Q&A with Chieri Uegaki

 

Photo by Jennifer Picard

 

 

 

Chieri Uegaki is the author of the new young adult novel Emiko, an update of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma. Her other books include the children's picture book Suki's Kimono. She lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write an updated YA version of Jane Austen’s Emma?

 

A: The short answer is: the pandemic and an out-of-the-blue email from an old colleague/work friend.

 

A few months after the lockdown started, the friend shared that they had written their first novel (and were working on book two in a planned series) and wanted to know about my experience publishing in Canada.

 

In replying, I didn't mention how shamed I felt that they'd completed this feat while balancing a challenging career and a busy family life; I had nowhere near the same demands on my time, and I realized that if I were ever going to attempt to write a novel (an ambition I hadn’t seriously considered before), it was now or never.

 

Around the same time, I was watching Autumn de Wilde's Emma. on repeat, and something about Anya Taylor-Joy's performance made me wonder how this character would work if she were a modern-day Japanese-Canadian teenager. Once I had this idea, the rest of Emiko's world, and the other characters, came to me fairly quickly.

 

I was also extra-motivated to work on this project because immersing myself in writing a romantic comedy (one of my favourite genres to read and watch) became my happy place during the strange and scary time that was 2020. 

 

Q: What did you see as the right balance between Austen’s original character and your own character, Emiko?

 

A: I knew that I needed to include enough similarities between the two characters so that readers of Austen's book would recognize the Emma-ness of Emiko. But I also had to stay true to Emiko, a 21st century Japanese-Canadian Nissei (second generation), and make sure she, and the world she inhabited, was recognizable as such.

 

I did give Emiko some of the main character traits of Emma—her arrogance, snobbishness, and lack of self-awareness—while trying to emphasize her good heart and intentions, and potential for growth.

 

And as the story developed, rather than simply matching Emma beat for beat, I looked to looser reimaginings like Amy Heckerling's Clueless for inspiration on how to create something that would stand on its own. As one of my early readers said, their enjoyment of Emiko’s story shouldn't require having to read Austen's book first.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Emiko and Kenzo, and how would you compare it with the Emma-Mr. Knightley relationship? 

 

A: I would say Emiko and Kenzo share that kind of longstanding friendship where you’re so comfortable, you run the risk of assuming everything you know about the other person will remain true forever. So when things and feelings between them do change, it comes as a surprise to Emiko (Kenzo may have been clued in sooner).

 

Also, there is a familial ease between them—although Kenzo is quick to point out they are not brother and sister—as well as a bit of competitiveness.

 

Because Emiko and Kenzo are so close in age and at a similar stage in life, I think they’re a little more evenly matched pair than Emma and Mr. Knightley might seem, given the latter couple’s age gap and differences in life experience.

 

Emotionally, though, I think both couples share a similar dynamic in that when Kenzo and Mr. Knightley justifiably call out Emiko and Emma, it comes from a place of deep friendship. It’s not because either Kenzo or Mr. Knightley feel somehow superior, or that it’s their job to teach Emiko or Emma how to behave.  

 

Q: Is Emma your favorite Jane Austen novel?

 

A: It's neck and neck with Pride and Prejudice.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working on another YA rom-com and have completed the first draft. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Having the release of Emiko happen during Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of Clueless was a lovely stroke of luck!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Lauren A. Tetenbaum

 

 

 

Lauren A. Tetenbaum is the author of the new book Millennial Menopause: Preparing for Perimenopause, Menopause & Life's Next Period. She is a social worker and a former lawyer, and she lives in Westchester, New York. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Millennial Menopause?

A: As a women's mental health therapist and reproductive rights advocate, I know a lot about women's health. Yet as I approached my 40s, I realized I knew nothing about menopause.

 

I met Anne Fulenwider, co-founder of the women's health platform Alloy, at a networking event and was astounded by how passionate she and every other (older) woman in the room was about clarifying menopause myths and demanding better access to care.

 

I thought, someone really needs to be telling millennials about this so we aren't caught off guard, so that we can get appropriate treatment. And then I realized: that someone could be me!

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

A: I interviewed four dozen women's health experts, including OB/GYNs, reproductive endocrinologists, neurologists, cardiologists, psychiatrists, professors, start-up founders, and other advocates. I also spoke with more than 120 everyday women about their experiences and questions.

