Q&A with Nancy Christie

  

 

 

Nancy Christie is the author of the new novel Transforming Tessa, the latest in her Midlife Moxie series. She is also the host of the Living the Writing Life podcast, and is a freelance writer and editorial consultant.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Transforming Tessa, and how did you create your character Tessa?

 

A: I’ve known several women who struggled through the bereavement phase, and I witnessed firsthand how hard it is to figure out who you are when someone who is so integral to your life is gone.

 

And sometimes when you start over and try to create a new life for yourself, there may be feelings of guilt that you are moving on, albeit unwillingly, when the person you loved is no longer there. I wanted to explore that stage—the rebuilding of your life and the creation of a new identity.

 

While I have never lost a spouse or partner, I have lost both my parents, and that loss created a shift in my life because my parents and I had been very close.

 

Also, my father lived with me for the last few years of his life, and when he was gone—and since I lived alone—there was an emptiness that I had never before experienced. I didn’t know what to do now that I didn’t have someone to take care of.

 

Sometimes I think not being needed—especially when that desire to be needed comes from a place of love—is the hardest thing to accept.

 

When I began thinking about Tessa—who she was when the story opened and how she would change—I knew that she and her husband had a very loving marriage.

 

But as much as Jack tried to prepare her for the expected ending (he had a heart condition), she refused to accept that it could happen and instead wanted to protect him and herself from that eventuality, in part because she doubted her ability to go on without him.

 

I needed Tessa to discover her inner strength, but I knew she couldn’t do it on her own. So I brought other women into her life to help her find her moxie and heal from her grief.

 

Q: How does this book fit in with your other Midlife Moxie novels?

 

A: While each novel is a standalone, the commonality (which I wrote about in my Substack post) is that the characters have to reinvent themselves due to life events or circumstances and doubt their ability to do so.

 

And that’s where the friendships with other women come into play—the idea of “found family”—with happenstance and chance occurrences introducing them to other women who support and encourage them.

 

And of course, the protagonist in each story is 50 or older. (I took some literary license with the definition of midlife!) The midlife stage can be an exciting one, full of possibilities. But it is also a time of change—and I don’t mean menopause! Relationships may end, children leave home, careers start to stall, health issues surface—and we all have to figure out how we’re going to keep moving forward in spite of it all!

 

I wanted my novels to be realistic yet positive, showing typical challenges that can occur as well as ways to not only cope but overcome them. Most of all, I wanted the stories to emphasize that who each woman was when the story opens isn’t the same person she is at the end. The point is that we all have untapped potential just waiting to be discovered.

 

I hope that’s what my readers take away from the stories and bring into their own lives when they are thinking about not only who they are now but also, who else they can be.

 

Q: The writer Susan Poole said of the novel, “Tender, wise, and brimming with hope, Transforming Tessa is a story about the grace of starting over, the quiet strength of friendship, and the courage it takes to persevere in the face of devastating loss.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! It perfectly encapsulates what I want readers to find in Transforming Tessa. I didn’t want it to be a “quick fix” type of story, and I also wanted to show that, despite her own self-doubts, Tessa did have the courage needed to venture out into the world without her beloved husband Jack at her side.

 

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

 

A: That grief hits us in different ways and we process it differently. That rebuilding your life after loss doesn’t mean forgetting the person who is gone. That the measure of your grief is a measure of your love. That the person we lost who loved us would want us to create a future full of happiness and fulfillment because they loved us.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am about two-thirds of the way through Investing in Iris, my fifth Midlife Moxie novel, which will come out in 2027.

 

A retired high school English teacher in her early 60s realizes that she misses the sense of making a difference and decides to open a bookstore in the same lower socioeconomic area where she taught. One small drawback: she has no retail experience.

 

So she partners with her niece who recently lost her job but who has extensive business and marketing knowledge. Will it work, or will they butt heads as passion and practical collide?

 

I’m also inviting indie bookstore owners to share some of their experiences so I can make the early months realistic. All they need to do is reach out to me via email (nancy@nancychristie.com) and I’ll send them the questionnaire!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I have another novel in mind that I’ll start working on while Investing in Iris is with my editor. It’s not a Midlife Moxie novel but one a little more serious and with multiple points of view. If all goes well, I’ll release it in 2028!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Nancy Christie. 

