Q&A with Heidi Reimer

 

Photo by Jemman Photography

 

 

Heidi Reimer is the author of the new novel The Mother Act. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Chatelaine.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Mother Act, and how did you create your characters Sadie and Jude?

 

A: I became a mother with intention and a lot of careful thought, but also with some ambivalence and a good dose of fear.

 

In the early years, I frequently felt invalidated by glib assumptions and unnuanced expectations about one of the most complex experiences of my life. I loved my daughters, I wanted them to have a nurturing and secure upbringing, I wanted to support them into becoming fully-realized women…and there were many days when I felt like devoting myself to this had sabotaged my own self-realization. 

 

At the time, I didn’t feel I could speak any of this out loud. So I created a character, Sadie Jones, who’s a lot more brazen than I am: Not only does she say it, but she chooses to leave her toddler to preserve her own self and her own dreams. 

 

This story was always two-sided for me, though, and I also wanted to give full voice to a daughter whose mother prioritizes her own thriving. I was acutely aware of the inherent unsolvable dilemma in Sadie’s choice: When Sadie leaves, what does that do to Jude? I wrote this book to explore that dilemma. 

 

Both Sadie and Jude are actors and the story is set on the opening night of a one-woman show. The theatrical elements of the novel emerged from my own front-row seat to an actor’s life through my husband, an actor I saw in character onstage before I even met him. I found that world fascinating from the beginning and had witnessed enough backstage drama to know it would be a rich setting!

 

Q: The writer Emily Neuberger said of the book, “Does a child's life matter more than her mother’s? Throughout The Mother Act, Reimer asks that question, turning over the facets of two women's hurts, choices, and respective artistic journeys.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love the question Emily poses in this description. Even though my aim was to complicate the conversation around motherhood and give equal weight to two very oppositional perspectives, I’d never framed the central problem in this way.

 

I love that she both got what I was trying to do and brought her own interpretation to it—which I think is the most meaningful way for our work to be received. 

 

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

 

A: Titles don’t come naturally to me (I even outsourced the naming of some of the fictitious films and magazines in the story so I wouldn’t have to do more of it), but the title of the book was a gift that came early and effortlessly. It felt right immediately.

 

The novel is about actors and about motherhood, and I like that the title gestures toward both while also carrying multiple meanings.

 

Is it suggesting that being a mother is an act or in some way unnatural…or maybe just not natural for Sadie? Is it saying that society asks us to play a role or uphold a myth if we are females parenting children? Is it referring to the ways Sadie puts her mothering experience on a stage? You choose!  

 

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

 

A: I always knew that I was writing toward an ending in which Sadie and Jude would see each other after a period of estrangement, and that it would happen at the end of the opening night of a play about their complicated relationship.

 

I wanted the novel to have a sense of propulsion toward that meeting, as Sadie performs their story on the stage, Jude watches from the audience, and the reader gradually understands the deeper nuances of what has happened between them.

 

What I didn’t know was what exactly would happen when the curtain came down and Jude went backstage to see her mother. I rewrote the final scenes multiple times, working with my editors to get the tone and the characters’ growth right—and to end on a sense of hope and resolution without being cheesy!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m just finishing another dual POV novel about a complicated relationship between two women—this time a kind of enemies-to-friends platonic rom-com (if that’s a thing) about two women who discover they’re both in a relationship with the same man and have to wake from the false lives they didn’t know they were living. It doesn’t have a title yet—see above re: my struggles with titles!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I write a Substack newsletter about the creative process and stepping into visibility as an artist, called The Visibility Letters—you can check it out here: https://heidireimer.substack.com/

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Dan Reiter

 

 

 

 

Dan Reiter is the author of the new book On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories from Florida's Space Coast. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Surfer's Journal, and he lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the essays collected in On a Rising Swell?

 

A: Half of these pieces were originally published––in various iterations––in surf magazines or newspapers. The earliest dates back to 2011, but most were written in ‘21-‘23. Prior to that, I’d been focusing on short fiction, and hadn’t really considered surf writing a credible mode of expression.

