How NY Times Bestselling Author Jill Santopolo Writes

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

New York Times and internationally bestselling author, Jill Santopolo, spoke with me about finding balance as a writer/publisher, writing as therapy, the universal power of myths, and her latest novel STARS IN AN ITALIAN SKY.

Jill Santopolo’s debut adult novel, The Light We Lost, was a Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick, landed on the New York Times bestsellers list, and has been optioned for film. Her books have been translated into more than 35 languages and she is also the associate publisher of Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, where she has edited critically-acclaimed, award-winning, and best-selling books including She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton, and Superheroes Are Everywhere by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Mechal Roe.

Her fourth novel is Stars in an Italian Sky, described as “… a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.”

Publishers Weekly wrote of the author, “Santopolo skillfully weaves two love stories in which passionate and idealistic young couples contend with class differences, tension between their personal desires and familial obligations, and the ongoing ramifications of decisions made by earlier generations….”

Jill is also the author of three successful children's and young-adult series including the Alec Flint Mysteries, the Sparkle Spa series, and the Follow Your Heart books. She holds a BA in English Literature from Columbia University, and an MFA in Writing for Children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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In this file Jill Santopolo and I discussed:

• The importance of liking all the things you do
• Why you can’t write unless you know what’s been written before
• How she got her start in publishing and writing children’s books
• Why love and loss are the touchstones of storytelling
• Whether Venus would be on Tinder
• Researching for two hours to write a single sentence
• And a lot more!

Show Notes:

• JillSantopolo.com
• Stars in an Italian Sky By Jill Santopolo (Amazon)
• Jill Santopolo’s Amazon Author Page
• Jill Santopolo on Facebook
• Jill Santopolo on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

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