Q&A with Christine Webb

 

 

Christine Webb is the author of the young adult novel Shooting for Stars. She also has written the YA novel The Art of Insanity. She is also a middle school teacher, and she lives in Michigan. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Shooting for Stars, and how did you create your characters Skyler and Cooper?

 

A: I went to a math and science school in high school, and my astronomy class was really interesting. I thought astronomy could be a fun field for one of my characters to explore.

 

Skyler started because so many people liked my character Ella from The Art of Insanity. I picked out some of Ella's top characteristics and used them to build Skyler. They're totally separate characters, but they have some of the same ingredients.

 

Cooper was designed to be as opposite of Skyler as possible, because that makes for good plot and character development.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: Yes, I did a lot of research! One of my favorite ways to research was when I interviewed the head of the physics department at my local university.

 

Even though I told him to simplify things for a non-physics major, he was still quite over my head with all his astronomy jargon. I ended up typing quotes he said so that I could look over them later and decipher what they meant.

 

He told me about the neutron star event of 2017, though, which ended up being super useful information! I had never heard of it before, and neutron stars are essential to Skyler's plot line.

 

Q: The School Library Journal review of the book says, “Webb’s quiet humor permeates the story, adding a light touch to Skyler’s journey of self-discovery and adaptation...” What do you think of that description, and what role do you see humor playing in the book?

 

A: I appreciate that description, as humor is both a strength and weakness of mine. I believe I can write funny characters and situations, but sometimes I use humor to lighten moments that are supposed to be emotional and heavy (I do this in real life, too).

 

I've been working on that balance between humor and emotion in my writing, and that review makes me hopeful that I struck a good balance in this story.

 

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

 

A: I want readers to understand that there is more than one way to be smart. Lots of people only think of "smart" as academically intelligent, but everyone is good at something.

 

Maybe someone is an athletic genius. Perhaps they're emotionally intelligent. Some have minds that are great at running businesses. People can be smart in their own categories, and all of these categories are important.

 

I want to challenge the binary of people being "smart" or "not smart," which is something Skyler believes at the beginning of the book.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working on another young adult fiction book. I can't give away too much right now...but it takes place in Alaska. Ever since I visited Alaska in 2018, I knew it would be a great setting for a book. I'm really enjoying the project.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I'm a certified book coach now! If you're interested in taking the next step in your writing journey, please contact me through my website (christinewebbauthor.com). I love working with authors to make their manuscripts shiny, beautiful, and pitchable. :-)

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Christine Webb.