Books
76 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2008
Scotch, a frequent contributor to
AmericanWay
, is
the interviewee this time, answering our questions
about thewhat-ifs, ands, andbuts in
TimeofMyLife
and about the book’s upcoming adaptation to the
silver screen.
I can’t help but think of films like
Peggy Sue Got
Married
and
Back to the Future
when reading your
novel. Did they provide any inspiration?
Hopefully,
this book is amoremodern take. It explores themes
that a lot of women I know have dealtwith. It’s not
just: What if I didn’t marry the right person? It’s
about the many choices you make along the way,
where you get swept up in life, and how they can
snowball and lead you towhere you are now.
I think so many women have these what-if fan-
tasies, but we don’t talk about them a lot. Some-
how, they imply that our current life, our real life, is
flawed. That’s not it at all. I think you can look back
on your past and reflect on it and use it to help you
understandwhere you are now.
JillianWestfield relies heavily onmagazine articles
for advice — real articles that you’ve actually
written.
Jillian was reading about life rather than
going out and living it. Shewanted other people—
whether it was her husband or
Redbook
— to tell
herwhat to do.
“How I got to this point, howweall did—LorneandSam
and me— began three years earlier, on April 18, 2002.
There is no hyperbole intended when I say that was the
worst day ofmy life.”
—
Comfort: A Journey throughGrief
(W.W. Norton, $20) byAnnHood
In the new novel byAllison
WinnScotch, onewoman
goes back to her past to dis-
coverwhatmight have been.
ByKristinBairdRattini
TIME
TRAVELING
A celebration of great opening
lines in literature
First Impressions
Do you think people are pondering those what-ifs
more in this Google age?
I don’t know if people 30
years ago had fewer what-if moments, but they cer-
tainly didn’t have as many opportunities to act on
them. It’s somuch easier now. You think of someone,
plug their name intoGoogle, andbam, there theyare.
AreyouaGoogleaddict?
I am suchanavidGoogler.
If I meet you on the street, I will probably Google
you.
A movie adaptation of the book is already in the
works. Do you have a dream cast inmind?
The pro-
ducers and I cameupwithabout sevenactresses, all
of whomwould bewonderful, fromAnne Hathaway
to Kate Hudson. But in my heart of hearts, I am a
huge
Felicity
fan. Inmywildest fantasies, that show
would still be onTV and I’dbe followingFelicity and
Ben for the rest of their lives.Mybiggestwishwould
be forKeri Russell toplay the lead, because I feel she
could just bemy best friend and is the embodiment
of this character.
So for the movie’s theme song, would you choose
“Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer
Warnes or David Cook’s song of the same name?
Definitely the David Cook version. I found out about
the movie deal the day he won
American Idol
. He
came out and sang that song, and I started sobbing,
thinking,
This has got to go in the closing credits of
mymovie!
SO YOU WANT TO SEND A CHARACTER BACK IN
timesevenyears.Howdoyougether there?ADeLorean?
A Zoltar wish machine? Nah, too ’80s. In AllisonWinn
Scotch’s second novel,
Time of My Life
(Shaye Areheart
Books, $23), she uses amore hands-on approach to send
her protagonist, JillianWestfield, back in time: massage.
One powerful push on a pressure point unblocks Jillian’s
chi and takes thediscontented30-somethinghousewifeback to theboyfriend, the
career, and the life she left behind.
