Interview with Elin Hilderbrand

By Melissa Patafio
Today is a great day at Chick Lit Central! Elin Hilderbrand, author of "Silver Girl" and many other amazing novels, has taken the time to answer a few questions of mine. Elin is one of my favorite authors and I have NEVER been disappointed after reading one of her books. The first book of Elin's I read was "The Castaways" while I was on Nantucket and Cape Cod last summer and I am hooked. So for all of my fellow Elin Hilderbrand fans, enjoy! And for those of you that have yet to be introduced, I hope you will have the pleasure of reading one of her books very soon!

To learn more about Elin and her fabulous novels, visit her on
Facebook and Twitter.

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I've traveled pretty extensively already -- I've spent five winters living in Australia with my kids, and my husband and I have also taken them to Vietnam and Thailand. We've been to Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Belize, Morocco, South Africa. We've trekked in the Himalayas in Nepal; we've been to Singapore and Hong Kong. So the places that remain on my list are: Macchu Picchu, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, Egypt, and some really good quality time in Paris (I've been there twice, but as a backpacker).

2. How do you come up with your story ideas? Are some inspired by real events that have taken place on Nantucket?
My story ideas come from a variety of places. The idea for my novel Silver Girl came from the real-life story of the Madoffs. However the novel I'm currently writing, Summerland, developed out of a serious situation at Nantucket High School; without getting into too many details, let's just say I decided I wanted to write about Nantucket's teenagers.

3. What made you decide to settle on Nantucket Island?
To paraphrase John Denver, when I arrived on Nantucket in 1993 at the age of 24, it was like coming home to a place I'd never been before. I came for the summer that year, and when August 31st rolled around, I had to leave and it was like having my heart ripped out. I knew then that I would be back for good -- and I was, the following summer.

Thanks to Elin for answering my questions and to Sarah Hausman from BookTrib for arranging the interview.

Although we're not having a giveaway this time, we'd still love to hear your thoughts on Elin's books or anything else Elin related!