Q&A with Monica Arya

  

 

 

Monica Arya is the author of the new novel The Favorite Girl. Her other books include The Favorite Daughter. She lives in North Carolina.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Favorite Girl, and how did you create your character Demi?

 

A: The Favorite Girl was born from my fascination with the darker side of human nature, particularly the secrets people keep and the lengths they'll go to protect the world they've created. I've always been drawn to stories that explore the psychology behind human behavior, especially when it comes to power, trauma, and survival.

 

When I created Demi, I wanted to write a character who was deeply flawed, complicated, and unapologetically human. I didn't want her to be the perfect heroine who always made the right decisions or knows what to do. I wanted readers to question her, root for her, become frustrated with her, and ultimately understand her.

 

As an Asian American female author, representation is also incredibly important to me. Growing up, I rarely saw women who looked like me at the center of dark psychological thrillers or books in general.

 

I remember, as a reader, craving more main characters from diverse backgrounds and realizing that, as an author, I had the opportunity to help bridge that unfortunate gap in books and publishing. I wanted Demi to exist in a world where she could be messy, vulnerable, flawed, and strong, all while defying the odds stacked against her.

 

I think there's something incredibly beautiful about readers being able to see pieces of themselves reflected in a character, but I also believe there's just as much beauty in stepping into the shoes of someone whose ethnicity, culture, or background is entirely different from their own.

 

That's one of the most powerful things about storytelling. It allows us to experience lives beyond our own, and I wanted to contribute to that in a meaningful way.

 

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 actually knew how I wanted The Favorite Girl to end before I started writing it! The entire book played out like a movie in my mind for a while. As a psychological thriller author, I love building a story around its final reveal and then carefully planting little breadcrumbs throughout the book. There's something so satisfying about readers reaching the last page and suddenly questioning everything they thought they knew.

 

That being said, my characters have a tendency to take on lives of their own, and sometimes the story evolves in ways I didn't initially anticipate. I allow myself the creative freedom to follow those unexpected turns because I think some of the most unnerving moments happen organically.

 

I also knew I wanted to leave just enough room for the story to continue if readers wanted more. I never wanted to force a sequel, but I loved the idea that Demi's world could expand beyond the first book.

 

And, as it turned out, readers absolutely wanted more! That incredible response is what led to The Caged Girl and eventually the third and final installment, The Favorite Daughter.

 

It's been such a surreal experience watching a story I initially envisioned as one novel grow into an entire trilogy, all because readers weren't ready to leave that dark, twisted world behind.

 

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

 

A: Growing up in the South as a minority female wasn't always easy, and I think a part of me felt deeply connected to Demi because we both shared this desire to fit in, to belong, and to be accepted. When you're growing up feeling different from those around you, there's often this unspoken longing to be chosen, to be seen, and to feel like you have a place in the world.

 

That's really where the title The Favorite Girl came from. I started thinking about how deeply human the desire to be someone's favorite really is. Whether it's wanting to be the favorite daughter, the favorite friend, or simply the girl who finally gets chosen, I think so many of us can relate to that feeling in some capacity.

 

For Demi, that desire takes on a much darker and more twisted meaning, which made the title feel especially fitting. But beneath all the disturbing layers of the story is something incredibly universal: the longing to be accepted for who you are.

 

I think that's what makes the title so meaningful to me. Because at some point in our lives, haven't we all just wanted to be someone's favorite?

 

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

 

A: More than anything, I hope readers walk away from The Favorite Girl with a sense of resilience and strength. Life has a way of throwing unimaginable storms at us, and sometimes those storms feel impossible to survive.

 

But I truly believe that no matter how dark things become, the sun will always find a way to shine again. That sentiment is part of the book's dedication, and it's something that means a great deal to me personally.

 

I hope Demi's journey reminds readers that we are often so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. That our circumstances don't have to define us, our past doesn't have to dictate our future, and even when the world seems determined to break us, we can find a way to rise.

