CL Montblanc is the author of the new young adult novel Pride or Die.
Q: What inspired you to write Pride or Die, and how did you create your character Eleanora?
A: I grew up loving teen comedies, even when they weren't super relatable to my own experiences, and wanted to write something that felt like Gen Z Superbad.
Having the main characters all be a part of the same school club was a natural way to have them all be connected with an established dynamic. To figure out the details of that dynamic, I thought about the different roles a club would have, and what type of personality might take on that role.
The club president being the group leader, and thus the main character, felt right. I also imagined a club leader to be a bit bossy, a bit neurotic, but ultimately someone who just cares a whole lot, and that became Eleanora.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did
you make many changes along the way?
A: The mystery itself, including the culprit, changed
several times while writing! But from the beginning, I knew I wanted the story
to end on an upbeat, triumphant tone, and that stayed consistent throughout the
entire publication process. 
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says that it “deftly explores the gray areas between right and wrong, successfully addressing the complexity of people's characters...” What do you think of that description?
A: It's certainly one of the messages I was trying to convey in the story.
On one end, I went with cartoonishly-evil villains who are also given some humanizing traits almost as a warning signal. While many people are cartoonishly-evil in real life, it can be easy to feel tricked or gaslit when someone is touted as a good person or ally while demonstrating so many behaviors to the contrary.
On the other end, people like Eleanora can mean well but can still do terrible things anyway, which is something I see a lot within the white queer community and wanted to represent here.
Intention and impact are separate things, which may feel obvious to some, but I think it's an important thing for teens to internalize, especially in a world that's become increasingly polar.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?
A: While it will be great if some readers feel empowered by a story of queer triumph in the face of adversity, this was always a book that was primarily meant to entertain. I hope readers will take away a few hours of entertainment and joy, as joy is a very precious currency these days.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm wrapping up another YA mystery novel! More should be announced within the next few months, but I can tell you that it's darker, and scarier, with some hate-to-love romance to boot!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: It's a really tough time to be putting out a book with LGBTQ+ characters. As I'm writing this, major retailers are actively pulling them from their stores more than ever, and any posts about these topics have been subject to censorship on increasingly-oppressive social platforms headed by billionaires who supposedly love free speech.
I hope readers will consider supporting our books in any way, shape, or form that they're able to.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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