If you read my  “Save The Date” pre-review thoughts on So Close To You by Rachel Carter (full review to come SOON!), you’ll know how much I enjoyed this one when I read it! I devoured it in a day and poor Will had to listen to be go on and on about how fascinating the book was and then all the research I did AFTER about the Montauk Project conspiracy.  I’m a sucker for a time travel novel for sure but throw in a conspiracy theory and an interesting time period…goodbye whatever else I need to get done that day. So, I’m SUPER excited to be kicking off Rachel Carter’s blog tour for So Close To You with an interview with Rachel Carter herself. If you haven’t added this to your TBR already and need extra convincing, check out this interview!

1. Describe your book in 6 words or less.

Government conspiracy. Time Travel. Kissing!

2. What inspired you to center a story around the Montauk Project? I have to say it had me fascinated and looking up all sorts of things about it!

As soon as I heard about the Montauk Project, I knew I wanted to write about it. It has so many of the elements I’m drawn to — mystery, conspiracy theories, paranormal experiments. Plus I loved the thought of this huge, secret government project taking place in a small town setting like Montauk.

3. Since your novel deals with time travel, what era would you like to go back in time and visit?

I would love to go to the 1940s like Lydia did, which is part of why I set the book in that time period. I’d also want to visit the ‘20s, or the late eighteen hundreds.

4. You clearly did a lot of research about the Montauk Project conspiracy…can you share with us one of the most interesting things you uncovered.

According to the MP conspiracy theorists, the government has figured out how to use wormholes to connect to distant planets, and they’ve made contact with aliens called Reptoids. Some people claim to have been attacked by these half-human, half-reptile creatures on the beach in Montauk.

5. I love music so I have to know…if you had to give So Close To You a theme song what would it be?

Abandoned Radar Station At Montauk Point

I’m a huge music lover too, so I’m going to make this answer way more involved than it needs to be. There were certain songs I listened to over and over while I was writing, like Greater Than Consequence by Amos the Transparent, and Civilian by Wye Oak. And then there are songs that I think really embodied specific characters, like Noah Gundersen’s The Ocean for Wes. As for a theme song for So Close to You, I’d say, The World Spins Madly On by The Weepies.

6. Are there any other conspiracies or obscure pieces of history that fascinate you?

I’ve always been interested in conspiracy theories – I even used to watch that show Roswell (So bad! So addicting!). And I do include parts of another conspiracy theory in book 2…but you’ll have to wait to see what that is! As for history, I’m more drawn to the stories of how normal people once lived than to big events. I grew up in Vermont, and there are hundreds of crumbling cemeteries and cellar-holes tucked into the forest. I used to love walking through the trees with my dad, imagining the framework of old homes and villages, and wishing that I had been born in another time.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Rachel!