 

And on a more personal note, I hope readers know just how incredibly grateful I am that they took a chance on my dark, twisted thriller. There are so many wonderful books in the world, and the fact that someone chose to spend their time in a world I created is something I'll never take for granted.

 

I hope they experienced something unique, something that challenged their expectations, and perhaps met a main character they don't often encounter in this genre.

 

Whether readers saw a piece of themselves in Demi or stepped into the shoes of someone entirely different from them, I hope her story stayed with them long after they finished.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my next dark psychological thriller. While it features an entirely new storyline and cast of characters, it follows closely in the footsteps of The Favorite Girl series when it comes to that pitch-black darkness my readers have come to expect from me. It's disturbing, twisted, and creepy in all the ways I love to write.

 

I'm excited to introduce readers to this brand-new world, especially those who fell in love with the darkness of The Favorite Girl. It’s almost a blend of thriller and horror in ways and might even be scarier than The Favorite Girl.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The Favorite Girl series has received a gorgeous new glow-up with its paperback editions from my publisher, Simon Maverick.

 

My upcoming spring release, Let Me Show You, is a completely twisted standalone psychological thriller that I cannot wait to share with readers. All of these new books are up for preorder through Simon Maverick.

 

There are so many fun, dark, and exciting things happening in the world of Monica Arya books, and I’m beyond grateful to have readers along for the ride.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Karen Foxlee

  

Photo by Esther Visser

 

Karen Foxlee is the author of the new middle grade novel The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe. Her other books include Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy. She lives in Queensland, Australia. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe, and how did you create your character Lavender?

 

A: It was really the inspiration for the character Lavender that started this story. It began with a few lines repeating in my head – I had three names, the first was Lavender, a pretty name but with too many letters if you’re no good at spelling. I’m not a plotter, but I immediately knew I had to find out who she was.

 

Lavender was a tiny scrap of an idea to begin with but as I wrote she became a pickpocket in an alternate 18th century England. She’s stolen aboard a cursed and magical pirate ship by the ship cook, Big Agatha. She’s a small, fair headed twig of a child, but filled with courage and resilience (and some magic too).

 

I wanted to create a character like the ones that I loved as a child. Think Gerda from The Snow Queen meets Bastian from The Neverending Story. Inspiration grew as I wrote. The more I knew about Lavender the more I wanted to write about belonging, and about the strange places where we might find our families and ourselves.

 

Q: The novel is set in the year 1719--why did you choose that time period?

A: When I discovered that Lavender was on a cursed ship called The Good Marchioness, I knew the story l had to be set in the Great Age of Sail. I was both excited and terrified to write about this time period, but like all my stories, I decided if I stuck with my main character Lavender everything would work out fine.

 

I think when writing about another time period it’s good to start small and think about what’s at arm’s distance from your characters. The 18th century world I discovered was different in so many ways, yet all those big universal emotions were still there. Lavender misses her mother and she wants to get home. She true finds friends on her journey. She learns about herself along the way. 

 

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

A: I loved the research I had to do for this story! For starters, I had to learn so much about sailing ships, from the names of the sails to how time was measured. I also became fascinated by 18th century food. 

 

But in the end The Good Marchioness is a magical sailing ship, and this is a children’s fantasy, so I also took some artistic liberties and had a crazy amount of fun making it exactly the type of pirate ship I wanted.

 

The research I loved the most was discovering Regency slang and the old-fashioned words associated with sailing, which never ceased to amaze me.

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

A: Foremost, I hope young readers (and young at heart readers) go on an amazing adventure with Lavender in this story. I hope they think about magic again and feel that thrill and excitement that magic can cause.

 

On a deeper level, I hope they take away some of the messages about resilience and perseverance, how hope can be found on even the darkest days, and that sometimes home ends up being with people rather than a place.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: At present I’m writing a story about a 12-year-old, a mysterious dress pattern, and her grandmother’s very old sewing machine. It’s set in the tropical north of Australia in 1982. I’m wholeheartedly channeling my childhood; big hair, synth music, and simpler times.

