ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
June 30, 1911: Czesław Miłosz born.
Friday, June 30, 2023
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Q&A with Cat Sebastian
Cat Sebastian is the author of the new historical novel We Could Be So Good. Her other books include The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. She also has worked as a lawyer and as a teacher.
Q: What inspired you to write We Could Be So Good, and how did you create your characters Nick and Andy?
A: The idea of coworkers turned best friends falling in love with one another had been in the back of my mind for a while, but it wasn’t until I hit upon a newspaper as a setting that the characters materialized. A somewhat hardboiled reporter is such an archetype, especially when paired with someone rich and a little out of touch (this is the basis for at least three screwball comedies, and probably a lot more).
Once I had that in mind, the story fell into place. I keep telling people that this book basically wrote itself—I’ve never had a book take shape this quickly, and it was such a joy to write.
Q: The Popsugar review of the book says, “The 1950s is a dangerous time for queer people, and Nick and Andy will do anything to save their love from the potential harm of those around them.” What do you think of that description, and why did you choose that time period?
A: The ‘50s were, obviously, a dangerous time for a lot of marginalized groups, including queer people, and this is a fact of life that the characters in this book are dealing with. But at the same time, this isn’t a story about the dangers of persecution—it’s about thriving despite those dangers.
I wanted to write about queer people being domestic at a time when a certain type of home life was, at least in the United States, held up as both the most a person could want out of life and also was restricted to white, straight, upper-middle-class people.
Both main characters in We Could Be So Good want that kind of safety and stability. They want someone to share a pot of coffee with in the morning and to come home to after work, someone to pick up cough medicine when they’re sick. And they both realize they aren’t supposed to have it, that they aren’t allowed to have it.
In that context, the decision to have it anyway—to insist on it—is a kind of rebellion.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: I didn’t even have a working title for the book (the file name was “newspaper book”) and had no useful suggestions at all for an actual title, so my editor suggested We Could Be So Good because it captures the wistfulness of these two people who want something but aren’t sure whether they can have it. It’s from a Halsey song.
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 book as it exists is almost exactly the story I envisioned when I started writing. That isn’t always the case—I’ve had books take hard left turns—but this one worked out that way.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m finishing up edits for another book set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good. It’s about another reporter who works at the same paper as Nick and Andy. I’m having a lot of fun with 20th century historicals right now!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: In a fit of procrastination, I made a map of the major locations in We Could Be So Good. It’s on my website here: https://catsebastian.com/wcbsg-map/.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Q&A with Rachel Sarah
Photo by Katherine Briccetti Photography
Rachel Sarah is the author of the new young adult book Climate Champions: 15 Women Fighting for Your Future. She also has written the middle grade book Girl Warriors. A journalist, she is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Q: What inspired you to write Climate Champions?
A: I started writing this book during the pandemic as “red flag” warnings pinged me in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live. Dry lightning with strong wind gusts is not a good combination.
My inspiration came from a note tacked above my desk that says, “Decide to hope.” (Even if hope itself sometimes feels like a scarce resource to draw on...)
To write this book, I reached out to women around the world who are tirelessly working to repair our climate. They are scientists, policymakers, journalists, lawyers, activists, professors, researchers, and organizers.
Their lives are absorbed in seeking solutions. They’ve persevered harder than ever through the pandemic. And yet they said yes to talking to me.
These climate leaders rallied me: It’s not too late to act.
In this book, they walk you through the steps to change. They show us what we can—and must—do for our future. Saving the world is overwhelming, and these women reminded me that the world is right outside our windows. They are facing the most pressing challenges we’ve ever experienced, rather than turning away.
Q: How did you choose the 15 women to profile in the book?
A: The women truly led me to each other. Every time I interviewed someone, she’d say, “Have you spoken to so-and-so? I can connect you.”
Yes, I did have a list of climate leader “rockstars” I wanted to interview, and understandably, some were not available. Climate leaders are incredibly busy with full lives.
Some of the high-profile leaders in this book are:
Molly Kawahata, founder of Systemic Impact Strategies and a former White House Climate Advisor who’s also the heart of the Patagonia documentary The Scale of Hope.
Wawa Gatheru, founder of Black Girl Environmentalist and a Rhodes scholar.
Amy Westervelt, Climate journalist. Reporter/host of Drilled.
Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy.
Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: I read A LOT. I asked questions. I listened to podcasts. I dug deep. One of my first jobs after college was working as a fact-checker. I love to research.
What surprised me? I asked every woman I interviewed, “If you could tell me (or anyone) just *one* thing that I should do to rise up the climate/our future, what would it be?”
And almost everyone had the same answer: “Vote.”