 

I was surprised by how early symptoms of perimenopause can start, by how little training doctors and other healthcare providers receive on this topic, and by how it's possible to be proactive about your health now to stay healthy later in life.

Q: What would you say are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about menopause?

A: The main misconception I see is around hormone therapy, which is generally safe and effective for most women who do not have contraindications. This does not mean every woman should take hormone therapy but all women are at least owed a conversation about it. Unfortunately the misconceptions stemming from the 2002 WHI study persist, among different generations.

 

Another misconception around the menopause transition is that it does not begin until closer to 50; in reality, many women experience perimenopause symptoms beginning in their 30s.

 

And all women deserve information -- and yet, many healthcare providers continue to say things like "you're too young to think about menopause" which is really a disservice, and perpetuates the perception that menopause is an old lady's problem.

 

I would also add that there is nothing wrong with being an old lady, and we need to improve ageism and sexism in medical care and our culture in general!

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

A: I hope readers feel empowered, connected, and ready for whatever may come their way during the menopause transition. Knowledge is power, and women must support each other even though each of our experiences with peri/menopause will be different.

 

I also hope that readers see it is possible to create big change, one small step at a time. The book gives advice on communicating about these issues with men, in the workplace, and more, and everyone must do their part to help women feel better and get what they need during this natural life phase.

 

I also hope -- and feel confident that -- readers will laugh and have some fun while reading, since it's a very lighthearted book full of millennial nostalgia!

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I've kept my day job(s) as a mom of two young kids and a psychotherapist to women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, so I'm busy! Writing has always been a creative outlet for me and a lifelong passion, so I hope to continue to write articles and books on women's health. And maybe one day, a novel!

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I'll be visiting various cities over the next several months to speak about Millennial Menopause at events and conferences with other healthcare providers, women's health experts, and readers. Please come say hello! You can view the tour schedule here.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Andrew Brininstool

 

 

 

Andrew Brininstool is the author of the new book High Desert Blood: The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot and the Tragedy of the Williams Brothers. He lives in Grapevine, Texas. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to write a book about the 1980 New Mexico prison riot?

 

A: I grew up in Santa Fe, but wasn’t born until a few years after the riot. Nonetheless, my parents and grandparents (who are from Carlsbad) knew the story quite well. Listening to them discuss some of the victims’ families, where they were when it went down, who they knew inside the penitentiary at the time—it was an (admittedly dark) piece of lore as a youngster.

 

Having said as much, I never considered writing about the riot until I was teaching college. One night, myself and a friend, Dr. Michael Martin, were chatting on his patio—killing some time before we needed to get back to grading finals. I made an offhand remark about the riot, and he asked about it.

 

Like many, he knew little about what had taken place. He listened as I spoke about it and, as he has background in teaching nonfiction narratives to his classes, he told me I needed to work on this. He was insistent and encouraging. I would’ve likely never focused my attention on what became this book without his guidance.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: This book took years of research—archival digging, interviews with former inmates and prison staff, legal records, media coverage, and declassified government documents. Some of the most valuable sources weren’t the official reports, but the people who had been there.

 

The prison itself—the physical space of it—was also crucial. Walking through what remains of the facility, you can still see traces of what happened. The scorch marks, the broken walls, the places where inmates were tortured and killed.

 

Q: The writer Jimmy Santiago Baca said of the book, “Brininstool explains the cause and effect of the events, which lends the book a purpose and meaning even the best novelists lack.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I truly appreciated his praise for the book, and I am glad that he saw this in my writing. I set out to not just tell a true crime story, but to tell a story about real people and the very real lack of direction our prison system has, to show how and why this riot happened and why it will happen again.

 

The U.S. has never decided what the prison system is for – rehabilitation or discipline and punishment? Since the 1970s prisons have become more punitive and have never swung back to focusing on rehabilitation.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: The riot was a warning—a warning that went unheeded. It exposed everything that was broken about the American prison system: overcrowding, inhumane conditions, unchecked violence. And yet, instead of fixing those issues, the system became even more punitive, more profit-driven, and more expansive.

 

Today, we have more private prisons than ever. We have solitary confinement units that function as modern-day dungeons. We have a system that punishes more than it rehabilitates. The same problems that fueled the New Mexico riot still exist—just on a larger scale.

