5 Questions with...Holly Black!

by Abby

Fantasy, romance, and girlboss MCs have always been the kinds of books I’ve loved reading. Once I picked up The Wicked King by Holly Black, I knew I was hooked. Although I hadn’t realized it was the second book in the Folk of the Air series, after I finished it, I went back to the first, The Cruel Prince. Holly Black has a way of making the fae world feel like a place you want to walk into. And because of that, when I got the chance to interview her, I didn’t pass it up. 

Question 1: Was there a character that you personally related to or one that was inspired by someone in your life? 

Response: I related to all of the characters in different ways. I am not very like Jude, but I understand her and there are aspects of her that I embody (like paranoid overthinking). None of the characters are inspired by specific people, although I will occasionally lift observations of specific moments or phrases from friends. Writers are magpies! We steal everything, but by the time we’re done with it, it usually no longer resembles where it came from. 

Question 2: What advice would you give to a writer that keeps giving up? 

Response: The best thing you can do is try to write a little every day. It’s not romantic and often it doesn’t feel at all good, but putting yourself in front of a laptop consistently is how books get written. Lots of folks give themselves little treats for hitting certain goals, like stickers or candy. Keeping track of a daily word count helps you see how it all adds up. 250 words a day for a year gets you 90K, a decently long book! Oh, and once you pick a story, your brain will throw lots of other lures at you. Don’t abandon a project until you get to the end of it. Otherwise, you will wind up an excellent and practiced writer of beginnings, with no practice at all with landing the plane. 

Question 3: Has music ever inspired you to write? 

Response: Yes! I have playlists on Spotify for most of my books, if you want to go sleuthing. 

Question 4: If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what would you say/tell her? 

Response: “Get to the end. Stop going back to the beginning and revising for the thousandth time. Also, buy a decent pair of boots, some statement earrings, and if you wear black dresses the rest of the time, no one will notice." 

Question 5: When you first started writing, who did you look up to or how did you know you wanted to write? 

Response: Because I was such a reader as a kid, I always wanted to write. When I was in middle school I found a copy of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and I read it to tatters. It inspired me to write a terrible novel about vampires and dragons, sort of a mash up of Interview with Lord of the Rings. While it was indeed terrible, it got me in the practice of writing. In terms of people I most wanted my writing to sound like — probably the British fantasy writer, Tanith Lee. 

It was truly an honor to ask one of my favorite authors these questions. Considering that it might have been a slim chance for her to get back to me, I'm grateful for the opportunity most don’t get. Holly Black has a hectic schedule, so I give thanks for taking the time to answer! 

Check out a Holly Black book at Winter Park Library!

5 Questions with...Axie Oh!

by Enola

 

Photo credit https://www.axieoh.com

Recently, I had the great pleasure of interviewing an amazing New York Times bestselling author, Axie Oh, for the Winter Park Library’s Teen Book Guild “5 Questions With…” series. She is an author of many great books, such as XOXO, ASAP, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, and The Floating World duology starter. Axie Oh writes many YA novels inspired by Korean culture, history, K-dramas, K-pop, and folklore. 

  

Q: What inspired you to write your books like ASAP, or The Girl Who Fell Beneath, and are any of the characters based off of people you know?

 

For ASAP, I was inspired by my love of K-pop, visits to Seoul (the vibrant capital city of South Korea), and second chance romances, like the classic Persuasion by Jane Austen. For The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, I was inspired by my love of fairytale retellings and Korean myths and legends, as well as Hayao Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away. 

 

The characters aren’t based off anyone in particular except for, perhaps, Mina’s older brother, Joon, from The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, who was somewhat based off my older brother.

 

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer and what’s something readers might not know about one of your books?

 

I wanted to be a writer after high school, when I entered college. I took classes in fiction writing and poetry and started to share my work with others (friends, peers, teachers, and online). Readers might not know that it took eight years for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea to become published. I first wrote it in 2014, and it wasn’t published until 2022. Around twenty or so editors passed on publishing the book before it found its home with the perfect editor and publisher.  

 

Q: What was the most challenging scene or book to write, and why?

 

The most challenging scene in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea was a scene that occurs in chapter three, when Mina meets Shin, Namgi, and Kirin for the first time. I had to juggle introducing three new characters, one of whom is masked for most of the chapter, while also making the scene exciting and move the plot forward. The hardest book for me to write so far was The Floating World because I sold it on what was basically a concept (a retelling of Korean celestial maidens set in a steampunk fantasy world) and then had to discover the characters, world, and plot from there! 

 

Q: Which character out of all your books are you most attached to and do you have a favorite line or chapter in one of your books?

 

I’m definitely attached to Mina from The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, and one line that I like that I don’t see quoted as often is from the first chapter: Behind them, the dragon rises silently out of the water, its long neck extending into the sky. Seawater falls off its dark blue scales, dropping like coins onto the boat’s deck.

 

The line that I write when I sign books is: Don’t chase fate. Let fate chase you. 

 

Q: Do you have any advice or words for aspiring authors?

