Author Interview: The Shortest Distance Between Love and Hate

I read and adored Sandy’s debut A Little Something Different back when it first released. Ever since, I’ve faithfully followed Sandy and all of her fluffy books, so I am beyond excited to have her on the blog today talking about her latest book, The Shortest Distance Between Love and Hate.

Interview with Sandy Hall

Let’s begin with an introduction of The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate. What’s your elevator pitch for your latest novel?

What happens when your arch nemesis from middle school winds up in the same dorm as you during your first year of college?

The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate is your second novel set in college. What are some of your favorite YA books that contain a college setting?

The most recent one I read (and loved and cried over) was We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, but favorites include Emergency Contact by H.K. Choi and Let’s Talk About Love by my feel Swoon author Claire Kann.

Enemies-to-lovers is very popular romance trope (I know it’s one of my favorites!). Did you set out to write a book containing it or did the characters naturally fall into the trope?

I definitely set out to write enemies-to-lovers and spent a long time trying to find the perfect characters for this story. I have a lot of trouble making characters be mean to each other so I had to find the right story and characters and motivation behind why they were enemies.

You’re known for writing multiple POVs. How do you keep all of them organized when writing?

A lot of color coding! Highlighters and post-its and index cards. Shortest Distance... has the fewest amount of POVs that I’ve ever written with just two and it was honestly kind of challenge to keep that number low. I love a whole variety of POVs.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to write YA contemporary romance?

Read! Read! Read! Read everything in the genre. Also don’t get discouraged if you feel like the story you want to write already exists. Every story already exists, just write it and make it your own.

Can you share anything about what you’re currently working on?

I’m so superstitious about talking about what I’m working on, especially early in the process. But I promise I’m working on something! It might even include a POV of an inanimate object because I can’t help being quirky like that sometimes.

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About The Shortest Distance Between Love and Hate

Release Date: July 9, 2019
Find it here: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

A teen girl starting at a new school is torn between long-held loyalties and a bright new love in this irresistible new YA contemporary romance from the author of A Little Something Different.

Paisley is really looking forward to college. She is ready to take charge of her destiny and embrace some new experiences! Finding a hot guy to make out with at her first ever college party seems like a great start…until her best friend informs her that mystery guy is actually Carter Schmitt, Paisley’s sworn enemy who basically ruined their lives in middle school.

So much for new people and exciting new experiences. Oh well. Paisley will just pretend he doesn’t exist. Of course that would be easier if Carter, AKA her super-hot-sworn-enemy, hadn’t ended up in threeof her classes AND the same work study. Is it too late to rethink this college thing?

Sandy Hall, author of A Little Something Different and A Prom to Remember, is heading back to college in this sweet and quirky contemporary romance.

About Sandy Hall

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I’m a teen librarian from New Jersey where I was born and raised. I have a BA in Communication and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. When I’m not writing, or teen librarian-ing, I enjoy reading, slot machines, marathoning TV shows, and long scrolls through Tumblr. A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT is my first novel.