Q&A with G.F. Miller

 

Photo by Shannon Ly

 

G.F. Miller is the author of the new young adult novel What If You Fall for Me First?. Her other books include the YA novel Not If You Break Up with Me First.  

 

Q: What is the relationship between your new novel, What If You Fall for Me First, and your previous novel, Not If You Break Up with Me First?

 

A: What if You Fall for Me First follows two characters from the previous book. It takes place in the same school and with the same friend group. In fact, Fall First opens just before Break Up First left off, but from a different perspective, so there is overlap.

 

It was a blast writing some of the same events from a different point of view (although very tricky to get it right)!

 

Q: How did you create your characters Sofia and Holden?

 

A: Holden and Sofia were both side characters first. And, of course, side characters exist to somehow move the plot or create tension for the main characters.

 

Sofia was Eve’s nicest friend—the voice of reason and kindness when others were egging Eve on toward the dark side. Holden, on the other hand, was a frenemy. He really threw Andrew off balance and caused him to do some impulsive things.

 

By the end of Not if You Break Up with Me First, I did not like Holden at all—he was behaving very badly—and so I decided to write his story and get to the bottom of this guy. I’m glad I did, because the most frequent question I get from Break Up First readers is, “What’s Holden’s deal?” Now they can find out!

 

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

 

A: It takes a village to name a book! We (the Aladdin team and I) knew we wanted it to be similar to Not if You Break Up with Me First, since they’re sisters.

 

The name went through several iterations. I asked my girlfriends to brainstorm, and they came up with a good idea, but it was too close to the previous title. Then my editor and I fiddled with it for a while. My agent gave it a final tweak to what it is now.

 

I think the title works perfectly, because Holden starts out convinced that he can get any girl to fall for him, but he’s totally unprepared when he might be the one falling. (Side note: I’ve always loved books with long titles and hoped I could have one. But I failed to take into account the thousands of times when I would have to write out those long titles! Now I’m thinking Stephen King was onto something with the title It.)

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Sofia and Holden?

 

A: Sofia is the perfect sweet to Holden’s salty. She decides to enlist him to help her change herself so that her crush, Mark, will fall for her. But as they spend time together, Holden is the one who transforms much more.

 

Q: What are you working on now? Will you be returning to these characters?

 

A: We will see Sofia and Holden again! There are still some more stories to tell about this group of friends. (Author winks.) That’s all I can say right now.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Come visit me at gfmiller.com! Write me a message (I always write back), check out my other books, read the alternate ending to Crash Landing on You, sign up for my newsletter... We’ll have loads of fun!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with G.F. Miller.