Q&A with Violet Lumani

  

 

 

Violet Lumani is the author of the new novel Not Good Neighbors. She also has written the young adult novel Foretold.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Not Good Neighbors?

 

A: I needed a fun palate cleanser after writing a relatively heavy YA fantasy. I was chatting with my sister about The Hating Game (a book I absolutely devoured) and our mutual love of the enemies-to-lovers trope.

 

Around the same time, my uncle had a funny run-in with a neighbor, and we started joking about how awful it would be to be trapped next door to someone you couldn’t stand. That’s all it took. Once the idea started marinating, I needed to put it down on paper.

 

Q: How did you create your characters Penny and Jack, and how would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: I created them by interviewing them (on paper) and then trying to see how their psychological wounds would respond to the plot beats I put them in!

 

They bring out the worst in each other on the surface, but I like to think they also bring out each other’s most authentic selves. They’re competitive, stubborn, and neither of them knows when to quit. But beyond all the silly shenanigans, they’re two people who want to be seen and loved by someone who truly understands them.

 

Penny is a people pleaser. She’s spent so much of her life trying to be what everyone else needs that there’s something incredibly freeing about being completely herself with Jack (even when “herself” is petty and plotting neighborly revenge).

 

And Jack is a golden retriever cosplaying as a bad boy. At his core, he’s deeply caring and a bit of a white knight, but with Penny he gets to be mischievous, push buttons, and show off a side of himself that most people don’t get to see.

 

I like to think their relationship starts tearing down emotional walls way before the physical wall comes down, because the facade they show the world isn’t present on that brownstone’s fifth floor.

 

And of course, as the story progresses, they become a safe space for one another to grow and become better versions of themselves. It just happens to involve a lot of pranks, bickering, sexual tension, and trips to Home Depot along the way.

 

Q: What do you see as the role of humor in the novel?

 

A: My favorite romances are the ones that make me laugh. Since I knew I was writing a rom-com, I wanted to make sure it leaned heavily into the “com” part of the equation. Humor is also a gift I was given by my family. We have gotten through some very rough times by laughing together, so to me it is a sacred thing that makes hard things bearable.

 

Humor drives the story, but it’s also a bit of a magic trick. You and your readers can laugh at banter and escalating neighborly warfare together, while also diving into themes around mental health, family dynamics, loneliness, and how hard it is to do the work to truly individuate and grow. How cool is that?

 

For me, the best rom-coms make you laugh, make you swoon, and then sneak up on you with a little bit of heart when you’re least expecting it. 

 

Q: You’ve also written a fantasy novel for young adults--do you have a preference?

 

A: Romance has always been my first literary love, but I do adore both. Fantasy let me build new worlds and explore my OCD and anxiety and grief through a different lens. Romantic comedy allows me to play with relationships, humor, and all the wonderful messiness inherent in falling in love and just…living.

 

No matter what genre I’m writing, I’m always interested in the same things: flawed characters, emotional stakes, personal growth, and stories that make readers feel something (especially if that something is laughing out loud). We live in a heavy world, and if I can inject a little levity into someone’s day and put a smile on their face, that feels like pure magic. 

 

Maybe I’ll eventually marry the two genres and try my hand at romantic fantasy…

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: I’m currently working on another contemporary rom-com set in the same universe as Not Good Neighbors, featuring some familiar faces that readers will recognize! It’s made me laugh out loud more than once while writing it, which I always take as a good sign.

 

I’m excited to spend more time with these characters, and I hope readers will enjoy spending time with them again, too.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just that I’m incredibly grateful to every reader who picks up the book. Writing can be such a solitary experience, even when you’re lucky enough to have wonderful sounding boards along the way, so it’s always surreal and exciting when a story finds its audience.

 

And I am lovinggggg the messages from readers. Tag me in your social posts! Send me those DMs! Tell me what made you laugh, cry, swoon, or want to throw the book across the room! Connecting with readers is one of my favorite parts of being an author, and I really treasure every message. Petty Betty’s 4-ever!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Anne Marie Wells

  

 

Anne Marie Wells is the author of the new book Happy Iceland: How Icelandic Strangers Taught a Miserable American the Secret to Lifelong Happiness. Her other books include Write Some Cool Sh!t. She is also a poet and a playwright.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Happy Iceland?

