When she’s not writing, Kristin Wollett can be found on screen — in Hallmark movies and as a series regular on the medical drama series, "County Rescue." The University of Florida grad lives in Tampa and has a new film coming up with actor Josh Duhamel.
But writing is another passion of hers.
WUSF's Cathy Carter recently spoke with the author about her debut novel, "As a Last Resort." In the romantic comedy, a big city real estate developer returns reluctantly to her beachfront hometown to close a business deal. There, she reunites with her teenage crush.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Kristin, I think it's fair to say that ‘As a Last Resort’ has a '90s Rom Com vibe. You even allude to some classic movies in your book.
I thought back to all of the moments in my life where love has impacted me through film — these moments when you see something that formatively shapes how you feel about love.
And "The Little Mermaid" was one of my favorite movies when I was little. There is this scene in the movie where Ariel and Eric are in the boat, and Sebastian starts singing that song, "Kiss the Girl." It's that moment where you sort of lean into the TV, and you are just rooting for them, but then right before they kiss, the eels tip the boat, and they crash into the water, and the kiss never happens.
But that moment was so pivotal to learn in storytelling, because I realized, you don't root for love in a book or a film if it's easy. There has to be tension.
There have to be forces that are working overtime to keep two destined people apart, and it's the kind of love that's sort of destined, no matter what stands in their way. That's the type of love worth writing about.
And we should say that your story is more than a romance. Without giving too much away, it does deal with grief and addiction in some realistic ways. Why did you decide to include this plot point, and how did you think about counterbalancing that with the romance narrative?
One of the reasons people love romance is that it's an escape of some sort — a guaranteed happily ever after.
But what if the romance could look a little more human?
When I see a heroine in a novel that has to fight harder to overcome her own demons, she's more real to me. And the reality of this life is that sometimes we're thrown curveballs. And the love stories that I want to write look more like real life.
I want to show people that love and hope exist even in the darkest of spaces.
You are a Floridian. This book is set in the fictional town of Rock Island, Florida. Are there any towns in our area that may have inspired your creation?
So, the main inspiration was actually Boca Grande. I grew up on that island in the summers. My dad used to park his Hobie Cat right on the beach at the Boca Grande Club.
It has this quaint feel of a small town where everyone knows your name. Businesses are handed down through generations. I remember the Loose Caboose, which was the pink ice cream parlor in the middle of Boca Grande. That would be the highlight of any trip that we would take there.
In addition to writing, you’re also a mom to five young kids. So, how did you navigate finding time to write?
I will level with you here. I am not some Instagram-perfect family where I always have a clean house and I make dinner every night, although I do sing my kids to sleep at night.
But my house is a mess. We have a pool table that has been used exclusively for laundry for the past four years.
I wrote "As a Last Resort" in one-hour increments at a time while my littles napped. But I am a big proponent of doing one thing every day to get closer to my goal, and if my goal is to finish a book, cleaning up Cheerios isn't really the priority when I have a free second.
But there's something to be said about my children seeing me chase a dream and then also seeing your dad encourage your mom and lift her up in a way that helps her reach it.
That's the kind of love story that is rooted in sacrifice and in the real world, and that kind of love story is priceless for me to be able to model for my kids.
A book talk with Kristin Wollett is this Sunday, Sept. 7, at Oxford Exchange in Tampa.
