Q: Both Joy and Lu grapple with the expectations society puts on them as women and mothers. What inspired this theme in the novel?

A: This is a theme I keep coming back to in different guises, really in each book I’ve written. I think most novelists who write more than one book return to the same themes over and over again, and we do that because we are trying to figure something out, either about ourselves or about the world at large. I have three daughters, all teenagers by the time this paperback comes out. I think about their roles in society a lot, and I think about what kind of example I’m setting for them and what kind of adult lives they will undertake. As any working parent knows, balancing the raising of children with work is challenging, and in many cases—not all! but many—the expectations are different for women than they are for men. I foresee my daughters grappling with these perennial questions if they decide to have families. So I guess I’m always trying to figure out the answers, if there are any, or at least explore different characters’ thoughts about their roles.

Q: Some characters from The Admissions make an appearance in The Islanders. What inspired you to add them to the book?

A: That was my husband’s idea, so I give him full credit. He has a marketing brain, which I don’t have. Moving forward I want to have a cameo by a character from an earlier novel in every book. In my upcoming book, Two Truths and a Lie, I have a character from a very early novel pop up, so keep your eyes open for that!

Q: The settings of some of your other books, like The Admissions and The Captain’s Daughter, have been inspired by your travels. Is the same true for Block Island? What is your connection to the place?

A: This is the first novel I’ve set someplace I haven’t lived. (See my Behind the Book essay for more details on that.) I chose Block Island as a setting before I’d even seen it, and I learned about it as I wrote. Now I feel a deep connection to the island. But I know I’m an outsider! I want to keep a respectful distance—I haven’t earned the right to call myself anything other than a visitor there.

Q: Would you say The Islanders is a New England novel? An island novel? How did both locations guide the narrative?

A: It’s both! One thing that was appealing to me about setting a book on an island was the way the geographical constraints put the characters in situations that may not occur in a non-island setting. It takes effort and planning to get to an island, and it takes effort and planning to leave. I loved the idea of Anthony Puckett going somewhere that he considers fairly remote—and then in short order he’s followed there by all of the people in his life he wants to escape. Because Block Island is a New England island, The Islanders is a New England novel. With the exception of my third novel, The Admissions, all of my books have been set in New England. While I’m not a native (my father was in the navy, so I moved around a lot as a kid), I went to college in Rhode Island and spent years in both Boston and Vermont. I’ve lived in my current Massachusetts town longer than I’ve lived anywhere. I understand the culture here. I understand the weather, and the quirks of the natives. I happen to love winter, but it’s long, and it’s cold. In Maine they have a saying that goes, “If you can’t handle winter you don’t deserve summer.” I think that sums up everything you need to know about New England, and it also encapsulates why I think many parts of New England are ideal settings for summer novels.