The rest of the surf vignettes––about 25,000 words worth––were written in an assiduous deadline-induced flurry between February and September 2024, eight months in which I held myself accountable for 100 finished words per day (including weekends).

 

Q: What impact has surfing had on your life?

A: About the same impact the practice of Choy Li Fut has on the Shaolin student... in myriad and profound ways, both physically and spiritually.

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

A: Perception is a tricky business, but what I’d offer here is that your common misconceptions about surfing tend to wash away the instant you ride your first wave. And they continue to slough off the more you do it. The most common impediment to surfing, I'd say, is fear––of sharks, of drowning, of being a kook.

On a broader cultural level, the public perception of surfing is on point. It's as William Anderson––a surgeon on James Cook’s 1777 expedition to Tahiti––wrote in his journal (one of the first instances of “surf lit”): “I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on, so fast and so smoothly, by the sea.”

Q: Is the surf culture in Florida different from the surf culture elsewhere?

A: Florida’s Atlantic coast is a warm-water beachbreak, that is, a shallow sandbar where waves spill up and down the beach, and where there are no points, coves, or bays to produce those long, glassy, peeling lines you see in Hawaii, California, or the Northeast.

 

Florida's beginner-friendly conditions spread out the lineups, and allow surfers to coexist in a blissed-out, low-stakes comfort. It’s a mellower, more kid-friendly atmosphere, amenable to learning, which is why some of the world’s best surfers grew up here.

 

Kelly Slater, widely hailed as the greatest surfer of all time, is from my hometown of Cocoa Beach, and Caroline Marks, the 2024 woman’s gold medalist, came up in Melbourne Beach, just a few miles down A1A. There’s a sense of pride, of being part of a secret club, that defines the Florida surfer.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: It’s back to the anvil of short fiction for a while. Was it Doris Lessing who said, “Fiction makes a better job of the truth.”?

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: On a Rising Swell is one of the few surf books written for a general readership, so that a beginner might paddle out without taking too many on the head.

 

By the end, you’ll have learned a bit about surfing, picked up some history on Florida’s indigenous watermen tribes, witnessed the effects of rising seas and hurricanes on a fragile coastline, and conversed with a wild cast of barrier island characters.

 

It's a slim paperback to tuck into your beach bag, to read in the sand, and to wrinkle, gently, with a little saltwater.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Patrick O'Dowd

 

 

 

 

Patrick O'Dowd is the author of the new novel A Campus on Fire. He is the fiction editor of the publication Sequoia Speaks, and he lives in New Jersey.

 

Q: You’ve said that you were inspired to write A Campus on Fire by the events of January 6, 2021, and by other events at your alma mater, Montclair State University. Can you say more about that?

 

A: The frustration and anger I felt watching January 6 unfold was overwhelming, but it wasn’t a shock. It felt like something that had always been coming, like years' worth of powder stored precariously had finally ignited.

 

And I knew it wasn’t the end. I hoped it might be, but I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that.

 

I’ve read a lot of history, and what I saw that day—an explosion of rage, the erosion of institutions, people driven to action by a potent mix of belief, desperation, and disinformation—felt all too familiar. It was history echoing in real-time.

 

A few years before, I had returned to finish my undergraduate degree after spending years in the proverbial wilderness.

 

Returning to campus after so long away gave me a unique perspective—I wasn’t just seeing my university as a typical student but through the lens of someone who had experienced college life in different political eras.

 

I was on campus in 2009 when Obama was elected, then again in 2012 for his reelection. When I returned to finish my degree, Trump was president, and the atmosphere had changed.

 

That tension—the people who felt powerless and enraged, the people stoking the fire, and the ones watching from the sidelines with smirks—stuck with me.

 

I started writing A Campus on Fire a few years after I graduated, but the seeds were planted in those moments. A key part of being a writer is observing, taking in what’s happening around you, even if you don’t know how you’ll use it at the time. You let it fester, grow, take shape in the background of your mind. When I sat down to write this book, it had flourished into something fully formed.

Q: How did you create your character Tess?