 

Your first reader is always yourself: write the story that calls to you, with characters that you can’t stop thinking about. Please your inner reader before you please anyone else. On a practical level, start with a messy first draft, and try to reach “the end” even if you have to skip whole scenes. After you’ve reached the end and know the story beats and characters arcs, you can go back and revise the story to make it really shine. 

 

 

Thank you so much to Ms. Oh for taking the time to do the Winter Park Library’s Teen Book Guild “5 Questions With…” interview, I greatly appreciate it. 

 

I hope you enjoyed getting to read her answers as much as I did, and learning more about her amazing books and her author career. You can check out ASAP, XOXO, Rebel Seoul, The Floating World, and The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea at the Winter Park Library!

5 Questions With...Rex Ogle!

Photo provided courtesy of Rex Ogle

Written by Ava M.
Grade 8

Welcome back to a new round of 5 Questions With, where members of the Teen Book Guild have the chance to ask five questions of a favorite author. Recently, I had one amazing opportunity to connect with Rex Ogle, author of Road Home, a memoir, When We Ride, a YA novel written in verse and many more! He writes many different types of books such as graphic novels, memoirs, books in verse and of course YA! 

1. When you first decided to pursue a writing career, what was the most difficult thing to overcome?  

REX:  The amount of people saying "NO" that I wasn't prepared for.  And actually, there were a lot less "NO's" than just agents and editors never replying.  Or even replying and then ghosting me.  But now I believe that is par for the course when choosing artistic endeavors.  It's so hard to break in, but once you have one, it's easier to get another and another and so on.  But that first one?  That's the hardest.  Though it took me a long time to realize I shouldn't think of a "NO" as defeat but instead as a badge of honor because I put myself out there.  And if you never take a swing, you're never gonna hit the ball.   

2. When creating the characters of Diego and Lawson, were any of the character elements based on people or events from your own life? 

 REX:  I'd say the book is about 70% based on true life events. My senior year, my best friend was in fact a drug dealer, and there were times when i drove him to drug deals and did my homework in the car.  They say "write what you know".  I always found that difficult when i wrote fantasy and sci-fi and horror, but for this book it came quite naturally.  

3. If someone reads your novel When We Ride, what message would you want them to take away after reading it?  

REX:   My main focus is that they realize kids who do bad things aren't bad people.  Teen drug dealers aren't failing society.  Society is failing them.  If they hadn't been put in a situation where they have to help their parents pay bills or provide food, then they wouldn't be doing something dangerous to earn money.  Sometimes good kids do bad things for good reasons.  We shouldn't look down on them. 

4. Are there any details in the novel that a reader might overlook but that play a crucial role in the plot's development? 

REX:  I can't think of any.  Writing in verse, there's so little to read, which means the story itself is delivered in a very concentrated format.  There are fewer words, so each one means so much more.  

5. This book is told mostly from Diego’s perspective, with Lawson’s perspective appearing at the very end. If you could write from another character’s perspective, whose would it be? 

REX:  Every character in everyone of my books has a larger story.  But I always choose who I think would be best to tell the story.  In this situation, it has to be Diego.  If it was told from anyone else's perspective the story would be completely different.  If I had to choose one though, it would be Lawson.  It would be intersting to see his perspective.  But I always think it's wonderful to see circumstances through different eyes.  It helps all of us develop empathy that is much-needed in our world, especially now.  

A huge thank you is in order to Rex Ogle! We highly appreciate all of your considerate responses. 

You can check out When We Ride and more of Rex's work at the Winter Park Library! 

5 Questions With...Mary E. Pearson!

Written by Anna M.
Grade 12

Recently, I had an incredible opportunity to meet bestselling author Mary E. Pearson and ask her five in-the-know questions. It’s not every day you get to meet such a creative authoress and have a heart-to-heart conversation with her. As an amateur writer, it was truly amazing to discuss not only her writing techniques but also her journey to where she is today (and to where she is going).

Q. When do you know you wanted to be an author, and what were the steps you took to get there?

5 Questions With...Mazey Eddings!

Written by Luke M.
Grade 12

Welcome to another addition of 5 questions with…, where teen library volunteers get to interview their favorite YA authors and ask them 5 questions about their books, careers, or even both. Today I had the privilege of speaking with Mazey Eddings. While she mostly writes adult literature, she made her mark in the YA market last year with Tilly in Technicolor, a story about two neurodivergent teens who form a connection with each other over a chaotic summer.

Q: When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in writing?

I came about it in a roundabout way, I think. As an undiagnosed autistic and ADHD only child of divorced parents, I spent a lot of time on my own. Social interactions didn’t come naturally to me, and I was always left feeling like I was looking through a window at my peers as they forged friendships and I sort of just… didn’t fit. But my greatest solace and source of relationships came from reading. I read everything I could get my hands on, and every book was this portal into understanding human nature better, safely going on adventures, and finding connections with characters. My love of reading really put authors on a pedestal for me, and writing a book was kind of unfathomable in my mind. I did take a lot of creative writing classes in middle school and high school, and I was even in this club called Power of the Pen where we would travel to different high schools and participate in writing competitions (essentially like a sports team for writing nerds lol). But, like I said, the idea of having an actual career as a writer seemed outside of my realm of possibilities, so I pursued a degree in my other love— science. I then went on to dental school where I had a bit of a quarter life crisis and was desperate for a creative escape to deal with the stress of my program. I rediscovered my love of reading and, for the first time in a long time, I started writing again. And I realized I couldn’t stop. I completed my first full length novel, A Brush with Love, while in school and was so in love with the characters and story, I decided to pursue publishing it because I had nothing to lose by trying. Eventually, the right people said yes to my work, and I now get to call myself an author and I still pinch myself that I’m so lucky.