 

A: The idea for Happy Iceland really was born out of the blue. In 2016, a few weeks before I was scheduled to leave on my flight from Denver to Reykjavik, the idea came to me while I lay at the doorway of sleep. I knew I was going to use my savings to fulfill my dream of traveling to Iceland for my 30th birthday. I knew I was traveling solo.

 

I knew I was just going to wing it instead of devising a set itinerary, but then, as if a ghost whispered the idea in my ear, I had the notion that I would travel around the country finding the locations Icelandic locals’ happiest memories took place… AND… despite having no background in writing whatsoever at the time, I would write a book about it…

 

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

 

A: I didn’t know much about Iceland before I left. I didn’t have perceptions other than it was cold, and that is accurate. Even in the July summer, I needed a winter jacket most days.

 

Perhaps one of the assumptions I made was that Iceland would be developed as a tourist destination hotspot, but in fact, they really did not have the infrastructure to support the amount of tourism they had.

 

Maybe that is different now a decade after I traveled there. Many of the most touristy places I went were not accessible for people who use mobility devices. The roads in particular often did not have any kind of shoulder for if/when a car broke down or to safely facilitate cyclists or pedestrians. Maybe that is intentional to keep the amount of tourists down—if you build it, they will come, type of thing.

 

While embracing the views that made me scream out loud, “ARE YOU SEEING THIS RIGHT NOW?!”, I was grateful I had the physical ability to see them. Individuals who use wheelchairs or walkers would not be afforded the same privilege, at least without significant assistance. Again, maybe that is different now, but that was my perception in 2016.

 

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

 

A: I actually did not research the book since I had no idea how to write a book and so didn’t even know to do research in advance. I did think to myself before I left, “Oh no, I’m going to be stealth camping, and I didn’t even think about what kind of predators they might have. Do I have to worry about bears?”

 

But then when I googled “Icelandic predators,” I learned their largest predator is the arctic fox which is about the size of a house cat, and they’re shy to human beings. I only saw two while I was there, and as soon as they saw me, they darted away. Polar bears very rarely make it to Iceland with sightings only once every few years.

 

While driving to the airport, my sister sent me a listicle of the “10 Things That Can Kill You in Iceland”, but I never read it. 

 

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 built my career into what it is now. After I returned, I fleshed out the copious notes I took into what I thought was a compelling travel memoir and sent it off to a hundred literary agents.

 

The hundred rejections that came after were an awakening that writing a book isn’t as easy as just writing a book. I had to start from scratch, and I read dozens of books about writing, took dozens of courses on writing, and then did the actual writing part.

 

It took 10 years to get my book to a place where I felt genuinely proud of it. I hope readers find it to be a cozy, armchair travel story, and I hope it restores readers’ faith in humanity.

 

Especially now as it seems like the world only gets more violent, more cruel, and more callous toward one another, maybe this story would inspire readers to welcome a stranger into their home, to give a lowly hitchhiker a ride, and to believe again in the magic of human kindness and generosity.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on promoting Happy Iceland. I host a weekly, virtual, generative writing workshop called The Joy of Poeting, and I’ve been slowly building a poetry guide on contemporary poetic forms.

 

My biggest goal right now, though, is to get into the MFA program at my local university. Whether I like it or not, I know many professional opportunities are gatekept by academia, and I’d like to open more doors for myself by getting an advanced degree. 

 

Q:  Anything else we should know?

 

A: Even though it took 10 years from when I went on my Icelandic escape to finally seeing Happy Iceland in print, throughout this decade I worked on and completed other projects that informed my writing for my memoir.

 

For example, I wrote a number of short plays. Some won contests and were produced on stage, and others were published in literary journals. I fell in love with poetry and saw dozens of my poems published (one on a transit bus!), two of my poetry collections were picked up by publishers, and I even won some awards.

 

I was commissioned to write and be the creative designer for a coloring and activity book for kids that was published in 2025. And I self-published a book of writing prompts called Write Some Cool Sh!t. All of these projects took my attention away from Happy Iceland, but they also taught me new skills that I then implemented into my memoir.