 

A: This might sound odd, but sometimes I don’t know if I created Tess or if she was always there, waiting for me to find her. I had an outline, of course—her background, her motivations, the key forces driving her. I always start with that. And as I wrote, I added to it, refined it.

 

Some characters take work to pin down; you struggle with them, trying to get them to feel real on the page. Tess wasn’t like that. She came so naturally—her desire for acceptance, her ambition, her talent, the way she tries to reconcile such conflicting emotions.

 

She felt alive from the start. I don’t just know her as a character; I know her like a friend. I hope that rings true to the reader.

 

Q: The writer Kerri Schlottman said of the book, “At the heart of this novel is the concept of power: who has it, who wants it, and the extremes that people will go to get it.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think Kerri’s description is incredibly astute—she cuts right to the core of what A Campus on Fire is really about. At its heart, the novel isn’t just about how to deal with right-wing demagogues or cultish writing programs; it’s about power.

 

It’s about success, not just in the traditional sense, but in the deeper, more unsettling ways—what a person must give up, morally or personally, to reach their goals.

 

And just as importantly, it’s about how those in power hold onto it, consolidate it, and ensure that no one else can take it from them. Power isn’t just something people seek; it’s something they fight to keep, no matter the cost.

I want the reader to sit with these questions long after they’ve put the book down—to wrestle with them, to feel unsettled by them. A Campus on Fire isn’t about providing easy answers; it’s about forcing the reader to confront difficult questions about power, success, and the structures that uphold them.

 

What are we willing to sacrifice to get ahead? How much control do we really have over our own ambitions? And how do the systems around us shape who rises and who falls? These are the questions at the heart of the novel, and I hope they linger with the reader well beyond the final page.

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

 

A: Yes and no. When I start a new novel, I always write an outline—A Campus on Fire was actually the first time I did this, and it was incredibly helpful.

 

But my outlines are broad, more like roadmaps than rigid blueprints. They include key events, character motivations, and major turning points, but the execution is always fluid.

 

I like discovering the novel as I go. There’s such a thrill in that discovery. I knew where I wanted to take Tess, and I had a clear sense of certain revelations and twists, but the specifics unfolded as I wrote.

 

The last chapter before the epilogue was something that just clicked. There’s nothing like that feeling—when suddenly everything locks into place, and you can see, with absolute clarity, exactly where the story needs to go. I type fast, but on days like that, you can never move fast enough.

 

The epilogue, though, came later. I was re-editing the book for another round of querying when the idea for a new ending hit me. At first, I was hesitant—it’s structurally unorthodox—but once I wrote it, I knew it was the right choice. It deepened the novel’s themes and, I think, leaves the reader with exactly the kind of lingering unease I was aiming for.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The pending publication of A Campus on Fire has been a huge motivator. It’s fueled me to push through several projects, and as a result, I now have three completed novels ready to go.

 

One is a speculative haunted house story that satirically explores the current housing market. Another is a reimagining of Heart of Darkness with a tech utopianist in the role of Kurtz. The third is a historical novel about the early Christian Church. 

 

But I’m always working on something new. Even before I ever put stories to paper, I had running narratives in my head—scenes, characters, entire plots that I’d build out while trying to fall asleep or killing time in the car. Now that I actually write them down, I can’t believe it took me so long to start.

 

Writing has become a constant for me, something I’m always engaged in, whether drafting, revising, or just letting ideas take shape in the background of my mind. It is something I can’t imagine my life without.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I think the best books don’t just tell a story—they challenge you, unsettle you, and make you sit with questions you might not have answers to.

 

But at the same time, I hope A Campus on Fire is an exciting, gripping read. My favorite books and films are often thrillers in some form, and I want my writing to have that same momentum, to grab the reader and not let go. 

 

Beyond that, I’m just incredibly grateful to everyone who picks up the book. Writing can be a solitary act, but the real magic happens when a story finds its way to readers. I hope A Campus on Fire lingers with you, sparks conversation, and, most of all, keeps you turning the pages.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Eloisa James

 

 

 

Eloisa James is the author of the new novel Hardly a Gentleman, the second in her Accidental Brides series. She is a professor of English literature, and she lives in New York.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Hardly a Gentleman, and how did you create your characters Clara and Caelan?

