a sexy pickledance on the court. Or Meg’s discomfort when she ducks into in the nearest hiding spot to avoid Ethan, which happens to be a very small room with a urinal cake.
Also, I really enjoyed exploring Meg’s close friendship with Annie. To me, that friendship is just as powerful as the romance, and their support of one another is an important pillar for the story.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Difficult, but worthwhile, and in the end, absolutely thrilling. PICKLEBALLERS is my third completed novel, and the first to be published. Starting in 2018, I sent 143 letters about those novels to agencies before receiving a yes. It is a steep and challenging hill, and I spent many years writing as a hopeful side gig. But it only takes one agent to believe in your work, and one publisher to choose it.
What’s next for you?
PICKLEBALLERS book two! There is a teaser at the end of my debut. I take some of my favorite PICKLEBALLERS side-characters along for the ride, and the world continues.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on in 2025?
I enjoy the freshness of reading across genres:
This year, I loved All the Little Bird Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow, The Huntress by Kate Quinn, and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
Next on my tbr: I’m looking forward to reading James by Percival Everett, and For One Night Only a debut novel by Jessica James coming out in January, 2025.