 

It combines so many things that I love – history, nature and stories about sisters. It is most definitely a passion project, and I’m really enjoying every minute with it. It’s making me cry and laugh on a daily basis. 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I love writing about complex and flawed mothers. Lavender’s mother is a renowned thief on the Whitby wharves who seemingly abandons her daughter.

 

When Lavender is stolen onto The Good Marchioness, Big Agatha (the ship cook) becomes her mother figure. She’s the most complex and flawed mother I’ve ever written. I adored creating her. She’s loud, prone to the doldrums and often mean but also filled with ferocious love.

 

She’s a story within a story because she has an entire other person trapped inside her. She was an incredible presence to create, and I loved how she filled these pages and how readers have reacted to her. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Niall Williams

  

 

Niall Williams is the author of the new book O Now!. His many other books include the novel This Is Happiness. He is also a playwright, and he lives in County Clare, Ireland. 

 

Q: You’ve said your new book was inspired by a request from a BBC producer. Can you say more about that, and about what drew you back to writing about the world of Faha?

 

A: During the writing of This is Happiness I realized that I didn't want to leave the parish of Faha. So I more or less made up my mind at that stage that all future novels would be set there. The world of that novel was rich with possibilities and seemed to offer limitless stories.

 

No writer likes to say goodbye to a character, especially a beloved one, and Ganga was that for me. So, after the death of his wife, Doady, in Time of the Child, for O Now I wanted to say a proper goodbye to him. The opportunity came when a radio producer at BBC Northern Ireland asked me if I could write a story in five episodes to be broadcast over five nights at Halloween. 

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your characters Ganga and Bat?

 

A: They have a habit of companionship. They live close to each other, see each other out on the land, in the roads of the parish, and through the routine of Bat's nighttime visits.

 

In the west of Ireland there is a tradition known in the Irish language as the cuaird; this is an informal and mostly unannounced visit to a neighbour. You come in for the tea and the talk. Company is a valued currency in all remote country places, and that is the grounding of their relationship. 

 

Q: The writer Ann Patchett has said, “I am utterly obsessed with Niall Williams.” What do you think of that comment?

 

A: Ann is a kind of patron saint of writers. After I stop blushing, I bow and say thank you. 

 

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

 

A: In This is Happiness Ganga says “O Now!” several times. It is his catchphrase, and as such catches inside it all of his opinions, which are never expanded upon.

 

In the novel, it becomes for me a kind of wisdom, that he lives in the now, the now of the land and the animals and the weather and the company he is in at that moment and lets the rest take care of itself.  

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Having finished the screenplay for This is Happiness, I am writing the next Faha novel. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: That I am enormously grateful to all the readers who have made Faha their fictional home. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Niall Williams. 

Q&A with Nina de Gramont

  

Photo by Tasha Thomas

 

 

Nina de Gramont is the author of the new novel Peregrine Hill. She also has written the novel The Christie Affair. She teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Peregrine Hill, and how did you create your characters Isabelle, Mariah, and Hetty?

 

A: My great-grandmother, Dona Maria Ruspoli, married my great-grandfather when she was 19 and he was 57. He had traveled to Rome to meet her mother as a perspective bride, but after dinner with the family, he announced his preference for the teenage daughter. The Ruspolis agreed to the match, purportedly without much deliberation, and Dona Maria was shipped off to France like a luxury good.

 

I grew up on this story, along with tales of Dona Maria’s unhappiness, and deep antipathy for her husband. But she never let it break her spirit. She was creative, glamorous, fun-loving, and indomitable.

 

For Peregrine Hill I’ve taken the germs of Dona Maria’s story and moved it to New York City, a few years earlier, because I wanted events to occur right at the turn of the 20th century, with all its world-shaking changes underway. I’ve also added something that as far as I know the Ruspolis never had: a concrete and desperate reason to give their daughter away.