 

A: My husband and I traveled to Scotland and (naturally) checked out a lot of castles that a) were adorable b) were small and c) looked hard to clean. I thought it would be great fun to create a lady who was pretending to be a housekeeper and would need to tackle not just the mess, but a laird who preferred fishing naked in a stream to clothing or cleaning.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: My daughter Anna—my harshest critic!—told me that she didn’t want to leave the castle when the book was over because Caelan and Clara’s banter was so funny, sexy and heartwarming. This isn’t a book where the characters go from enemies to lovers: from the moment Caelan sees Clara, he wants to marry her. (She doesn’t agree!)

 

Q: The Booklist review of the novel says, “James cleverly constructs another whimsically witty addition to her superbly entertaining Accidental Brides series.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I like it! Writing books in a series is not easy: you have to draw in new readers while satisfying readers of the previous novel. I was thrilled by that review.

Q: You are also an English literature professor, and in addition to writing under the name Eloisa James, you wrote a novel as Mary Bly. Is your writing process different depending on which genre you're involved with?

 

A: No matter what I’m writing, I also progress in 25-minute writing sprints. It’s just the right amount of time to concentrate, and before you know it, they pile up and you have a manuscript!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The sequel to Hardly a Gentleman is The Last Lady B, which will be published in the spring of 2026.  The novel is also set in Scotland, and already up for preorder!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I just finished a contemporary love story (my first set in the present was Lizzie and Dante). It’s with editors right now, and hopefully a publishing house will love it as much as I do. It’s about a Shakespeare professor and her dad, an aged rock star—plus (of course) a grumpy British solicitor.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Eloisa James (as Mary Bly).

Q&A with Kylie Lee Baker

 

 

 

Kylie Lee Baker is the author of the new novel Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng. Her other books include The Keeper of Night duology.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng?

 

A: As an Asian American woman, the rise of hate against Asians at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on me, my friends, and my family. I think horror is great vehicle for exploring righteous rage and justice, so I channeled my feelings from that time into a horror novel.

 

As for the folkloric elements, I came across an image of a Chinese needle-neck ghost, which is basically a ghost with a very long, thin neck. The image has haunted me ever since, so I desperately needed to make everyone else suffer with me.

 

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

 

A: “Bat Eater” is a key phrase in the book. It encapsulates everything that many people in America think about Asians: that we’re dirty, uncivilized, at odds with Western values, and that because of these flaws, we are solely responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

It lumps together Asians with Asian Americans, reflecting how we are perpetual foreigners in our own country, never granted the privilege of belonging.

 

It is a phrase that flattens our experiences and assumes all of us are responsible for and complicit in the actions of one of us.

 

It is “proof” for many people that the biases they long held against us were justified. It dehumanizes us, likening us to animals. It paints us as predators and aggressors. It is a rationalization for physical and sexual violence against us.

 

This book is largely about challenging these stereotypes, so I felt strongly that Bat Eater needed to be the title.

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 always knew that I wanted the ending to reflect how the real world is much scarier and more awful than fiction. Because the “antagonist” in this book is basically white supremacy, it wouldn’t be realistic to quickly and definitively resolve the problem.

 

I knew from the start that I wanted readers to feel a bit frustrated by the end of it, because that’s how I feel, and how so many BIPOC feel about the fact that white supremacy will probably never be completely gone.  

 

Q: The writer Paul Tremblay said of the novel, “Bat Eater is a compelling, gory, ghostly romp, and it's a righteous battle cry aimed into the racist heart of the pandemic hellscape.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! I’m a huge Paul Tremblay fan, so I was honored that he had such kind things to say about my work.

 

He’s right that it definitely is a gory book—I think gore can be used strategically as a vehicle for discussing dehumanization, which I leaned into in this book.

 

“Racist heart of the pandemic hellscape” is also a great way to put it. The start of the pandemic really did feel so dystopian and nightmarish. That’s actually how the book begins—likening the early pandemic days when everyone hid in their homes to the end of the world.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on my next YA novel, I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends, which is a very lighthearted time travel romance, coming out this November. Talk about whiplash after my horror debut! I think I needed something a bit more lighthearted to focus on after getting emotionally steamrolled by writing about racial trauma.