Q: The Kirkus review of Climate Champions calls it “An inspiring collective biography that is also an empowering call to action.” What do you think of that description, and what do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I’m so honored by this Kirkus review. As I tell teachers and librarians, it is such a privilege to interview girls and women who are rising up in real ways on the ground to create change. I hope that readers will see that change is possible.
Molly Kawahata in the book says: “We've spent too much time talking about arctic polar bears and melting glaciers. "The average person struggling to get by doesn't have the luxury of being able to worry about things happening thousands of miles away. That’s why we must solve climate change for everyone.”
This is what I hope readers take away.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I work in media relations at RMI, an international nonprofit that’s helping the world transition to clean, zero-carbon energy for all.
I’m also currently writing my fourth book, Farming is Female: 20 Women Shaking up the Field (due out with Little Bee in 2025).
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Thanks again, Deborah, for this opportunity.
I love to hear from readers. You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Q&A with Cathy Ballou Mealey
.jpg)
Cathy Ballou Mealey is the author of the new children's picture book Make More S'mores. Her other books include Sloth and Squirrel in a Pickle. She lives north of Boston.
Q: What inspired you to write Make More S'mores?
A: I was inspired to try my hand at crafting a counting and mathematics book, since ONE toasted marshmallow plus TWO crispy graham crackers plus THREE sweet chocolate rectangles equals one perfectly proportioned, traditional s’more.
Feedback from my agent and editor led me to simplify the storyline to remove the math and enhance the broader themes of sharing, patience and generosity.
Q: What do you think Ariel Landy’s illustrations add to the story?
A: Ariel is so talented! Her work brought the hungry bears, a busy raccoon, and several sly squirrels to life in our story. She created an enchanting, flower-filled forest where furry friends cozy up and enjoy s’more after s’more on a beautiful dusky purple evening. And the squirrels really do steal the show – thanks entirely to Ariel!
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, in part, “One of the few things better than a gooey s’more—a warm, fuzzy friendship tale (about s’mores).” What do you think of that description?
A: I couldn’t be s’more excited! I’d like to invite the Kirkus Reviewer to come sit under the stars with me while I roast and toast endless crispy, chewy, gooey s’mores to thank them for their kind, thoughtful words.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: It’s good to share with bears – if you are a raccoon! And I do hope the story reinforces the idea that we can all welcome others to join our fun, share our food, and make sweet memories together. Also, it is a good idea to ask for help when the party gets bigger than you had planned!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am always juggling multiple picture book manuscripts in various stages of readiness, but I most recently polished a second story for Kids Can Press to follow Sloth and Squirrel in a Pickle (2021), sending the two unlikely friends on another exciting, funny adventure.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: National S’mores Day is coming soon! It takes place annually on Aug. 10. Wouldn’t it be fun to plan an event full of roasted, toasted sweet treats and incorporate a reading of Make More S’mores? I’d love to hear stories and see photos if you do!
To find out more, or get in touch with Cathy:
Website: https://cathyballoumealey.wixsite.com/author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatBallouMealey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catballoumealey/
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Cathy Ballou Mealey.
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Q&A with Christine Sneed
 |
| Photo by Larry Shore |
Christine Sneed is the author of the new story collection Direct Sunlight. Her other books include the novel Please Be Advised. She lives in Pasadena, California.
Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your new collection?
A: Most of the stories in Direct Sunlight were written from 2017-2022, but the oldest, “Dear Kelly Bloom,” was written in 2014 or 2015, I think it was. The most recent stories are “Ma’am?” and “Wedding Party.”
My editor, Marisa Siegel, suggested I write a couple of stories specifically for the collection because she thought it was a good idea to include at least two stories that hadn’t been previously published, so I took up the challenge.
Q: How was the book's title (also the title of one of the stories) chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: I was thinking about how direct sunlight can either blind a person or put everything into stark relief.
The title story concerns an enormous, painful secret that’s revealed after the secret holder dies in the 9/11 attacks. It was inspired by a true story—I heard Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney hired by the federal government to determine payouts for families of 9/11 victims, interviewed on a podcast in April 2019 where he told a story about a firefighter who perished in the attacks whom Feinberg eventually discovered had two separate families, neither woman nor the firefighter’s two sets of children knew about their counterparts.
Needless to say, it inspired me to try to dramatize what it would be like for his children and his wife and mistress to discover his secret years after his death.
Q: The writer Dana Johnson said of the book, “Funny, profound, and moving, this collection reminds us of our humanity, of the beautiful vulnerability and tenderness we can extend to one another.” What do you think of that description?
.jpg)
A: I’m so pleased the stories in Direct Sunlight had this effect on Dana, whose own short stories I admire so much (In the Not-Quite Dark is her most recent collection).
My hope is there will be believably vulnerable characters in each of my stories, and that despite whatever disappointments or frustrations they experience, they’ll nonetheless remain essentially generous with people.