 

Writing this book certainly wasn’t linear, but I never gave up on it, and I never gave up on myself. And now, I am even grateful to all of the literary agents and indie presses who rejected Happy Iceland. I am so proud of the book I have now, and I am glad that it’s this version that the world will read.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Nancy Hudgins

  

 

Nancy Hudgins is the author of Books Good Enough for You: The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom, a new biography for older kids. It focuses on the life of children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom.

 

Q: Why did you decide to write a biography for young people about legendary children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom (1910-1988)?

 

A: I had decided I wanted to write children’s books about American women living in the 20th century who had done something consequential, something that had changed people’s lives.

 

When I read Leonard Marcus’s Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, I discovered she had published dozens of the 20th century’s most timeless children’s books during her 44-year career at the publishing house now known as HarperCollins.

 

Her list of outstanding books is staggering. Books like Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte’s Web, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Stevie, and Harriet the Spy. I could go on and on.

 

I noticed Ursula’s marvelous sense of humor, especially her self-deprecation, first. I also appreciated the deft way she cajoled the writers and artists she worked with into doing their best work. I wanted to learn more about her!

 

The more I read, the more impressed I became. I wanted children to know about her, too. And, I suspected, they, like I, had no idea what an editor did, not to mention what Ursula did. Her insight, judgment and enthusiasm were integral to the making of these books.

 

In the 1940s, ‘50s, and early 1960s, most publishers were publishing children’s books that were heavily skewed towards “good little boys and girls,” teaching morals and reflecting a rigid adult perception of righteousness. Frances Chrystie, the bookseller at FAO Schwarz, called them “agreeable little stories which leave [children] untouched.”

 

Ursula, by contrast, blazed a trail, publishing books in which every day children could see themselves, which included groundbreaking books for gay kids like Harriet the Spy and I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, and trailblazing books by Black authors that featured authentic Black kids like Stevie and Bronzeville Boys and Girls.

 

Where the Wild Things Are dared to show big and negative emotions, like anger. It paved the way for more honest books about children’s emotions.

 

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

 

A: Ursula’s stated goal was to publish books that were “fresh” and “original” and “honest.” She wrote, “Anything less is not good enough for a child.” So, the title—Books Good Enough For You—conveys the idea that my book will be about books made Good Enough for You—the Reader—and I tell the stories behind the making of 16 of the iconic books she published.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Matching Nordstrom’s respect for young people, Hudgins does her brave, funny, and singular subject proud.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I was so humbled when I read that. I also breathed a sigh of relief—I’m new to this; this  is my debut book—and I didn’t know how it would be received. This reviewer understood what I was trying to accomplish—and then was kind enough to say it, and in such a lovely way.

 

Q: Do you have a couple of favorites among the books Nordstrom edited?

 

A: As you might suspect, I have many favorites! All of the books I featured in my book are favorites in one way or another. The books I remember fondly from my childhood are the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik, illustrated by Sendak; The House of Sixty Fathers, by Meindert DeJong, illustrated by Sendak; and Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m still writing biographies. I would like to see librarians elevated, as their work has made them unfortunate, and I believe unjust, targets in today’s political landscape. And I have some other irons in the fire as well. Sorry to be vague, but publishing nonfiction is tricky. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Ursula was a fervent advocate of a child’s right to read. In 1971, when a librarian in Louisiana painted diapers on the naked main character, Mickey, in Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen, Ursula was appalled. She rightly called it censorship by mutilation. Sendak’s artistic vision was changed, and in a sort of underhanded way. Readers might have thought the diapers were Sendak’s idea.

 

Ursula got 425 editors, authors, illustrators, critics, publishers, etc., to sign a petition objecting to the censorship. And she likely had a hand in getting the American Library Association to amend its Library Bill of Rights to include alterations in its definition of censorship.

 

Unfortunately, that sort of censorship is still going on today. In the Night Kitchen was removed from a library’s shelf in Florida in 2025—and only returned after someone had painted blue jeans shorts on Mickey. The fight for the right to read continues.

 

Oh! And the audiobook is now out. Performed by the great Barbara Rosenblat!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Toni Buzzeo

  

 

 

Toni Buzzeo is the author of the new children's picture book Buzz!: Being Brave Around Buzzy, Stinging Insects. Her many other books include Light Comes to Shadow Mountain. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Buzz!?

