Author Elyssa Friedland, a USA Today bestselling author who has published six novels and a children’s picture book, visited the Syosset Public Library on Tuesday to celebrate the release of her newest novel, “Jackpot Summer”.
“Jackpot Summer” follows four siblings as they return to their family’s summer home on Long Beach Island and navigate relationships, grief, rivalries and, of course, winning the lottery.
When three of the four Jacobson siblings contribute to buying a lottery ticket together, they don’t expect the whirlwind that comes after they win. Together, the siblings attempt to make sense of the situation while also grieving their recently deceased mother.
Friedland said that while the book is “Certainly a novel about family dynamics on a broader level, it attempts to answer the age-old question: ‘Does money buy happiness?’”
As with many of her other books, Friedland said, this novel is a “multiple point of view family story.”
While writing from multiple points of view, Friedland explores how miscommunication, assumption, and interpretation create tension between family members. She exposes these dynamics by moving from character to character in her chapters.
“I have so much fun exploring that in my books,” she said.
Friedland writes about characters that are completely different from herself or others that she knows.
“I write fiction to escape,” she said. Writing about new and unique characters allows her to explore different perspectives and experiences.
Each of the siblings in the novel is at different stages in life, which complicates their relationships with each other. These experiences influence how the four reacted to the lottery win and their challenges in the aftermath.
At the event, she shared that one of the main characters in “Jackpot Summer,” Noah Jacobson, was one of her favorite characters to write.
“[He is] an uncomplicated, pure person who stepped into a complicated situation,” Friedland said.
Friedland uses the four Jacobson siblings to explore the “curse of the lottery.” Lottery winners infamously end up victims of theft, scam and bankruptcy. Friedland explores some of these problems in a light-hearted summer read.
In her discussion, Friedland said that she has “always wanted to be a writer.”
Friedland graduated from Yale University and Columbia Law and worked as an associate at a major firm before becoming a full-time author. Her love of reading has always been present in her life, even before she made her career shift.
“Reading made me who I am today,” she said.
The release of “Jackpot Summer” this past June marks Friedland’s sixth novel to be published. One of the big differences in her writing process now is confidence.
“In the first few books, I thought, ‘I don’t think I can do this. What if I can’t do it?’ Now, I’m like, ‘No, Elyssa, you can do it! You’ve done it before a bunch of times,” she said.
Friedland garnered an audience of over 20 people in the library’s community room, many of whom had read her previous books. Syosset librarians shared with Friedland that her previous novel, “Last Summer at the Golden Hotel,” was a fan-favorite among its patrons.
After the book discussion, Friedland opened the floor for questions from the audience. She answered questions about her novel research (which included lottery documentaries and tax law information), writing process (no, she does not outline her books), and future projects (which are in the works right now).
Syosset Public Library hosts author visits throughout the year, all free and open to the public.
Copies of “Jackpot Summer “are available at the Syosset Public Library and can be loaned from any local library using Nassau County’s interlibrary loan.