 

If there’s one lesson to take from this book, it’s that systems don’t collapse overnight. They decay, slowly, under the weight of negligence, corruption, and disregard for human life. And if history tells us anything, it’s that when we ignore the warning signs, we will see history repeat itself.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: During the 2020 presidential debates, a major talking point was criminal justice reform, clemency, and the notion of no longer locking people up for nonviolent crimes. It seemed that both candidates were taking the novel approach of outdoing each other on being softer on criminology--rather than the tough-on-crime mantra that had been the norm since 1973. 

 

And yet, now, we are seeing nonviolent persons taken in by ICE, detained, shipped to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), one of the most notoriously dangerous and overcrowded facilities in the world. President Trump has also considered sending undocumented persons to Africa--another place known for abject and inhumane prisons. 

 

The whiplash of the last four years echoes a problem the United States has had since its inception. And the Penitentiary of New Mexico/Old Main serves as a perfect microcosm--or an index—for this sort of chaos.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

July 31

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 31, 1919: Primo Levi born.

Q&A with Ellen Marie Wiseman

 

 

 

Ellen Marie Wiseman is the author of the new novel The Lies They Told. Her other books include The Lost Girls of Willowbrook. She lives on the shores of Lake Ontario. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Lies They Told, and how did you create your character Lena?

 

A: I first learned about eugenics while writing my debut novel, The Plum Tree, when I discovered that the United States was the first country in the world to undertake forced sterilization programs, and that the Nazi party in Germany took many of its policies, procedures, and theories from American eugenicists. (For more information, check out the Q&A  in the back of the book.)

 

I also learned that the U.S. was the leader in the eugenics movement and, after WWI, held international conventions to spread the word to other countries.

 

Then, while researching two of my other novels, What She Left Behind and The Lost Girls of Willowbrook, I continued to find connections to eugenics due to the fact that those stories are about asylums and institutions built to isolate, and in many cases sterilize, anyone considered a burden to society or a threat to the American gene pool.

 

I was also surprised to discover that eugenics theories played numerous and significant roles in the history and culture of the United States, including stricter immigration laws, marriage laws, anti-miscegenation laws, and segregation.

 

And as I began to realize how all these things were connected, I was inspired to write a novel about how the eugenics movement affected average U.S. citizens.

 

But I also wanted to show how those theories and beliefs affected immigrants, and that’s how the character Lena was born. Not only does she experience the plight of incoming immigrants, but her dreams of a better life in America are shattered by eugenics when the movement destroys the family who took her in.   

 

Q: How would you compare the treatment of immigrants depicted in your novel with the treatment of immigrants in the United States today?

 

A: Oh, that’s a tough question to answer because there are so many variables that affect the treatment of immigrants, both today and in the past. 

 

In the early years of the U.S., immigration was largely unrestricted, and immigrants were encouraged to help settle the land and build the economy. 

 

But during the first half of the 20th century, America’s sentiments towards immigrant groups changed dramatically, and a fear of the “new immigrants” emerged. The main concern was that they would become a public burden and degrade the quality of American life or pollute the American gene pool. 

 

During that time, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free discovered that policies of exclusion and eugenics made mere survival a battle. After a brutal passage to the U.S., immigrants were immediately judged and possibly imprisoned or deported based on their race, origin, class, and health upon arrival. 

 

Today, many Americans have been falsely led to believe that all immigrants are criminals (among other things) when, in fact, studies show that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans.

 

Now, the fears of the past have been exploited by our government and immigrants are being rounded up and deported by ICE under the pretense of keeping the country safe, when in fact the majority of people held under inhumane conditions in ICE dentition centers are kept in facilities run by private, for-profit companies that receive payments billions of dollars from the government. 

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: My editor chose the title from a list I gave him. To me, The Lies They Told signifies the lies the U.S government told the American people about immigrants as well as their fellow citizens. It also signifies the lies asylums and institutions told patients about appendectomies and other benign surgeries when in fact they were performing sterilizations. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now, I’m working on a novel about the abuse in troubled teen schools. It’s loosely based on one of the first troubled-teen schools in the U.S., but sadly an estimated 5-10,000 of these types of “schools" are still in operation in the U.S. 

 

Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the exact number due to a lack of regulation and consistent definitions.

