Many authors may get their inspiration from literary favorites, real-life experiences or intense research, but fans of the popular young adult series “Sloppy Firsts,” by Megan McCafferty, have a less tangible power to thank for her fourth novel, “Fourth Comings” ““ McCafferty’s subconscious.
“The decision to do the other books came one at a time. I woke up from a dream telling me to do (the third book) and that it should chronicle three years instead of one,” McCafferty said. “Similarly, I only decided to write the fourth book when I discovered I wasn’t quite done with all the characters yet.”
McCafferty will be at Kerckhoff Grand Salon today for a reading and signing of “Fourth Comings,” which was released in August.
Speaking through UCLA’s Campus Events Commission, the New York Times best-selling author is confident her timing couldn’t be better considering her current subject matter, the tumultuous college and postcollege years.
Third-year sociology student Puthea Chea is part of the Campus Event Commission’s speaker series staff and was the one who invited McCafferty to campus. “She was a favorite author of mine, and I thought it fit really well with her subject matter,” Chea said.
“Fourth Comings” is the fourth book in McCafferty’s unofficially called “Sloppy Firsts” series, following intelligent and disgruntled Jersey Shore teen Jessica Darling. This edition finds Jessica fresh out of college, struggling to find a cheap apartment, a job and most importantly, herself.
Originally crafted as a two-book series, “Sloppy Firsts” and “Second Helpings” focused on Jessica’s formative teen years: losing her best friend, finding first love, and picking a college.
Released in 2001 and 2003, the books slowly but surely spread in popularity. During this time, McCafferty also received numerous literary awards, including a Booklist Editor’s Pick for “Second Helpings” as one of the top books of 2003.
With the end of her book deal, many ““ including McCafferty ““ thought they had seen the last of her Columbia University-bound heroine, but when McCafferty began work on a new novel, Jessica crept back into author’s thoughts.
Readers were more than happy to delve into Jessica’s latest fumbles over three of her four years in college, and “Charmed Thirds” immediately made its way onto the New York Times best-seller list, as did “Fourth Comings.”
As compared to most young adult series, the Jessica Darling series follows the main character over a long period of time. By the time McCafferty releases the fifth and final book in the series, which she will begin writing in January, fans will have followed Jessica through an entire decade of her life, from ages 16 to 26.
“It’s become an unintentional series. My book kind of defied tradition. By the time I finish the fifth book I will have documented a decade in her life ““ one woman’s coming of age,” McCafferty said.
With these large time gaps between the novels, McCafferty has encountered both fans who appreciate being able to grow up alongside Jessica and some just starting the series too young to understand some of the later, more adult material.
“I have readers who have been growing up with Jessica and love that they are experiencing the same things Jessica is experiencing. Then I have 14 or 15-year-olds who are just discovering “˜Sloppy Firsts’ and can identify with what she’s going through there. To those readers, I say give it some time; you’ll get it. I have them write me back once they’re in college saying, “˜I get it now!'” McCafferty said.
“Even when readers are pissed off at Jessica, I take it as a compliment that they are so passionate about her decisions.”
Chea remembers reading the first book early in high school and has kept up with the series ever since.
“I grew up with her. … A lot of the things that happened to her I wanted to happen to me or thought I would react like she would,” Chea said. “I relate to her because I really like what she has to say about things. I wish I was as witty as Jessica was.”
While many see Jessica as an autobiographical version of McCafferty because of their similar backgrounds ““ McCafferty also grew up on the Jersey Shore and graduated from Columbia University ““ the scribe bases her material more on instinct than personal history.
“It wasn’t until I went to college and was sharing those getting-to-know-you stories. I would tell people about working on the (New Jersey) boardwalk, and they would be cracking up,” McCafferty said. “I just go with my gut. I have a very good intuition when I listen to it.”
However, similar to Jessica’s sporadic journal entries in the later books such as “Fourth Comings,” McCafferty has a personal and slightly unusual writing method.
“It comes in bursts; I don’t force myself to write when it’s just not happening,” she said. “It’s a combination of planning and then inspiration. Usually what I start with ends up somewhere in the middle. I revise a lot as I go along. I add and subtract and mix things up.”
While McCafferty is excited to bring the Jessica Darling series to a conclusion, she’s not quite ready to move on to the writing process for the final novel just yet.
“The fourth book took a lot out of me emotionally. It was as close as I could ever be to burning out, and it was a very emotional experience,” McCafferty said. “I spend so much of my time alone; to be a writer is sort of lonely. This is my last hurrah before I go underground to write the next book.”