I don’t find myself writing about many characters who are “bad”—i.e., people who intentionally set out to do harm to other people, but something I’m working on now has me delving into the darker human impulses, which has been an interesting challenge.
Q: How did you decide on the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?
A: Marisa and I talked about the order together; she rearranged a couple of the stories at the beginning, but other than that, the collection is in the order in which I originally sent it to her.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a couple of different novels—one is about two-thirds drafted, the other I’m not very far into. Both have female POV characters and are set mostly in Chicago.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The short fiction anthology I edited that came out last October, Love in the Time of Time’s Up, has 17 short stories in it by 16 female writers, among them Gina Frangello, Lynn Freed, Elizabeth Crane, Amina Gautier, and Cris Mazza.
I hope readers seek it out, along with the novel in memos, Please Be Advised, that was published two weeks after Love in the Time of Time’s Up, which lampoons what I consider to be the absurdity and accidental sadness of corporate office culture.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Christine Sneed.
Q&A with Diane Zahler
Diane Zahler is the author of the new middle grade historical novel Wild Bird. Her other books include the middle grade novel Goblin Market. She lives in the Hudson Valley.
Q: What inspired you to write Wild Bird, and how did you create your character Rype?
A: I've been obsessed with the bubonic plague since I was a kid. The first research paper I ever wrote, in middle school, was on the plague! I was a medieval history major in college.
In 2009, I wrote a nonfiction book for a Lerner Books series called Pivotal Moments in History titled The Black Death. When I was researching it, I came across a story about a village in Norway where everyone died of plague -- except for one young girl. When she was discovered, she was so traumatized that she couldn't speak. The people who found her called her Rype, or wild bird.
Once I'd read about her, I had to write about her. To create her character I did some research on trauma and tried to imagine what that kind of nightmare might be like for a young person -- and in particular, a young person in 1350. It wasn't such a stretch. Young people today are suffering similar traumas caused by loss from Covid, by war, by living as refugees. Their stories are all around us.
Q: The writer Laurel Snyder called the book "A deeply moving tribute to the power of art and memory." What do you think of that description?
A: I can't express what that statement meant to me. Laurel so completely got what I was trying to do in the book.
Rype, my main character, becomes a trobairitz, a singer/songwriter, who tries to preserve and celebrate in her music her memories of those whom she's loved and lost. Through her art, she finds a way to cope with her trauma, and as she is able gradually to remember her life before and during the plague -- both the wonderful moments and the terrible ones -- she becomes a better musician and a stronger, more compassionate person.
Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: I had done a lot of the necessary research when I was writing The Black Death, but in historical fiction, there's always more to know. How did people dress? What did they eat? What were their houses like? The way I work is simply to write, and when I come to a place where I need more information, I dive into the Internet or a library.
As for surprising facts -- oh, there were so many! People in the 1300s had no idea how disease spread. They blamed it on bad air, on astrological conjunctions, on sin, on witches, on Jewish people (though the pope, Clement VI, issued a papal bull exonerating Jews from responsibility, which was very broad-minded for a medieval pope). They treated it with herbs, with tonics, with dried toads, with bleeding and cupping, with self-flagellation.
But the most shocking fact was the sheer number who perished. Though no one can make a truly accurate count, historians believe that between one-third and two-thirds of the population of Europe died. It's unfathomable. And it changed everything, from religion to education to the class system.
Q: I also wanted to ask you about your previous novel, Goblin Market. Why did you decide to write that book, and how would you describe the dynamic between your characters Lizzie and Minka?
A: I've always loved the poem "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti, and for years the idea of reworking it for middle-grade readers knocked around in my head.
Once I started, I found it really challenging -- the poem, of course, is intended primarily for adults, and there are many themes that run through it that might not work for young readers. I tried to keep in as much as I could; I hope Ms. Rossetti would approve.
In my book, Lizzie is neurodivergent, and Minka, her older sister, has always taken care of her. But once Minka is enchanted by goblins, the two girls reverse roles, and Lizzie is forced to confront her fears in an effort to save her sister.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm focusing on historical fiction right now. I have a completed manuscript and am half-finished with another, both set in Europe in the distant past. Everything else about them, of course, is top secret, so that's all I can tell you!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I actually finished Wild Bird right as Covid began. It was strange and horrifying to see the similarities between the two pandemics. Yes, we now know what viruses and bacteria are and how they're transmitted. Nevertheless, some people reacted with the same senseless fear and bigotry that people in the 14th century did.
When Laurel Snyder said in her blurb that she felt "a little more hope for the future" after reading my book, a weight lifted from me. I'd done at least part of what I set out to do: show that it's possible, even in the hardest of times, to live in a way that isn't controlled by ignorance and fear.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Diane Zahler.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)