With her upcoming novel, The Song Remains the Same, out April 12, New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch delivers her best book yet.
Allison took time out of her busy schedule as a mother, author and freelance writer (to name just a few) to chat with SheKnows about: her upcoming novel, The Song Remains the Same, the books she and her kids are reading now, and her secret to finding balance.
SheKnows: You’re active on Twitter (@Aswinn). Tweet us about your book, in a 140 characters or fewer of course.
Allison Winn Scotch: The story of what happens when one woman has to uncover her past and decide if that same past will define her future. (Is that 140 characters? LOL. I didn’t count!)
SheKnows: The Song Remains the Same has a big music theme. What’s on your iPod right now?
Allison Winn Scotch: I’ve been listening to a lot of old school stuff recently: Tracy Chapman, Pearl Jam, Don Henley, Bruce Springsteen, even Cyndi Lauper. I don’t know why, but I’ve been drawn to music from my past as of late. I’m also listening to a lot of singer/songwriter/indie-ish pop-rock stuff like The Decemberists, Mat Kearney, and Brendan James. Also, my kids don’t stop listening to Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, so… I listen to a lot of that. 🙂
SheKnows: On that note, are you watching American Idol? Or The Voice? Any thoughts on who you’d like to see make it all the way?
Allison Winn Scotch: I gave up on Idol this year, but I am in love with The Voice! In fact, my adoration of it is what finally freed me from Idol — I don’t need more than one singing competition on my TV-rotation! Hmmm, I think there are a lot of really great voices on the show (a few of whom have already been cut — booooo), but I’d say that right now, I might be pulling for Tony Lucca. I’ve been a fan of his long before his Voice appearance. He has a great song called “Devil Town” on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack, and I’ve been obsessed with that song (and show) for years. So for that fact alone, he might have my vote.
SheKnows: You’re a mom of two young children, an author, and a freelance writer to name just a few of the many hats you wear. What does balance mean for you and how you juggle it all?
Allison Winn Scotch: What does balance mean to me? Great question! Hmmmm… well… *whistles… I don’t really know. I think what it means to me — or maybe the way that I know that I have things in check — is when I’m in a consistently good mood. The best gauge for this is at about 6 p.m. through bedtime, when I’m hanging out with my kids, and even if they’re not listening or getting into an argument, I’m not at all ruffled by it. That’s when I know that things are all clicking into place. When I snap at them for what is pretty reasonable kid behavior, then I know that I’m letting the stress of my day creep in. How do I balance it all? I try to focus on work when I’m working and parenthood when I’m parenting. This means sitting down, setting my phone aside and having focused conversations with the kids (and my husband) and turning that off button on. It’s too easy these days to always be on-call, and after a while, I inevitably resent it. The truth is that there are very few urgent matters (in my line of work anyway) that can’t be dealt with an hour after an email comes in. So I give myself permission to take an hour or so off and find joy elsewhere. Sometimes that’s with my kids, sometimes that at the gym, sometimes, that’s at the very bottom of US Weekly magazine.
SheKnows: What books are you reading with your kids right now?
Allison Winn Scotch: My 5-year-old has just started reading independently, and that is truly the thrill of a lifetime. She and I read a lot of Pinkalicious books, as well as Arthur and D.W books. (She’s a little sister, so she adores D.W.) My 7-year-old is a voracious reader, and I’m constantly on the hunt for books to keep him occupied. Right now, he is obsessed with sports, so he’s actually reading The 100 Greatest Moments in Sports, which I think is a Sports Illustrated book. He also really loves all the Roald Dahl books, Pippi Longstocking (my favorite!) and the Roscoe Riley series. Oh, and I introduced him to Encyclopedia Brown, and he loves it as much as I did growing up.
SheKnows: What are you reading now? And or what books are you hoping to read when you find the time?
Allison Winn Scotch: My TBR list is unending. Literally… it may never end. But right now, I’m finishing up Nichole Bernier’s debut novel, The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D, and it has been fantastic. Loved it. Up next for me is The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson.
SheKnows: Are you working on your next novel? Any hints you can give us?
Allison Winn Scotch: I actually haven’t started my next book because I’m finishing up a screenplay, which has been an entire different endeavor entirely! But I do have a book percolating in the back of my mind that hasn’t quite come to fruition. I’d like to write more of an ensemble piece for my next book, one that plays with perspective and different voices and a shared collective history. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten! (Okay, I have a few other details, but those are bound to change!)
More reading
RED HOT BOOK OF THE WEEK: The Song Remains the Same by Allision Winn Scotch
SheKnows book review: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Adventures in e-reading: Worth the download
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