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: Yes, it’s important to note that understanding the American eugenics movement isn't just about learning from the past—it's about recognizing how old ideologies can resurface in new forms. Eugenics laws and beliefs had the power to tear families apart, to institutionalize people for life, and to take away a person’s right to have a family. 

 

Unfortunately, the legacy of eugenics is still with us in our laws, our medical systems, our institutions, our schools, and our beliefs and assumptions about whose lives are considered valuable.

 

While America’s eugenics movement is a dark and painful chapter in our history, it’s one that echoes many of the injustices we see in the world today.

 

When I began researching this topic over three years ago, I never imagined how alarmingly relevant it would be in 2025. However, even before we saw migrants and citizens alike being detained and sent away, laws in 31 states—and Washington, D.C.—still permitted forced sterilization of immigrants, people with disabilities, and the incarcerated. 

 

If anyone chooses to read The Lies They Told, I hope it entertains and inspires them.

 

But mostly, I hope it allows readers to step into the shoes of those who have lived through fear and injustice—to see their humanity, to recognize their pain, and to remember that all people, regardless of race, nationality, religion, education levels, physical or mental ability, deserve empathy, kindness, dignity, safety, and the chance to live free.  

 

And I‘m grateful to you for having me again, Deborah!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Ellen Marie Wiseman. 

Q&A with Mary E. Roach

 

Photo by Kat Veldt

 

 

Mary E. Roach is the author of the new novel We Are the Match, a retelling of the story of Helen of Troy. She also has written the YA novel Better Left Buried. She lives in St. Paul.

 

Q: What inspired you to write an update of the story of Helen of Troy? 

 

A: I’ve always loved the myth of Helen of Troy, and I love that modern interpretations allow for more of the story to focus on Helen. She's so famous for the male gaze—for being the "face that launched a thousand ships."

 

But what does she want? I wanted to explore how women think about Helen. What they see. What she sees. And something sapphic, romantic, and furious felt like the perfect avenue to explore a version of Helen that highlights a different side to her story. 

 

Q: What did you see as the right balance between your own characters and the original characters of Greek mythology?

 

A: This was a hard balance to strike! A lot of the plot mirrors events of the original, with the crime family twist (i.e. instead of a golden apple, there's an incendiary device shaped like an apple, instead of "to the fairest" as the inscription we have "from the queen").

 

Character-wise, I took a few more liberties, but I wanted the core of the premise to explore the moment Helen chooses. In some versions of the original myth, she's kidnapped by Paris. In some she chooses to flee her husband and go with Paris.

 

For me, it was important to explore a version of Helen that makes her own choice, but with that, I had to ask the questions: what makes a woman surrounded in privilege and comfort decide to run? What makes her desperate enough to upend her whole life—her whole world—and leave it all behind.

 

Ultimately, the answer is a pretty complex one, which felt right to me. The original Helen is a complex woman, so it felt right to explore a version where she gets to be more than a pretty face. 

 

Q: How would you describe the relationship between Helen and Paris?

 

A: Their relationship is volatile, complicated, and fierce. They have an almost irresistible connection immediately, but they have such opposing goals. Paris is dead set on revenge, and that revenge includes harming Helen. Helen is sure she wants to leave everyone and everything behind, and of course that kind of plan has no space for new connections of any kind.

 

Love upends all of this for them; something they never could have planned on and changes their core goals as they grow closer. But it's definitely enemies to lovers. They don't start off the novel on good terms. 

 

Q: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: My pub team actually came up with the title! My working title had been "Burn the Ships," a nod to the way Helen is known as the face that launched a thousand ships. I wanted to evoke a feeling of rebellion, of the kind of love that pushes back on the boundaries that confine us, so when my pub team pitched "We Are the Match," it immediately felt right. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working on a lot of projects, actually! I write across genres and age categories, but have a few romantic stories coming out in the next year.

 

I have a second contemporary romance out next year, this one about a hitman and a jaded librarian who both want to kill the same billionaire, but don't expect their connection to be so immediate and all-consuming.

 

I am also branching out into the romantasy space, with a cozy, comedic romantasy entitled Bromantasy that will be coming out next spring from Putnam. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Thank you for giving this dark, steamy version of Helen and Paris a chance!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Samsun Knight

 

 

 

 

Samsun Knight is the author of the new novel Likeness. He also has written the novel The Diver. He is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Likeness, and how did you create your characters Anne, Sebastian, and Sandy?