 

I’m also working on my next adult horror, which I can’t say much about yet, but I’ve been calling it my “samurai horror book.” 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I know a lot of people are hesitant to read a book about COVID-19, since we all carry a lot of trauma from that time, and I fully respect that and encourage people to be mindful of their own triggers.

 

But for anyone on the fence about reading it, I hope it helps to know that I intentionally didn’t use the pandemic for shock value or as a macabre window dressing just to add drama.

 

This is a story about a group of Asian Americans and their experience being targeted because of the racist rhetoric surrounding the pandemic, which might be a perspective some readers haven’t considered, and which I hope they’re open to hearing.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

April 30

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 30, 1877: Alice B. Toklas born.

Q&A with Colleen Cambridge

 

 

 

Colleen Cambridge is the author of the new novel A Fashionably French Murder, the latest in her American in Paris mystery series, which features Julia Child as a character. Cambridge also writes under the names Colleen Gleason, C.M. Gleason, and Alex Mandon.

 

Q: This is the third in your American in Paris mysteries—how did you come up with the idea for the series?

 

A: It wasn’t my idea, it was my editor’s idea. I did two series for her, the White House Mysteries series and the Phyllida Bright series, about Agatha Christie’s maid. I had a shtick going—an amateur with a famous person. Julia Child, Paris, food—I was not going to say no!

 

Q: What inspired the plot of A Fashionably French Murder?

 

A: Paris is the fashion world’s capital. After the war, fashion was turned on its ear with Christian Dior and the New Look. Julia Child did attend a fashion show.

 

Q: So how did you balance your version of Julia Child versus the historical figure?

 

A: One of the biggest challenges a writer can have is a real person in a fictional setting. Julia stays in her lane—in the kitchen, cooking, at the market. Anything she did, I feel okay. She can stumble on a dead body, but not track down [clues like my fictional character] Tabitha Knight.

 

Julia Child, Agatha Christie, Abraham Lincoln—stay in your lane! Don’t try to be solving mysteries, Julia!

 

Q: How would you describe the relationship between Julia and your character Tabitha?

 

A: Who would Julia be a sidekick of? They’re in their 30s, Julia is a little older than Tabitha. What would make two people be friends to the extent of solving murders? They both want to find out what to do with their lives; they’re not super-young any more. And opposites attract. One person’s weakness is another’s strength.

 

In real life, Julia had other friends in Paris, but a little later in her life. It’s fiction; you can play with that. They have the same sort of outlook. It’s a blast to write this series.

 

Q: How would you compare the historical Julia Child or Agatha Christie or Abe Lincoln to your characters?

 

A: Lincoln made me the most nervous. Everybody knows him, and some people know a lot. There was no video, it was documented by historians. Julia had a TV show and anyone can look at it. I run into people who knew Julia. You don’t want to screw it up.

 

Agatha Christie was easier. She was shy and didn’t do a lot of publicity. Agatha was always thinking about murder. She gets a lot of ideas for her books based on her housekeeper. There are Easter eggs in the books.

 

But Julia was easy because I could see and hear her when writing the dialogue.

 

Q: How did you research Julia Child?

 

A: When the idea for the series was floated, I did a quick Google. I knew it would be set in Paris. Then I got her autobiography, My Life in France, which is a gold mine of information. Then I watched the TV show and got the cookbooks.

 

There are lots of books about postwar Paris and what the city was going through.

 

For this book I found a fabulous self-published memoir of a mannequin who worked for Dior in Paris at this time, which showed what it’s like down to the eye makeup. There are a ton of books on Dior, haute couture, what it was like being in the fashion world.

 

In my previous book, I did a deep dive on wine. Wine is important to the French psyche. They did so much to keep the wine safe from the Germans.

 

Q: What can you tell us about the fourth book in the series?

