In a time when books can be accessed with the click of a button and the industry is changing rapidly for publishers, writers, and readers alike, the written word remains vital, especially stories that weave a little magic in the ordinary and make us want to curl up with the cat and a good story on a rainy day.

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It is a pleasure to profile Summer Donnelly, a prolific writer whose Young Adult and Adult Fiction takes the nourishing simplicity of small town life, sweet romance, reluctant callings, and mythical fantasy to create frothy literary concoctions that make her readers come back for more every time. Donnelly straddles both genres with effortlessness, and even in the presence of irresistible romance, her heroines retain a refreshing dose of autonomy and her heroes are gentlemen. Whether she takes the reader into the youthful world of sleuthing best friends or dares to meld the gravity of PTSD and lofty new love, her stories have an uncommon core of human emotion. Her happy endings are effervescent but realistic, her engaging backdrops well-researched, and her passion leans toward good, old-fashioned love that sets the heart aflutter at 2 a.m.

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Enjoy this heartfelt interview with a writer who is no stranger to unspeakable losses in life yet reaches into her deep well of hope to bring happiness and true love to the page. Here she is, in her own words, followed by links to her many offerings and Facebook fan page.
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Q: In an age of cynicism and hook-up culture, what inspires you to write stories about the timelessness of true love?

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A: Despite what modern culture may say, biologically, I think humans are happier in pair-bonds. We’ve all seen those couples, right? The ones who order for each other at Panera. Who still hold hands. Their love is palpable when they talk to each other. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find that love in real life. So, I write what I long for.

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Q: Happy endings get a bad rap in our jaded times…what love stories in real life have inspired your fictional versions?

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A: There was a gentleman I met when I was 19. I worked at a nursing home at the time and every day, he woke up disappointed. He asked God for it to be his time so he could join his “Louella” in heaven.

Where some might see it as sad, I saw the beauty in how Mr. Smith continued to love his wife twenty years after her passing. At age 95 he was single-mindedly determined to rejoin Louella. I met his niece in college (yay, small town life) and she said, “Oh, they were always so much in love. Going to their house on holidays was wonderful.” This was a love that endured for close to a hundred years. How can that even compete with a hook up?

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Q: You suddenly find yourself in one of your stories—but this story has been unwritten until now. Who are you and what waits for you at The End? Where are you, who is looking into your eyes, and was the journey worth the wait?

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A: This was the hardest question of all of them, and I dithered on how to answer. I’m not sure I’ll find the romantic love I seek in this lifetime, and I’m still learning to be okay with that. The man I want doesn’t have to ride a white horse or slay dragons. just hold my hand as we walk on the beach looking for sea glass. Or take in the breathtaking vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’ll explore antique shops, want to travel a little, and make me laugh. When we look into each other’s eyes, we’ll see love. Respect. Friendship. And feel that lilting heartbeat in our chests that reminds us both of the excitement of youth. It will be worth it.

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Q: What in everyday life do you find irresistibly romantic and how can romanticism feed the soul?

A: Giving of yourself. Cooking a meal for someone. Brushing the knots out of an elderly cat’s fur. Listening while someone tells you a story. Being involved in the people around you.

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Q: How often does your own path of the heart reveals itself in your books? Do your own longings, losses, loves, and fantasies slip between the pages?

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A: Too often! One of my heroes is based strongly on a man I dated. While going through the denial, break-up phase, I wrote the plot the way it should have happened. In many ways it’s both my most personal book and my least favorite.

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Q: What was the first book that inspired you to write your own and if you could sit down with the author, what would you tell her/him?

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A: The first book I wrote was when I was 9 years old. It was a teen sleuth. There was a secret code involved. I was inspired by the Trixie Belden book series. I wanted more books than were available, so I write them myself. We didn’t call it fan fiction back then but that’s what it was. When I first thought I could be an author was after reading S.E. Hinton’s book The Outsiders. That book changed me and I still have my original copy from 1981.

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Q: Many of your titles are categorized as Young Adult…does being a mother shape the direction of your stories, and if so, how?

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A: When I was a teen, YA books were about boys and girls having adventures. Finding clues, solving crimes, training for the Olympics, and the romance was a side plot. Today’s YA books are all about the love triangle, the quest for a vampire boyfriend, or one that I read, about meeting a boy who had just been released from prison. They make my mom soul hurt--that finding the boy is the only focus. My YA books read more like the YAs of the 1980s. They’re about finding clues, getting a key scholarship, helping save a horse from abuse. They’re dynamic young women who do things and find love. They aren’t written to a market and don’t get quite as much attention but when they are read, I want the message to be clear. Boys and love are awesome. But being a vibrant, healthy girl with friends and interests is better.

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Q: As an adult woman, do you have a special formula or rituals of inspiration that help you tap into the modern teenager’s mind?

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A: Luckily, I have one within texting distance. She tells me what she hates about modern YA trends, and I don’t write them. My heroines have best friends. With the rush of bad-boy book boyfriends, I want to show readers it’s okay to be cautious. A boy should want to meet your family. He should be respectful. I’m old-fashioned. What can I say?

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Q: What is on your desk that holds special meaning or inspiration?

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A: I have a picture of my girls and me at a baseball game, a selfie where we are all trying to get into the frame. It says “the girls: Together is our favorite place to be.” And a cat bed so my assistant, Mittens, can watch me work and make sure I write all the words. Around the office, I have my Nerd Museum (nerd-seum) which has Snoopy, Grimace, Harry Potter, Opus, a few random Weebles, etc.

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Q: You are an old woman sitting on the porch drinking sweet tea and watching dandelion seeds blow away into wishes…a journal lies in your lap, and a new story is bubbling into your consciousness. What is your first sentence on crisp, white paper?

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A: I hope I made a difference.
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