A: The loose inspiration for Likeness comes from my own family; my mother and father had a complicated open relationship, and I have a half-brother who's almost the exact same age as me, born one month before I was.

 

The characters themselves aren't really anything like my mom, dad, or my half-brother's mom (I call her my half-mom), but the situation comes pretty much directly from their setup—they had a settled rhythm around their polyamorous relationships that got completely whirlwinded by the news that both my mom and she were pregnant at the same time.

 

But I'd say in reality the characters are all different versions of myself, trying to understand how these decisions and situations could've made sense if I'd been an actor in them.

 

Q: The writer Maria Kuznetsova said of the book, “Likeness is both a hilarious wild ride about a love triangle and a serious investigation into what makes us love, procreate, and live with purpose.” What do you think of that description?

A: I'm very grateful! The book is both about the relationships, but also about each of the characters' becomings in the context of their relationships—how our partnerships change our perspectives on ourselves, and by extension, ourselves. 

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

A: I initially chose the title as a reference to the likeness of the two sons, but I also liked it as a big-tent title, that readers can hopefully fill with their own significance.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic among your three characters?

A: I'd describe it as a three-legged stool where all the legs are broken. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I'm working on a novel about siblings, two sisters who move in together after one of them can't shake a drug addiction. I like family disasters.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: Thank you for your time!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Liselle Sambury

 

 

Liselle Sambury is the author of the new young adult novel A Mastery of Monsters. Her other books include Tender Beasts. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Mastery of Monsters, and how did you create your character August?

 

A: The novel was inspired by a few different things. The first story spark came when I was watching a music video by EXO called “Monster,” and there was a scene where they’re all sitting at this table and the music made me think of the idea of a dinner with people, and they all looked human, but actually some of them were monsters.

 

I considered the idea of some of those people wanting to chain up the monsters, and a girl at the table who refused to participate. Which was how I came up with that concept in addition to August as a character as someone stirring things up.

 

I also had, for the first novel I ever completed, written a werewolf story and decided this would be a sort of spiritual successor in that I took August’s character name and some of Virgil (the love interest’s) name and moved them over to this book. I love the idea of shifters but didn’t want to do werewolves again, so the monsters felt like a perfect alternative.

 

I also finished my first novel during my first year of university and so it felt apt to make Mastery a dark academia taking place at my alma mater.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I’m the sort of author who does a lot of planning before I ever start writing, and so I already knew the plot points of the story including the ending.

 

However, before I started planning, I had a strong idea of how I wanted the entire trilogy to play out, and those general beats have remained the same. Mostly what has changed is how the character gets from that beginning point of the novel to the end that I imagined.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the novel is set?

 

A: Since A Mastery of Monsters is a contemporary fantasy, a lot of the world came from my real life experience attending Queen’s University and living in the city of Kingston.

 

I did a lot of on location research going to places that I would put in the book, and fact checking on what things had changed or stayed the same since I attended university a decade prior. I also made a point to weave in real historical facts and events.

 

In terms of the fantastical elements of the novel, those really began with looking at the secret society at the center of the story. I spent a lot of time imagining why this society would be involved in humans who can turn into monsters, how that would be made up, the sort of philosophies they would believe, what circumstances would make someone join, and how they would keep monsters secret, etc.

 

The process meant that I spent a lot of time asking myself questions about how everything would work and writing it down. In the end, I created a lot of different timelines and resource documents. This is easily the most complicated world that I have ever built, and so it took a lot of time to iron out all the details.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I think this is my most fun novel, and so I really hope that readers will come away thinking this is the sort of fantasy that they want to read over and over again. I really put in effort to create something fast paced and addictive.

 

In terms of themes, I think the biggest one is really giving yourself space to mess up. To me, university was such an unexpected experience and so many of the perfect plans I created in high school didn’t work out, and that was so hard as a perfectionist.

 

But in hindsight, I always think about how ridiculous it is to expect someone to have their life figured out at 18. I hope that watching August’s journey can help teens give themselves some grace.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now, I’m working on the second book in the Mastery series, which will be coming out in 2026. I’m so excited to share it with everyone. I know that second books in a trilogy can be tough, and so I really pulled out all the stops to make it a worthy follow up to the first novel. I hope that folks will enjoy it!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: If anyone is interested in getting more of an insider look at the process, I have a YouTube channel @lisellesambury where I document my journey through things like vlogs.