 

A: There’s a little supernatural element. Tabitha is going to the unknown nooks and crannies of the city.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Jenn Todling

 

Photo by Mary Lanaghan

 

 

Jenn Todling is the author of the new memoir Dancing on My Own Two Feet: A New Life One Step at a Time. She is an adjunct instructor at the University of Denver and an executive coach, and she lives near Boulder, Colorado.

 

Q: What inspired you to write this memoir?

 

A: I’ve wanted to write a book ever since I left my marriage and moved to NYC. At first, I imagined it would be more of a thought leadership book, inspired by my years as a corporate leader. When I arrived in the city, I started a blog to capture my new adventures, and I’d toy with book ideas over the years, but they didn’t materialize.

 

During the pandemic, something clicked. With almost a decade of distance from my story, I felt this strong pull to put it into words. I started small, taking a travel writing class, and then I joined a six-month memoir writing program.

 

When I began writing scenes for the first time, I was hooked. Reliving all the missteps, heartbreaks, adventures, and moments of joy was such an unexpectedly fun process.

 

Q: The writer Lori Mihalich-Levin said of the book, “Jenn paints for us a gorgeous picture of how dance can be a vehicle for building a life and exploring the world.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Lori has been such an important part of my writing journey. She was one of the first people to encourage me to write a memoir and even connected me to the writing program I ended up joining. Her support, especially as a fellow working mom juggling so much, meant so much to me.

 

Her description feels like she truly captured the heart of my story. Yes, there are some tough and vulnerable parts, but ultimately, dance brought me back to myself. It gave me the chance to see the world, traveling to over 30 countries in just a few years, and helped me reconnect with who I am.

 

Dance reminded me that our passions are a part of us, even when we push them aside or lose touch with them for a while.

Q: Did you base the book entirely on your memories, or did you do any additional research?

 

A: I had a lot of personal writing to draw from, which was such a gift. The blog I started when I moved to NYC was a great way to reconnect with how I felt navigating new experiences at the time. I also kept a journal during my travels, which helped me recreate some of those moments in the book.

 

For earlier memories, I went back to a treasure chest of keepsakes from my childhood—things like poems, photos, and other little mementos that helped fill in the blanks. I even reached out to family and friends to hear their perspectives on some of the events I wrote about, which added another layer to the story.

 

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

 

A: Writing this book was such a deep and personal process. I think anyone who’s written a book will tell you it’s a labor of love, but writing a memoir takes it to another level.

 

The hardest part for me was going through the developmental edits—it wasn’t just about refining the writing, but also reflecting on my life choices. That process forced me to ask tough questions and helped me find peace with some of the decisions I made, even the ones that caused a lot of pain.

 

I hope readers walk away feeling inspired to trust their instincts and find the courage to leave situations that don’t serve them.

 

I also hope it encourages people to reconnect with their creative side. In a world that often prioritizes productivity, I’ve found that creativity—especially dance for me—can ground us and even make us better leaders, partners, and people.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on a second memoir inspired by a mother-daughter trip to the Azores, Portugal, back in 2017. This one focuses on defining and pursuing a “chosen life”—what it means to create a life that feels true to you. It covers my decisions to step away from my public accounting career and find a new path while moving back to Colorado to be closer to family.

 

This fall, I’m also launching a Soulful Leadership Academy, which combines my passions for leadership coaching, teaching, and dance to help others lead with more creativity and authenticity.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I love connecting with readers and helping others find ways to express their soul in their work and life. If you’d like to connect, you can reach me at jenntodling.com. For I believe the world needs who we were made to be.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Aliza Layne

 

 

 

 

Aliza Layne is the author and illustrator of the new middle grade graphic novel Beetle & the Chimera Carnival, the sequel to Beetle & the Hollowbones.

 

Q: What inspired you to create Beetle & the Chimera Carnival, the new book in your Beetle series?

A: I wasn’t sure if the series would continue after the first book, so when I was asked for a trilogy I decided to look at some sequels that have worked before to get a sense of how to do it successfully.

 

To be honest, the most helpful thing I did was study Shrek 2. It’s just such a solid follow-up to the first. Knowing that and reading Chimera you can probably feel it a little bit.

