East End Authors Team Up on June 4 Book Release

A group of novelists and non-fiction book authors from the Hamptons who all released their latest page-turners on the same day — June 4 — are collaborating to help each other promote their work.

Instead of competing in the typically cut-throat world of publishing, it’s women supporting women, a shared devotion to a common goal, the anti-feud offering readers new selections spanning genres from memoir to mystery, contemporary to rom-com.

MEET THE JUNE 4 AUTHORS

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

What inspired you to write this story?

Summer Romance is about a professional organizer whose life and home are a total mess. It’s about a lot of other things too, but my initial thought when I began writing was that I wanted to write a story about how our internal lives can be so different than our external lives. There’s a lot more to a person than what you see on Instagram.

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

In this book, I fell deeply in love with both Ali and Ethan and then their relationship with one another. I actually had a difficult time breaking them up because I couldn’t bear it!

What message or theme do you hope readers take away from your book?

I hope that readers will see how much “stuff” Ali was holding on to — emotional stuff, other people’s expectations, resentment, not to mention a soup tureen she’d never used — and appreciate how she gets unstuck by gradually letting all of it go.

All the Summers in Between by Brooke Foster

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

It was my first dual timeline historical novel, and writing two time periods was very challenging. You’re pretty much writing two entirely separate books, and the entire time, both time periods have to bounce off of each other. There also have to be little easter eggs throughout that help illuminate the former and latter timelines. It was great fun but hard, too.

What message or theme do you hope readers take away from your book?

I hope they enjoy parachuting back in time to a bygone era of the Hamptons when farms still outnumbered mansions, when artists and creatives were as numerous as financiers.

How has living in this area influenced your writing?

With my mom growing up summering in Montauk at Ditch Plains and my dad’s family living there year-round, I grew up on stories of fishermen and surfing, Andy Warhol’s epic parties and the Rolling Stones’ stay at the Memory Motel back in the early ’70s.

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow

What was the most challenging part of writing the book?

None of these three women — Horten, ALA Dorothy Shaver and Geraldine Stutz — have ever had biographies written about them. So it took a lot of digging to find enough material for the book and to really understand who they were.

What message or theme do you hope that readers will take away from your book?

I hope it will evoke memories of being in the old fashioned, glamorous department stores and the opulence and grandeur, and bring back some of that nostalgia. For younger readers. I’m hoping that they can see what it used to be like and maybe be inspired and feel like learning something new.

How has living in this area influenced your writing?

I have two kids and a husband who works from home a lot. So while I live most of the time in the city, out east is my respite. I have a writing desk that overlooks the Sound and it was hugely helpful to have that space during the book writing process. I would go out there and spend time to write and think, and I was so grateful for that. It’s also such a beautiful area, which is of course very inspiring and special.

Seven Summer Weekends by Jane L. Rosen

What would you say is the most challenging part of writing it?

Seven Summer Weekends is about a young woman who inherits a summer house from an estranged aunt— which is a somewhat common trope. To make it unique was a challenge and I did that by adding in seven summer weekend guests who really spice things up.

Is there a message or a theme that you hope readers will take away from the book?

It’s never too late to pivot in life.

How has living in this area influenced your writing?

Fire Island is in my soul and that’s a great place to write from!

Are there specific local spots that inspired scenes in the book?

The softball field in my town on Fire Island is definitely highlighted in my books, as are many of the restaurants, bars and clubs on the island.

Anna Bright Is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

Coming up with the idea for my main character’s invention. My first idea was in the smart home space but it wasn’t innovative enough. Then I landed on an intraocular lens implant that would interface with a subdermal microchip implanted below the eye. Like a next-gen Google Glass because it was all embedded in the body.

What message or theme do you hope readers take away from your book?

To have that experience of sitting down with a book and being transported to another world — to have fun with a fast-paced relevant story. And then I want them to be exposed to this world of women in the workplace, to maybe learn a little with this peek behind the scenes of a tech firm in Silicon Valley and a business news website in New York City.

What was the biggest surprise for you during the publishing process?

The most wonderful surprise for this particular novel was finding out how many of my author friends were publishing on the same day: June 4!

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