 

Q: The writer Adrienne Brodeur said of the book, “In Peregrine Hill, the velvet curtain of the Gilded Age lifts on a society governed by wealth, reputation, and quiet coercion—a world where power belongs to men and survival demands ingenuity.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Adrienne is so reliably generous and brilliant. I love the way she captures the heart of this story, and the whispers of change that crept into the mainstream as the Gilded Age gave way to the Progressive Era.

 

Peregrine Hill is told from the perspective of four women, each of a different age and class. All are controlled to varying degrees by the values they were raised on, as well as the constraints of the day.

 

In 1901, women were largely chattel. Voting rights, inheritance laws, and divorce laws left them at the whims of the men in charge. At the same time the suffrage movement was underway, and writers like Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton were shining a light on the oppressive systems of marriage and society.

 

The two older women in Peregrine Hill struggle to survive within the rules of the system. Whereas the two younger ones – especially Hetty, who was raised by parents with progressive ideas, and does not feel beholden to norms or expectations – are able to be braver, more imaginative, in their attempts to break free.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your characters Mariah and Isabelle? What about the relationship between Mariah and Hetty?

 

A: Between Mariah and Isabelle, the dynamic is tragic. At the opening of the book a shipwreck has taken the lives of Isabelle’s husband and three of her children. Everything that unfolds next is the direct result of this catastrophic loss.

 

In her desperation and grief, Isabelle transforms from a loving mother to a broker, treating Mariah like her last valuable commodity. Even though Isabelle believes she’s saving Mariah, too, this choice threatens to destroy their relationship forever.

 

Hetty and Mariah are soulmates. Both are ahead of their time but trapped by it in distinct ways. Both are rebellious, ambitious, and nonconforming.

 

The connection they find is real and transformative – the kind of friendship young women create and sustain for the rest of their lives. To use a contemporary term, through the course of the book, these two very much become each other’s chosen family.

 

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

 

A: I collected a lot of books and did a lot of online research. I made multiple trips to New York City, and visited the Tenement Museum, the New York Public Library, the Transportation Museum, the Morgan Library, the Frick Collection, the Andrew Carnegie mansion, and Washington Square, to name a few.

 

My favorite trip was to Newport, where I visited the grand mansions, walked along the cliffs, and took a private tour of the island with historian Jeffrey Clark.

 

My favorite sources are always novels, magazines, and newspapers contemporary to the time period. I amassed a great stack of Harpers Monthly from 1902 and 1903. I read Edith Wharton, Henry James, and Kate Chopin. And I used the New York Times Time Machine to read headlines and newspaper articles, including an absolute gem of a gossip column called “What is Doing in Society.”

 

The best surprise was an interview with Brooks Jackson, about the famous art dealer Alexander Iolas. After my great-grandfather died, Dona Maria and Iolas ran the Hugo Gallery in New York City.

 

Jackson discusses her at length, telling stories I’d heard from my family but suspected were apocryphal– like her habit of feeding seals in the Paris park with sole from Fouquet.

 

He also told a story I’d never heard before, about a dinner where she was seated next to the king of England. You’re never supposed to touch any member of the royal family, but when the king said something funny Dona Maria smacked him with her fan. I have no idea if this anecdote is true, but it’s perfectly in keeping with what I’ve been told about her.

 

His oral history was a fun source of unexpected gestures and charming faux pas for Mariah.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Something too much in its infancy to describe at length, but it’s a novel that takes place partly in the summer of 1976, and partly in the summer of 2016 – very much an exploration of Americana and aging and the shifting landscapes, in all senses, of our country.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just that I’m so grateful for the opportunity to answer these smart questions and connect with your readers. Thank you!!!!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Ken Ballen

  

 

 

 

Ken Ballen is the author, with Wu Ming, of the new novel The Better Animal. Ballen also has written the book Terrorists in Love. He is a former federal prosecutor. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Better Animal, and how did you and Wu Ming collaborate on the book?

 

A: I spent most of my career as a federal prosecutor and congressional investigator of the presidency. I have seen the Congress and presidency from the inside. And the burning question we all have now is: Where does the presidency go from here?

 

Q: How did you create your characters Jake, Wing, and Kit?