 

Getting inspired happens in the research phase of a sequel in my opinion. It’s a bit different from the beginning of the series, which was inspired by my own experience working at the mall.

 

Q: Did you work on the text first or the art first--or both simultaneously?

 

A: Both simultaneously! Because I’m both writing and drawing, it might be easier to think of the situation like a movie where I am able to do a vast number of jobs.

 

I have to think like a screenwriter and put the story together; I have to think like a director and stage the shots; I have to act as the characters by drawing their performances, and I have to think like the art director and style the characters and design the locations. It’s a lot of work, but it really is fun.

Q: How did you come up with the plot for this new story?

 

A: I left a few threads dangling for myself in Beetle and the Hollowbones that I wanted to pay off, especially Penny, my ghost character. In the first book, there are a lot of questions left unanswered about how Penny became trapped, so in book two and book three I spend time really getting into it.

 

I also knew that I wanted to explore the relationship I’d set up between Beetle and Kat, because there’s so much more to really loving someone else than saying “I like you” for the first time.

 

My other guiding star for both sequels is that each book should be more brave than the last, take more risks, be more true to the real challenges and feelings of the audience.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Layne’s phenomenal sequel mixes fantasy, social themes, and an inclusive and unforgettable cast with a gentle, swoonworthy romance.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m very happy they liked it! My most precious reviews are told to me in person by kids, so I’m anticipating those the most out of any review. My audience for this series is so kind and serious and engaged, I could ask for no higher praise than what kids have already given me.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on the third book right now! It has a complete drafted script, so I’m about ready to start the thumbnailing process. After that, I’ll sketch, then ink, then color the pages alongside my flat colorists. After the Beetle series ends, maybe I’ll work on something a little different!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The book is scheduled to come out on April 29!

 

I also wanted to mention that preorders are the absolute best way to show support for a series, since they are the main way to help books become bestsellers. That’s because preorder sales all “count” towards a book’s sales on the day the book is released. It’s usually a book’s biggest day!

 

Thank you very much for having me on the blog!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Jenny Andrus and Julie Downing

 

Jenny Andrus

 

 

Jenny Andrus is the author and Julie Downing is the illustrator of the new children's picture book Elsa's Chessboard. Andrus is a school librarian and children's book reviewer. Downing has illustrated more than 45 picture books.

 

Q: Jenny, you write in the book’s author’s note that you are the granddaughter of the book's character Elsa--what inspired you to write Elsa’s Chessboard?

 

Jenny: My grandmother Elsa lived with us when I was growing up, and we were very close. I could talk to her about almost anything. She always gave the best advice.

 

One area where we differed was chess. She thought it was the greatest game ever. My sister and I disagreed, as had my mother (her daughter) when she was young. Instead, we played other games, and my grandmother was always a good sport about joining in.

 

Some favorites were Chinese checkers, pick-up sticks (Elsa was really good at that), and Mancala (a game originating on the African continent that is even older than chess). You’ll notice all these games involve strategy.

 

Why didn’t we play chess with her? I think we were just too caught up in other things–me with my books, my sister making art. I so regret the missed opportunity. This book is my way of finally saying “yes” to the game my grandmother loved so well.

Julie Downing, photo by Lorenz Angelo

Q: Julie, how did you create the illustrations for Elsa’s Chessboard?

 

Julie: The illustrations for Elsa’s Chessboard combine both traditional and digital techniques. I began by working with traditional materials, using watercolor and colored pencils to create the artwork.

 

Once the paintings were complete, I scanned them into Photoshop and then collaged the elements together digitally. This hybrid approach lets me blend the best of both worlds—traditional textures and the flexibility of digital mediums.

 

My Photoshop files are enormous! Some of the more intricate images have over 100 layers.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research for your work on this book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

Jenny:  I went down many rabbit holes, including researching the dress factory where Elsa worked: Fritzi of California in downtown San Francisco.

 

One of Elsa’s co-workers was Willie Kennedy, a young Black woman, who led the effort to unionize the shop. Willie went on to become a long-time, beloved San Francisco City supervisor known for championing minority- and women-owned businesses.