 

I have a playlist called “The Journey of A Mastery of Monsters” where you can watch me work on the book from the very beginning, to selling it, to working on edits with my editor, etc. I also provide a lot of advice for writers if there’s interest in that as well.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Richard Ho

 

 

 

Richard Ho is the author of the new children's picture book A Rock Is Born. His other books include Red Rover. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Rock Is Born?

 

A: This story actually started with an idea from my editor at Roaring Brook, Emily Feinberg. She was on vacation, hiking through what I believe was a national park, when she mused that the rocks crunching beneath her feet were actually witnesses to millions of years of change throughout Earth's long history.

 

And just as the landscape has shifted over time, the rocks themselves have undergone countless transformations to arrive at the form they have today. She thought, "There's a book here!" and then immediately thought, "Who will write it?" She reached out to me, and thus our latest collaboration was born.

 

Q: What do you think Lily Williams’ illustrations add to the book?

 

A: I've been a fan of Lily Williams for years. Her art is so vibrant and expressive, while also being meticulously dedicated to the scientific facts and concepts she brings to life.

 

Her If Animals Disappeared series is so brilliant - she's truly mastered the art of nonfiction picture book storytelling that teaches kids about the natural world, and the urgent need to protect it. She was the ideal creative partner for this story!

 

And I got just a glimpse of her intensive research process, and the hours she devoted to ensuring that every detail about the rocks and their transformations was as accurate as possible.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I consulted as many reliable scientific sources as I could, including textbooks, USGS resources, and of course a trained geologist.

 

As for surprises? I had a sense of how long the timescales were for the rock cycle, but it was still eye-opening to see actual numbers assigned to the various stages.

 

When we were figuring out the time labels for each section ("130 million years ago," "90 million years ago," etc.), I often had to stop and just ponder how far back we were going. It definitely puts things into perspective: in comparison, the process of making this book (six years from idea to shelves) was like a blink of an eye!

 

Q: Publishers Weekly said of the book, “A long-form reminder that even the most ordinary objects can contain extraordinary histories.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! That was one of the most compelling aspects of Emily's idea: that this tiny little rock that we take for granted is actually older than anything else in our surroundings. It's seen the rise and fall of dinosaurs, the passage of ice ages, and who knows what else. Extraordinary history, indeed.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working with my publishers to put the final touches on several books that will be releasing over the next two years. Next year will be especially busy, with four picture books and a middle grade collection of short biographies on the way!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: This past school year, one of our sons randomly started to bring home interesting rocks that he would find on the playground at school. Needless to say, showing him the first finished copy of A Rock is Born was a highlight of this whole process!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

July 30

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 30, 1818: Emily Brontë born. 

July 29

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 29, 1869: Booth Tarkington born. 

Q&A with Rebecca Danzenbaker

 

Photo by Candace Boissy

 

 

Rebecca Danzenbaker is the author of the new young adult novel Soulmatch. She is also a photographer.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Soulmatch, and how did you create your character Sivon?

 

A: Fifteen years ago, I drove past a cemetery and wondered out of the blue whether my former self was buried there. Did we share any common traits? What if someday we have the technology to connect our souls from life to life?

 

That idea stuck with me for 10 years, until I had to temporarily shutter my non-essential photography business during the Covid outbreak. Left with hours to fill and mounting anxiety, I purchased a pre-recorded workshop by Lisa Cron called Wired For Story, and by following her advice, started crafting my characters and a basic outline for Soulmatch.

 

Even though Soulmatch is set 200 years in the future, I wanted the main character, Sivon, to feel like a contemporary teenager. Like many, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, other than make a difference. She has no useful talents, skills, or interests to guide her, just an uncanny ability to win every game of chess she plays.

 

So she very much anticipates her government-mandated soul identification–-a process known as kirling–-when she’ll learn about her past lives, receive her inheritance, discover if she has a soulmate, and get much-needed direction. Little does Sivon know, her seemingly useless chess master skills become instrumental to surviving her post-kirling reality.

 

Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the novel says, “Debut author Danzenbaker conjures a futuristic dystopia that uses reincarnation to summarily explore ideas of criminal rehabilitation, predestination, and the perils of constant surveillance...” What do you think of that description?