 

A: I don’t remember being especially afraid of buzzy, stinging insects as a child, but oh my! When my two grandchildren, who live upstairs in our two-family East Arlington, Massachusetts house, were very young, they were mightily afraid. Bees, wasps, hornets. All while living with a Nonna who encouraged the pollinators in our yard.

 

Something had to be done! Of course, the first “something” was to try to calm the children enough to be quiet, still, and watch the bees at their work.

 

Their grandfather, my husband who had died a few years earlier at our farmhouse in Buxton, Maine, had been a beekeeper, after all! Their father had grown up with beehives out back by our veggie garden (on our 35 acres). I didn’t want Ken’s legacy of loving and nurturing pollinators to be left behind at that farmhouse.

 

Slowly and with compassion, I taught them to be curious—and respectful. But, of course, as a writer, I’m always spinning story ideas, and when I mentioned this idea, of a story wrapped around stinging insects, to one of my editors, she was so excited, as her own two children were terrified of stinging insects too.

 

That editor didn’t end up acquiring the manuscript, nor did the next one who loved the idea, but as you see, I found Grace Maccarone at Holiday House who helped me to create a splendid book!

 

Q: What do you think Joe Cepeda’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: This is a fascinating question. I was recently recording a podcast (Grounded in Maine). Amy and I were talking about Buzz! being a nonfiction book.

 

It actually didn’t start out that way, but the first editor I wrote the book with led me away from my more lyrical, fictional account of a young child visiting a grandparents’ yard abuzz with pollinators (yes, I see that smile of recognition that just flashed on your face!).

 

And she was wise. What I needed to write, if I was to calm down my grandchildren and her children, was a not-so-subtle guide to not being afraid—a nonfiction book.

 

However, when you look at the cover, and when you open the book, what you see is the cast of fictional characters Joe has created in his lively, appealing, and inviting art. So, Joe brings the element of imaginary characters to my nonfiction text.

 

These are kids who are following the safety rules around stinging insects:

Stop! Be very quiet. No yelling.

Keep hands still. No swatting.

Move sloooowly and caaaaalmly away. No running.

Watch the ground while stepping away. No zipping around.

 

Even beyond following those rules, these kids turn up their courage. They stay and watch. The curious kids Joe has created use their science eyes to watch the insects. Do they get stung? Yes, one of them does, despite the safety rules. But they know just what to do to help make that sting less terrifying and painful. (Note that the book acknowledges that some people have serious bee allergies.)

 

Joe’s kids are the stand-ins for the readers of this book, showing young children just how safe and interesting life can be around stinging pollinators. He’s also done such a superb job of depicting the insects in the book, accurately and in un-threatening ways.

 

Q: The School Library Journal review of the book says, “Buzzeo commendably destigmatizes these bugs, especially the bees, which are crucial to Earth.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I loved that line in the School Library Journal review. It’s exactly what I set out to do, though I doubt that most children or parents would think of bees as being “stigmatized.” It’s precisely true, though, isn’t it?

 

Because they can sting (When they are scared! When they are protecting themselves or the hive!), we are frightened of them and want them gone. Yet, according to the Bee Conservancy, bees pollinate one third of all our food.

As Buzz! makes so clear:

And if there is no food,

well, you see the problem—

no you,

no me.

 

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

 

A: As a degreed librarian, research is among my top 10 loves. Some days, I admit, it is number one. Researching the book was, therefore, a deep pleasure.

 

But despite all of the sources I read, both in print and online, the videos I watched, and the nature photographs I studied, I could not have revised the text to be completely accurate without the help of amazing ecologist, consultant, and speaker Dr. Nick Dorian https://nicholasdorian.com/, to whom Buzz! is dedicated.

 

He read every word of the book many times and studied the illustrations in each iteration as well. I asked him so many questions and he answered every one. He even chose the three specific species of stinging insects used in the book: the European honey bee, the Eastern yellowjacket, and the bald-faced hornet.

