Photo by Mario McBride
Amber McBride is the author of the new young adult novel in verse The Leaving Room. Her other books include Me (Moth). She lives in Virginia.
Q: What inspired you to write The Leaving Room, and how did you create your characters Gospel and Melodee?
A: I wanted to write The Leaving Room to explore the concepts of death and life, for young people, in an environment that was separate from our preconceived notions of an afterlife.
The Leaving Room is a room that all young people must phase through right after they pass; before going to the next place. We don’t pretend to know what the next place is, but the Keepers of the leaving room help to make that transition more manageable.
The characters of Gospel (meaning good-telling) and Melodee, the Keepers of The Leaving Room who were stoic, kind, funny, and ageless, came to me very organically.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Reverberating with a haunting trauma, this powerful narrative is packed with Black joy, queer love, and feminist defiance.” What do you think of that description?
A: I adore that description—it’s all-encompassing, which I appreciate because those lines between life and death are complex, both haunting and joyful. I also like the acknowledgment of Gospel and Melodee’s love and that they are strong young women showing up for the girls who phase through their leaving rooms.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I am usually not an outliner! I just go with the flow and hope for the best, but with The Leaving Room, I did know the end before I started. Everything builds to the conclusion of the book and to effectively place the right building blocks (literary scaffolding) in place, I had to know where it was going.
Q: The novel takes place over four minutes--what did that time frame mean for your writing process with this book?
A: Not giving too much away, the timeframe is picked for reasons that are explained at the end of the book, but I think it created momentum. Even when the story seemed to slow down and seems to meander a bit, there is a metaphorical ticking happening. Fun fact, the audiobook has a ticking aspect to it too.
When it came to craft, that meant I needed to be aware of when conversations seemed to go on for too long and really lean into the brevity of verse.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just finished working on an adult novel in verse and I am currently in the process of drafting an adult gothic novel! I am having a lot of fun working in the adult space. After that I have a young adult book that is about bees!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I am always wishing you wellness and joy! Thanks for having me and thanks for reading.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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