Three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in town add up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder, from the acclaimed author of The Hunting Wives.
We chat with author May Cobb about her latest release My Summer Darlings, along with 2022 book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, May! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I live in Austin, Texas, with my husband and son and we love exploring the area’s gorgeous parks and spending as much time outdoors as possible. I grew up in the piney woods of East Texas, near the Louisiana border, and that’s the place where I’ve (so far) set all my novels.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
When I was in college, I heard a beautiful, haunting song by the late jazz great, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He was a human phenomenon. He lost his eyesight in an accident at age two but went on to defeat staggering odds to play the music that came to him through dreams, teaching himself to play three saxophones at the same time. So in college, in my early twenties, I was possessed with the notion that I needed to tell his story, and that’s what set me on the path to becoming a writer.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Nancy Drew!
Luis Alberto Urrea’s The Hummingbird’s Daughter
The Last Housewife (currently reading) by Ashley Winstead
Your new novel, My Summer Darlings, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Salacious, sultry, provocative, twisty, devious
What can readers expect?
Hopefully an escapist, guilty pleasure read!
Where did the inspiration for My Summer Darlings come from?
From the film, The Witches of Eastwick. I loved the set up of a stranger moving to town and upending the lives of three best friends.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Luckily, I had 3/4s of the novel finished by the time the pandemic arrived. But once it hit, it was enormously hard to focus on finishing and finding the time to do so since we had lost childcare. But this is where deadlines come in handy! Lol! Duke Ellington used to say that deadlines were his muse and that was the case here.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing Cynthia’s character because her point of view is revealed through a secret journal she’s writing. And I loved going deeper and deeper into her head to see what she would tell me.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best – you can write a novel in a year in stolen moments. Fifteen to thirty minute burst.
Worst advice – Having a writing career is unattainable.
What’s next for you?
I’m in the middle of edits on my latest thriller, A LIKEABLE WOMAN.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
Gosh yes!
- Watch Out For Her by Samantha Bailey
- Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Sutanto
- One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
- The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
- The Viscious Circle by Kat St. John
- The Last Housewife by Ashely Winstead
- More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
- The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward
- Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson
