Leslie Gentile is the author of the new middle grade novel The Total Eclipse of Me. Her other books include Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer. She is also a musician, and she lives on Vancouver Island.
Q: What inspired you to write The Total Eclipse of Me, and how did you create your character Halley?
A: I live in a house with five telescopes (my husband’s) six guitars (mine), so it was just a matter of time till I wrote a book that included astronomy and music. Of course, this one also contains bats and a forest fire . . .
Really it started with the title, which popped into my head during the solar eclipse in 2024. Then, as I played around with of the word eclipse, the story began to form. I decided to make it a lunar eclipse since that worked better in this case.
I knew that Halley needed to feel “eclipsed” so once I started to create problems in her life, her character began to emerge.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Halley and her family?
A: Halley knows she’s loved, but with all of the rapid-fire changes coming at her, she begins to doubt that and feels her family is falling apart. She feels forgotten and in everyone’s way, which leads her to come up with Operation Stargazer, and her big plan to move in with her dad.
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 started with a rough plan for the ending when I began to write, but I find that once my characters develop they tend to tell me where things are really going. There’s always the unexpected “Oh, hey . . . what if?” and you head off in another direction. Those detours always make for a better story. And, yes, more work!
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope that readers see the value in being open-minded and accepting of others. Whether it’s being less squeamish about critters like bats, to being inclusive with neurodivergent people, it’s important that we be willing to be open to learning more. Everyone needs to feel they belong.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Oh, right now I’m busy but having fun! I’m a singer songwriter, so always write songs to accompany my readings, so I am working on Eclipse songs. In the book Halley’s Auntie Lynn is a blues musician, so I know that at least one song will need to be on my slide guitar.
I’m plotting out a new middle grade mystery, with the working title The Secret of Dead Man’s Cove. This one will involve finding an old diary filled with secrets and a mystery from the past to solve.
I’m also in the recording studio, finishing a fourth episode of my kids’ podcast series The Agatha Crispy Detective Agency. This series involves two friends who form a detective agency to solve mysteries in their neighbourhood.
Agatha is big on enthusiasm, but it’s her wheel-chairbound sidekick Wheels who actually solves their cases. I have the scripts written for the first season, and as the series progresses, the cases are getting more involved.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: As a writer with Indigenous heritage, it’s always been important for me to have Indigenous characters in my books.
In Eclipse it was really important for me to include a neurodivergent character in this book, not just as “my life with autism” but as simply one of the regular characters. We need more representation in fiction, and I wanted Leo to have his time to shine!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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