 

Did you know that all hornets are wasps? Did you know that bees don’t have ears, but they can feel sounds? Did you know that wasps (and hornets) are superhero predators who bring pesky insects (like those that attack flowers and food plants) home to feed their babies? I didn’t either until I wrote this book!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: What I say is likely to surprise you! In 2023, I published my first middle grade novel, clearly mixing things up in a career that, at that point, had included exclusively picture books—30 of them. Light Comes to Shadow Mountain won the 2024 Cardinal Cup Award (given by the Virginia Library Association for historical fiction).

 

Now I needed a new writing frontier, so betwixt a few new picture book manuscripts, I am working on my first young adult novel. And I’m writing it in verse, which is completely new to me and takes me back to my roots as a poet in high school, college, and in my 20s. It’s lovely. And challenging. And exciting.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I think as we move toward increasing urbanization and less open-spaces-living, kids become more fearful of aspects of the natural world that seem threatening. Buzzy, stinging insects are among those frightening features of nature.

 

Like many things humans are afraid of, these creatures become less scary when kids know more about why they behave as they do and what they have to offer us. Knowledge, curiosity, and respect go a long way to allaying those fears. That’s just what I hope Buzz! will encourage.

 

Thank you so much for inviting me back to Book Q&As, Deborah, to talk about this latest book!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Toni Buzzeo. 

June 27

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 27, 1872: Paul Laurence Dunbar born. 

Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne

  

 

 

RaeAnne Thayne is the author of the new novel The Rainy Day Bookshop. Her many other books include Snow Kissed. She lives in Utah.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Rainy Day Bookshop, and how did you create your characters Rosie, Andrew, Emma, and Bryce?

 

A: I wanted to write a book about a woman in the sandwich generation trying to heal her relationship with her daughter while also juggling caregiving for her mother after an accident. In the midst of everything, Rosie Lucas ends up falling for the bestselling author who moves into what was once her dream house.

 

Meanwhile, her daughter Emma wants to prove to her mother she is capable of running the family bookshop and she has no intention of losing her heart to the sexy contractor helping her renovate the place.

 

Q: The novel includes four generations of mothers and daughters--how would you describe the mother-daughter bonds in the story?

 

A: Any relationship between a mother and daughter can be beautifully rich and rewarding but it can also be fraught with tension and regret. In The Rainy Day Bookshop, Rosie and her daughter both have secrets from each other  and scars from their past. They each have to learn how to be vulnerable with each other and trust they’re each strong enough to handle whatever comes along.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about community?

 

A: Throughout the book, Rosie and her daughter both reflect on the people in their community who helped them through a tragic event in their past and realize how integral that community has been in their lives.

 

Like all my books, I believe The Rainy Day Bookshop shows that a warm, supportive community can be a powerful force for healing, belonging, and transformation. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m hard at work on my 2027 releases and looking forward to bringing my readers more stories brimming over with emotion and heart.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m looking ahead to the release of my upcoming holiday novel. Cozy Little Christmas, which hits shelves Oct. 6, and I can’t wait for readers to revisit my town of Shelter Springs, Idaho.

 

Music therapist Hannah Goodwin thought she had built the perfect life in Shelter Springs, Idaho, until her first love Wes Kenner unexpectedly returns to town. With the magic of music and small-town warmth, they discover that second chances might lead to the coziest Christmas of all.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne. 

Q&A with Samantha Silva

  

 

 

Samantha Silva is the author of the new novel Sometime This Century. Her other books include the novel Love and Fury. She is also a screenwriter, and she's based in Idaho.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Sometime This Century, and how did you create your character Annabel?

 

A: The novel began life as a screenplay I sold to Universal Studios 25 years ago! I conceived it just a few years past the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice adaptation that left us all swooning for more Jane Austen.

 

Annabel Blake, my heroine, is in some ways me (bookish, introverted, romantic), but I really wanted to write a story for all the women who longed for the civility and romance of the Regency era, as Annabel does. The twist being that when she gets everything she ever wished for, she has to contend with whether she can truly be herself in the that world.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book called it a “comical and charming love letter to Jane Austen.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: It’s absolutely my homage to Jane Austen, and I hope readers will feel the same.

 

In the beginning I was riffing on Pride and Prejudice to set up the love story that sweeps Annabel away. Henry Leighton D’Evercy is “the obvious Darcy of the ball,” aloof, arrogant, but maybe misunderstood? And people will recognize other characters from the book as well and the comic send-up of so many of the things we love from all her novels.