 

A: Largely from my imagination. But Kit is loosely based on one of my dogs, with traits of my other dogs. I have a house full of dogs!

 

Q: Why did you decide to set the novel in 2040?

 

A: I wanted enough distance from the present. And my co-author, expert in the research possibilities of AI, thought that was a realistic date for the technological advances portrayed in the novel.

 

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

 

A: There is hope—if we are willing to look at the world differently than we now do.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Trying to promote The Better Animal!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Karabi Acharya

  

Photo by Emily Brunner

Karabi Acharya is the author of the new book Multitudes: The Multiracial Experience and How to Forge a Culture of Absolute Belonging. She is also a public health anthropologist and a senior director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Multitudes, and how was the book's title chosen?  

 

A: Multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic group in the US and yet we are largely invisible. We barely exist in research and data, and the census is only just beginning to catch up to our demographics and needs. I wanted to make the Multiracial experience visible as a first step to building a more inclusive society.  

 

Personally, I wrote Multitudes because I had lots of questions about being Multiracial in America and I couldn’t find anyone else answering those questions.  

 

Why is our society, our culture and our systems, so uncomfortable and threatened by mixtures? And how do I navigate that discomfort and erasure in a way that allows me to feel whole?  

 

The title is inspired by Whitman’s "Song of Myself," which is about embracing the complexity, contradictions and multiplicity of ourselves.  

 

Q: The journalist Soledad O'Brien said of the book, “The isolation that Multiracial Americans carry is not just emotional. It is measurable. As a journalist, I know how rarely that story gets told with this kind of rigor and care. As someone who lives it, I know how much it matters.” What do you think of that assessment, and what are some of the ways in which that isolation manifests itself?  

 

A: The isolation that Multiracial people experience shows up in many ways. Many Multiracial people are rejected from all their racial groups leaving them without spaces to cope with racial harms. Sometimes family members discriminate or other Multiracial relatives. Without a community, without language, Multiracial people look into mirrors to see empty spaces.  

 

For these reasons (among others) Multiracial people are at a higher risk of isolation compared to monoracial people. For me, personally, it often feels that I am transparent, fluid, and untethered. 

 

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

 

A: I developed this book in a few ways, each one informing the other. I reflected on my own life experiences and my growing awareness of my Multiracial identity.  

 

I interviewed over 30 Multiracial people. I read memoirs, essays, and social media by Multiracial people. As different issues came to the forefront, I dived into the academic literature, crossing many disciplinary boundaries from public health to psychology to history.  

 

There were many surprises in writing the book and I’ll name two of them. One of the biggest surprises was how much my experience was often not just similar, but identical, to the Multiracial people I interviewed. All my life, I had thought I was alone.  

 

I was also surprised by my blind spots. I was so focused on fitting in that I literally could not see ways to achieve a sense of belonging that were right in front of me.  

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?  

 

A: My greatest hope is that Multiracial readers will see some of their experiences reflected back and that the book will bring the Multiracial experience into our conversations and advocacy for racial justice.  

 

The future is Multiracial and we all need to work to change our culture and systems to harness the power and potential of that reality. I hope readers can see the connections between our individual actions and the potential for transformative systemic change.  

 

As far as the impact of writing the book on me… it will take me a long time to fully understand that. Writing the book allowed me to see myself in ways that have eluded me all my life.  

 

Q: What are you working on now?  

 

A: This was a passion project that I did in my free time. I continue to do my day job in public health philanthropy, working to achieve health equity through global learning and engagement.  

 

Now that the book is complete, I find the amnesia of the process to be a bit like childbirth—that wasn’t so bad, let’s do it again! So maybe there’s another book in me yet.  

 

Q: Anything else we should know?  

 

A: I want this book to provoke thinking and conversation and disagreement. I hope readers will write all over it, share their own versions of these stories, and even throw it across the room when something feels wrong. Nothing would make me happier than to see photos of the book with scribbles and sticky notes all over it. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Nov. 10

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Nov. 10, 1893: John P. Marquand born.