 

Oma admired her and was very proud of their brief association. I like to imagine my grandmother, Willie, and other coworkers at their sewing machines. I think Julie’s artwork brilliantly captures the feeling of camaraderie in the factory.

 

Julie: I did a lot of research for the visual elements in the book since the story spans almost 90 years. I had to dive deep into various aspects like clothing, architecture, and locations.

 

The story begins in Vienna in 1906, so I spent hours poring over old photos and postcards of the city. I was lucky enough to visit Vienna while I was working on the sketches, and walking through the streets really helped me connect with the setting.

 

I even had the chance to visit Elsa's childhood apartment on Radetzkyplatz and see her old neighborhood, including the square where she used to play chess with her brothers. The opening scene of the book takes place in that exact neighborhood.

 

Vienna is such a beautiful and grand city and being there made me wonder how Elsa must have felt when she left behind that elegant, historical environment and ended up in San Francisco with its wooden sidewalks and crowded alleyways. It must have been an overwhelming culture shock for her.

 

Q: Jenny, can you say more about the role chess played in your grandmother’s life?

 

A: For Elsa, chess was wrapped up in memories. Her older brothers adored her, and she insisted on doing everything that they did. A precocious toddler, she could recite lengthy passages from Goethe and Schiller that they were required to memorize for school. By age 10, she was winning chess games against their friends.

 

For Elsa, chess was both past and present–a way of holding onto what she was forced to leave behind, and a way to find meaning and purpose in her new life as a refugee. She could sit down with anyone at a chessboard, because it didn’t matter what language they spoke. At the chessboard, she was in her element. She was home.

 

That’s one of the many reasons I love Julie’s illustrations. They capture Elsa’s joy at the chessboard. There’s something else about the illustrations that you might not notice right away. A chessboard wasn’t the only item Elsa brought with her from Vienna. Look closely, and you’ll see what I mean.

 

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

 

Jenny: Here are my three wishes:

 

As a school librarian, I was always looking for picture books to share with students–ones that made them smile, made them wonder, and made them want to go back and read a second time. I would be delighted if our book was one of those stories.

 

I would be happy if the book inspired readers to treat refugees/immigrants with kindness and respect. Although Elsa’s story is specific to a particular time and place, many of her experiences as a refugee are universal. I hope kids born in the United States reach out in friendship to more recent arrivals, and that children who are newcomers see a bit of themselves in Elsa.

 

I’m channeling Elsa as I make this wish: Play chess!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

Jenny: I am working on a true story about a Pacific harbor seal pup found abandoned on a beach in Northern California and her journey back to the ocean.

 

I heard about the pup in my role as a harbor seal docent on California’s North Coast. During the spring birthing season, I stand on a windy bluff sharing information with visitors who stop by to observe the amazing marine mammals on the beach below.

 

Julie: Last summer, I was lucky enough to teach an illustration class in Florence, Italy, and spent four weeks exploring the city. It is very hot in August, so I spent the majority of my time sketching in an air conditioned museum.

 

While I was in the museum, I came up with a story about a friendship between a museum guard and a pigeon. I am really enjoying creating both art and text for the story.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

Jenny: I’m happy that readers will get to know my grandmother. She was one-of-a-kind. Elsa didn’t pay much attention to what other women did or what society thought they should do. She followed her own path– wearing pants when women wore dresses, cutting her hair short when everyone else wore their hair long.

 

One of her favorite sayings was: “Die gedanken sind frei.” In English that means “my thoughts are my own.” Because of family circumstances, Elsa was forced to drop out of school at age 16, but she never stopped learning.

 

A voracious reader, Elsa had strong opinions on a whole range of subjects, but she also was a great listener. I think that’s why people of all ages and backgrounds enjoyed her company. That and the fact that she made fabulous desserts!

 

One of my childhood friends wouldn’t agree to marry her boyfriend until Oma met him. After they came over to our house for “Kaffee und Kuchen” (“coffee and dessert”), Oma gave him the nod, and the wedding was on.

 

Check out Jenny’s website for more information about Elsa’s Chessboard, including photos and a reading list of picture books focused on the immigrant experience.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Julie Downing.