 

But the more I developed the relationship between sisters Annabel and Cassie Blake, it began to feel more like Sense and Sensibility. Annabel and Cassie are the Demure/Brat version (if you will) of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. They change in much the same way the Dashwood sisters do. But because they are time-traveling, there was so much fish-out-of-water comedy to mine. I had an absolute ball writing it!

 

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

 

A: Because I cut my teeth as a screenwriter for 15 years, I’m very much a plotter, a structuralist, meaning I need to know how anything ends before I put pen to paper!

 

I’m open to changing my mind about all of it because the process presents the attentive writer with so many opportunities along the way, but adapting this to a novel from my own screenplay had enormous advantages. I knew beginning, middle, end and lots of story beats before I started.

 

As a novel, the language became richer and more layered, scenes went deeper, characters are better developed. But the story changed almost not at all. 

 

Q: Can you say more about the book’s origins as a screenplay?

 

A: I’d add that when you write a screenplay you’re really creating an economical blueprint for the movie you hope will get made, with a cast and crew on set that bring it to life: director, actors, production designer, set dresser, costumer, etc…

 

When you’re the novelist, you have all those jobs. You're the one choosing locations, what everyone’s wearing, what the furnishings are, what’s on a side table. You become the researcher, sorting through reams of possibilities (and going down every rabbit hole) to build the world you’re building.

 

But even more, you’re the one creating the interior life of your characters. Instead of actors and a director bringing their emotion and interpretation to it, you, the author, have to create that experience for the reader. I’ve now adapted two screenplays into novels, and find the process very rewarding.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: When my kids were younger, we had a game around the dinner table. If someone told a great story, you could call dibs on it, but you had to say the genre. Is it a play, a short story, a novel, a movie? I have to laugh at that now, because it sort of describes my career. I want to do it all!

 

But I will always have a novel in progress. The current one is contemporary and autofiction, so about as far away from “time-travel-rom-com” as it could be. I like a challenge. I like taking on something I’m not sure I know how to do and then suffer through figuring it out! It’s enormously satisfying if you can do it. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: A small confession. When I started working on adapting Sometime This Century, I felt a little sheepish writing a “rom-com” since I considered myself a more serious, literary sort of writer. I even thought for a while about using a pen name. Gemma Finch? Poppy Lark? (You get the idea.)

 

But the more I worked on it, the more I loved working on it, loved the characters, laughed out loud, found myself moved by their situation. I came to a different understanding of the genre and why people are so drawn to it. And I had to do an ego check. This is also who I am, this writer.

 

My friend Tony Doerr told me, “Nothing wrong with having some joy in making stuff with words, especially in the world we're living in.” 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Mackenzi Lee

  

 

 

Mackenzi Lee is the author of the new young adult novel Teela: Daughter of Eternos. It takes place in the world of the new Masters of the Universe film. Lee's other books include Loki: Where Mischief Lies. 

 

Q: How did you come to write Teela: Daughter of Eternos?

 

A: I got a very well-timed email from Mattel asking if I'd be interested in writing a novel to go with their new film, Masters of the Universe! To which I replied, what is Masters of the Universe? It wasn't a franchise I knew much about.

 

But lucky they were willing to teach me! They told me where they'd like the novel to fit in the movie timeline, and what character they'd like me to focus on, and from there, I devised a plot set in the world of Eternia, and focusing on teenage Teela finding her place in it. 

 

Q: What is the relationship between the novel and the new Masters of the Universe film, and do you think a reader needs to see the film before turning to the book?

 

A: The movie has a time jump about 15 minutes in - we see the main character, Adam, go from a kid to an adult, and go on a journey from Eternia, his home planet, to Earth.

 

The book is set in that time while Adam is trying to find his way back home, and focuses on the characters that were left behind to deal with the aftermath of their city falling to Skeletor.

 

I don't think you need to see the movie first, but some familiarity with the world would be helpful. If nothing else, for picking up on references to characters, gadgets, and creatures from the wider MOTU world. If you haven't seen the film, I think there's enough context in the book that you'll get the idea. 

 

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

 

A: Most of the research I did was within the world of Masters of the Universe. I was delighted and surprised to find out how silly, campy, and self-aware the whole franchise is--and how much fun!