 

A: In Soulmatch, your kirling results are published for the world to see and judge, so if you have a criminal history, you carry that stigma for eternity, making it impossible to outrun the mistakes of your past lives.

 

If someone receives a multi-life prison sentence, they need to literally serve each one of those, and are incarcerated following their kirling. Even those with minor convictions from several lives prior struggle to redeem themselves in the eyes of “good souls.” So the criminal rehabilitation portion of the review is spot on. 

 

Coincidently, the next two, “...predestination and the perils of constant surveillance,” better describe my sophomore novel, Predestined, an unrelated YA dystopian romance slated to publish in fall of 2026. It’s like a YA Minority Report, where AI can predict the next 24 hours. In Soulmatch, your future isn’t so much predestined by your past lives as restricted by them. 

 

The “constant surveillance” perhaps refers to Sivon’s celebrity status as she departs the government institute, with cameras flying in her face and her social media accounts being scrutinized, but the government doesn’t monitor her every move to the extent characters deal with in Predestined.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the story takes place?

 

A: Once I got the idea for Soulmatch, I couldn’t let it go. So over the ensuing years, I occasionally made notes on how scientific proof of reincarnation would change the world order, religion, laws, currency, and how we view ourselves, life, and death. While Soulmatch is a fun dystopian read on the surface, far deeper layers form the foundation on which the story was built.

 

It wasn’t until later revisions that I added in much of the futuristic technology. I tried to make the advancements–-from furniture to art–-feel magical, in hopes of inspiring a sense of wonder in the reader.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: Primarily that no one can tell you who you are. Only you know your own soul.

 

I hope they also note that, despite her intelligence, Sivon only succeeds with the help of her carefully curated team of friends and allies. We need each other. We cannot win alone.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m neck-deep in developmental revisions for Predestined, which I hope will be as fun as Soulmatch! A future-predicting AI can introduce lots of plot holes, so it’s tricky, but like Sivon, I love a good challenge!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I somehow haven’t mentioned the romance yet! Soulmatch is an angst-fueled, slow burn, forbidden romance with a delicious HEA that will leave you kicking your heels and squealing with delight.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

July 28

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
July 28, 1866: Beatrix Potter born.

July 25

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
July 25, 1896: Josephine Tey born.

Q&A with Marc J. Kuchner

 

 

 

Marc J. Kuchner is the author of the new children's book Cosmic Collisions: Supergiant vs. Neutron Star. His other books include Cosmic Collisions: Asteroid vs. Comet. He is an astrophysicist, and he lives in Rhode Island. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Supergiant vs. Neutron Star?

 

A: Back when I was in graduate school studying to be an astronomer, I got interested in a hypothetical kind of object called a Thorne-Zytkow object. It’s a special kind of supergiant star that has a neutron star in its belly. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by both supergiants and neutron stars!

 

Q: What do you see as the relationship between this new book and your book Asteroid vs. Comet?

 

A: Asteroids and comets are awesome. But they are also sort of familiar. When they collide, it’s at insane speeds but it’s also sort of a normal splat of snow against rock.

 

After writing about them, I wanted to dive into something where the physics is really extreme, really far out. There is absolutely nothing like a neutron star in our daily lives. Those monsters are just barely within the realm of human imagination.

 

Q: What do you think Matt Schu’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Matt takes you on a ride into outer space, but on his tour bus you never find yourself lost in a vast lonely vacuum. It’s more like an adventure in your backyard with your friends and a flashlight, not far from your bed with fresh flannel sheets.

 

Plus he does these adorable hermits—little old men—that he sneaks into every book…see if you can find them!

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: It’s great if readers learn a bit about astrophysics from the Cosmic Collisions. But the main point is to get kids to try out the process of making hypotheses--the step in the scientific method where you take an educated guess. When you start a new science project, you really need to have some kind of hypothesis in mind. Otherwise, it’s hard to figure out what kind of data you want to collect, or how much data you need.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The manuscript for the third book in the Cosmic Collisions series is already done. I’m working on the fourth book in the series! After that, I’m taking requests.... What do you want me to crash together?

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes!  I’m messing around on TikTok and Instagram, making little videos and answering astronomy questions. Come find me! I’m @marckuchner on TikTok, or @marckuchner on Instagram or @marckuchner.bluesky.social on Bluesky.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb