Q&A with Aimee Lucido

 

 

 

 

 

Aimee Lucido is the author of the new middle grade novel Words Apart. Her other books include Emmy in the Key of Code. She also creates crossword puzzles. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Words Apart, and how did you create your character Olive?

 

A: I started thinking about the concept for Words Apart way back when I was writing my first book, Emmy in the Key of Code.

 

The idea for Emmy sparked when I realized that computer code can be treated like poetry. It hadn't ever been done before in a children's book (at least to my knowledge!) and I found it to be such a compelling anchor for a character (what kind of kid would write poetry out of computer code?) that it launched my imagination into a thousand directions.

 

I wanted to write a whole set of books about kids who see the poetry in things that most people don't. My second book, I decided, was going to treat recipes like poems (Recipe for Disaster, which came out in 2021), and my third book was going to give the same treatment to crossword puzzles. The idea was that the books would form a things-people-don't-see-as-poetry-but-secretly-are "trilogy." 

 

The problem was that the nebulous idea of "crossword puzzle poems" was all I had on this book for a very, very long time. I sat on the concept for probably three years before attempting to write it, and when I finally did, I experienced the worst writer's block I've ever felt in my life. It was torture facing the blank page, and whenever I mustered the courage, the ideas trickled in slo-o-o-owly.

 

After much creative constipation, I decided a kid who writes crossword poetry would likely be hyper-verbal. She might use big words. She might be an oddball. I named her Olive because I originally imagined her being a bit of a grandma stuck in a child's body (this was before old-timey baby names were rising in popularity the way they are now, so I lucked into being on-trend).

 

But who Olive really was didn't crystalize until I settled on who Olive wasn't: her hyper-visual sister, Mattie. It was only when I was able to create the two sisters as opposites, as foils of one another, that I was able to figure out who Olive, and what the book as a whole, was supposed to be.

 

Q: How did your own experience writing crossword puzzles affect the writing of the novel?

 

A: I've always wanted to incorporate my background in crossword puzzles into a novel, but for so long I had no idea how I wanted to do it.

 

I knew there was an established "puzzle book" genre of literature and while I absolutely adore those as a reader, it has never particularly called to me as a writer (at least not yet!). I didn't want to write a book that simply featured crossword puzzles, I wanted to write a book that showcased the humanity behind them.

 

When people learn that I make crosswords, almost everyone is surprised that crosswords are made by humans at all. That they're not computer-generated, but rather constructed by an individual who put in time, care, and love.

 

So in Words Apart, I wanted to show the personhood of crossword makers through the character of Olive. Crosswords serve as a way for her to process her emotions and organize her thoughts. They're where she hides private jokes with herself and her family (and, by proxy, the reader), but they're still a game. Something to be played for fun and with the people she loves. 

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Olive and her sister, Mattie?

 

A: The relationship between Olive and Mattie is one of the most complicated and challenging ones I've ever written. I wanted the two sisters to be extremely close but in a way that is often not particularly healthy. Still, it was critical that readers felt the love between them and fully empathized with both of them, even when they weren't their best selves.

 

I also wanted Olive and Mattie to exist within the complicated dynamics of a family. Both of the parents have baggage of their own, and I wanted the parents' flaws to impact the sisters' individual lives as well as their relationship to each other.

 

I wanted Olive and Mattie to feel like opposites in so many ways, but also have such a strong shared history that they sometimes fail to see themselves as separate people. I wanted them each to have strengths and weaknesses, and I wanted those to complement each other so well that each girl sometimes uses her sister as a crutch. I wanted them to be matching puzzle pieces, but for different puzzles.

 

And, without spoiling the ending, I wanted the final decision they make to feel like the right one for both of them. I didn't want it to seem like it came from nowhere, or like either of them was taking the easy way out.

 

That relationship and the progression of it over the course of the book was the beating heart of the novel; if it didn't feel authentic and compelling then the whole book would fall apart. No pressure, right?

 

Q: The writer and artist Terri Libenson said of the book, “Poetry, word play, and comics intertwine in surprising ways throughout this moving story of family and friendship.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love this description and I'm so honored that Terri blurbed Words Apart! I absolutely love her Emmie & Friends series. 

 

The part of this description that I appreciate the most is the word "surprising." The older I get the more I value the element of surprise in literature.

 

When a book I'm reading surprises me--whether it has a twist ending, or a character zigs when I thought they would zag, or a sentence takes a turn for the bizarre--if it can get me to take notice, that's something I value. If it can get me to take notice while still feeling natural and true to the promises made earlier in the text, that's magical.  

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My life looks quite different as I launch Words Apart than it did the last time I released a book.

 

Last year, when Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta and Lucky Penny came out (a picture book and a chapter book) I was writing full time and I had a very clear authorial answer for what I was working on next.

 

Now, though, writing fiction has taken a bit of a back seat in my life. I'm hopeful that this is temporary, because I have a whole slew of projects brewing in my head that I'd like to start drafting or finish drafting, but it's been an extremely busy couple of years.

 

Most recently, I took on a full-time job that leans into my puzzle-y side a bit more. I'm writing a weekly news quiz for Bloomberg called Pointed, which means I'm a full-time games writer!

 

That's taking up a lot of my time (as is moving into our fourth house in two years and various other crossword puzzle projects) but I'm optimistic that once Words Apart enters the world I'll be able to focus on the brewing projects a little bit more in my free time. Not sharing anything yet, though, because they're still nascent!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I've been a long-time contributor and sometimes-editor for an indie puzzle publication called AVCX. In so many ways, Words Apart wouldn't exist without AVCX and its main editor, Ben Tausig, and so I wanted to collaborate with them on a pre-order campaign.

 

And we did! If you pre-order Words Apart, you get a free year-long subscription to AVCX puzzles! I can't say enough great things about the publication, and I highly recommend you check them out. If you pre-ordered, let me know and I'll get you on the list to receive your free subscription. I can't wait to bring more amazing puzzles to more people.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Aimee Lucido.