 

I always thought He-Man was such a grandiose name that surely any franchise he was part of would be very self-serious. Turns out, not at all. It's got a big heart and a lot of jokes, and a lot of camp--the tone of the show is actual very in line with my original fiction. Fun, funny, doesn't take itself too seriously, but deals with big emotions with a lot of sincerity. 

 

Q: How much leeway did you have with your characters and plot?

 

A: A lot! The folks at Mattel brought me the time they wanted the book set, and the main character they wanted it to follow, and that was it.

 

Some facets of what I was able to include were dictated by things in the movie, like who is left on Eternia and who is rallying together to fight Skeletor in the movie canon, but mostly, I got to bring a lot of my own ideas and voice to the project. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have a new YA book coming out sometime in the future! It's not been announced yet, but I'm deep into it with my editor and can't wait to share more. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Go see Masters of the Universe in theaters! It's so much fun! No one is paying me to say this, I'm just a fan! :) 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Amanda Connolly

Photo by Rob Lloyd Photography

 

 

 

Amanda Connolly is the author of the new young adult novel The Lure of Wolves and Whispers. She is a dual citizen of Canada and Ireland. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, and how did you create your character Maeve?

 

A: I first sat down to write The Lure of Wolves and Whispers in January 2024 after what was truly the hardest year of my life. I was at my absolute lowest, struggling after six straight months of back-to-back bereavements, freak injuries, and burnout. I literally hadn’t written a word of fiction in almost a year, and had written five failed manuscripts before this one that never went anywhere.

 

But I had this spark of a high-concept idea that hadn’t left me alone for years, and I decided to give writing one more shot – but to write a book that was first and foremost just for me, and full of all the things I love most in fantasy. Enemies to lovers; a dark, gritty world; a heroine who is every bit as morally grey and dangerous as any “shadow daddy,” and a romance you could root for against all odds.

 

Maeve’s voice came roaring out of me, and I wrote the book in a lightning-quick two and a half months.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the novel takes place?

 

A: The world of Eireann and Dyfflin is inspired by my love for dark fantasy and dystopia – I am always drawn to fantasy that has a really gritty edge to it, and I knew from the start that I wanted to weave that into this world.

 

The mythology and lore and history draws heavy inspiration from Irish legends, and I used the Viking Age of Ireland as a sort of thematic anchor time period in how I visualize the styles and grit of the world.

 

A lot of the sectarian politics of the world came from Irish history, but the annexation theme really developed during the editing process after I sold the book which happened to coincide with the trade war and threats to annex Canada that were launched by the U.S. administration.

 

Sidenote: Canada will never be the 51st state.

 

Q: The author Shalini Abeysekara said of the book, “A relentless ride through a land sundered by poison and rebellion, Connolly’s The Lure of Wolves and Whispers is as raw, compelling, and as unflinching in the face of horror as its protagonist.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m a huge fan of Shalini’s The Monster of Mine, so I was thrilled to see such generous words from a fellow Canadian dark fantasy author.

 

It’s been my goal from the first draft to have The Lure of Wolves and Whispers feel darker and grittier than a lot of other fantasy, both because that is what I am drawn to in stories and also because it fits with my own attempts to grapple with what is happening to our world right now.

 

There is a dark, vicious streak of something new running right through the heart of this story, and it’s a story I could never have written this way if it wasn’t for the raw fury and rage and stubborn hope I’ve fought to hold onto at the state of our world.

 

I’m so grateful that Shalini connected with that element of the story: we should never close our eyes to abuses of power or darkness, but confront them head on wherever we must.

 

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 did – there were obviously a lot of changes to the story itself through edits, but the final five-ish chapters have stayed largely unchanged in their substance since my first draft. They’ve been improved and polished and deepened, but the core outcome in them never wavered, as devastating as it is. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently working on edits for Book 2 in this trilogy – I’m in the deepest phase of structural edits right now, and I have my outline for Book 3 so that I can reflect changes from the Book 2 edits into that plan before I start writing Book 3, hopefully late this summer/fall.

 

In between all that, I’m also awaiting notes from my agent on a finished draft of a new project and drafting a separate for-fun project. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: You can find me on Instagram @amandaconn, and I love to hear from readers!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb