1. What is the name of the book and when was it published?

On the Island.   Published September 3, 2011.

2. What’s the book’s first line?

I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J. Callahan and I were traveling on crash-landed in the Indian Ocean.

3. What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.

The book is about a thirty-year-old teacher who’s traveling alone with the sixteen-year-old student she’s tutoring for the summer. The plane crashes in the Indian Ocean and they manage to make their way to an uninhabited island.

4. What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?

I really love the desert island premise. I remember my mom taking me to see The Blue Lagoon when it first came out, and I’m a big fan of the T.V. show Lost. I liked the movie Castaway but really would have preferred to watch Tom Hanks develop a relationship with another person instead of a volley ball. The possibilities would have been endless.

5. What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?

The book is written in an alternating dual POV so there are really two main characters, T.J. and Anna. They’re both inherently good and they work together to make the best of a very life- threatening situation. Anne Hathaway and Taylor Kitsch would be perfect to play Anna and T.J. in a movie version of the book.

6. What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?

The main reason to read this book is that it will leave you feeling happy when you finish it. It’s an uplifting story with likeable characters you’ll find yourself rooting for from the beginning.