Q: What inspired you to write Tilly in Technicolor?

My first three books were adult fiction, but my editor works on both adult and YA books, and she asked me if I’d be interested in writing a YA novel with an ADHD protagonist. My immediate answer was “YES AND HERE ARE ALL MY IDEAS FOR IT!!” I originally imagined the story to be singularly Tilly’s, a coming of age novel that normalized the fear and anxiety that comes with that transition from teenager to being technically an adult and not knowing what you want to do with your life. I think there’s so much unfair pressure on young people to know exactly what they want to do and have an iron-clad plan on how to get there that we end up stressing them out during their teen years when they should be experiencing adolescence and learning who they are first before they have to decide what they want to be. I also intended the novel to be more focused on Tilly’s relationship with her sister, Mona. While the latter is definitely a subplot of the book, when I started writing Tilly, Oliver popped up on the page and refused to leave. He was such a surprise to me in the best way, and his love of colors and color theory as a way to navigate and understand the world felt so special to me. The novel ended up being about how to honor who you are, discover what you want from the world, and take time to enjoy life exactly where you are in it instead of rushing to have it all figured out. And, obviously, finding people you love and that love you along the way.

Q: Were Tilly and/or Oliver based on people in your life?

Tilly and Oliver are uniquely themselves, as are all of my characters. They ended up being two people I would have loved to be friends with in high school. They’re different, they’re oddballs, and they’re so unapologetically themselves; I know I would have been so drawn to them as friends in high school (and now!)

Q: If you had the opportunity to adapt Tilly in Technicolor into a film, who would you want to work with (directors, actors, etc.)?

Oh gosh, could you imagine?! Let’s collectively manifest that haha! I would love to see Tilly as a movie, I think the visual play with colors and the various settings could be so amazing to see on a screen, and I’d also just love to see autistic/ADHD teens portrayed in a happy, feel good rom-com that highlights their neurodivergence as beautiful aspects of their being. If I could have my pick of directors, I think I’d have to go with Greta Gerwig as the director. Everything she touches turns to gold, and I feel like she’s so intentional and thoughtful in the choices she makes in representing source material for the big screen. I’d trust her fully to show Tilly and Ollie in a way that’s celebratory and dynamic and honors their uniqueness. I also feel like it would be important and awesome to cast neurodivergent actors for the roles to really get authenticity in the portrayal!

Q: As a neurodiverse author yourself, do you think the future is bright for neurodiverse voices?

Yes! The future feels very bright. I see more and more neurodivergent stories popping up in fiction and getting the attention they deserve! I think part of this is due to more people feeling empowered to claim their diagnosis and speak on it—the good, the bad, and the beautiful—in a way that others can relate to and feel seen. It’s such an exciting time for neurodiverse representation in all forms of media, and I encourage everyone to share their stories however feels best!

Thank you to Mazey Eddings for giving very thoughtful responses to my five questions. Check out Tilly in Technicolor at the Winter Park Library today!

5 Questions With...Hamish Steele!

written by Luke M.
Grade 12

Welcome to another addition of 5 questions with…, where Teen Book Guilders connect with their favorite YA authors and ask them 5 questions about their books, careers, or even both. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with Hamish Steele, a London-based animator and writer best known for the Deadendia graphic novels, which have been adapted into the Netflix cartoon Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Q: Your website claims that you're an Animation Director, Comic-Book Creator and TV Writer. Which of these do you enjoy the most?

A: I love writing for TV but getting that kinda work is much harder. I wish I could do it more but I suppose by default comic-book creating is where I feel most at home. It's how most of my stories begin.

Q: What inspired you to create the Deadendia series?

A: DeadEndia began as an animated short on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel and while I always hoped it would go to series, it really did begin as a pretty self contained thing. But I just kept thinking about it and thinking about it and somehow everything I wanted to do with a comic book (supernatural stuff, queer representation, time travel, magic, teen drama) all felt like it had a place in this series. I really came up with DeadEndia as I went along, slowly expanding what was possible with this world with every page. I was inspired a lot by how free and anarchic psychedelic horror movies of the 70s and 80s were - stuff like House and Suspiria. So I felt very encouraged to let my imagination run wild.

Q: Do you see yourself in Norma, Barney, or any of the other characters in the series?

A: When I created the series, Barney was definitely who I saw myself more in. But I think Barney is who I wanted to be, and Norma what I really was. I wanted Norma to be relatable and at the time I hadn't received my autism diagnosis yet. Looking back, it's really obvious that that was the problems I was writing about through Norma. I really, really relate to her the most. But there's part of me in all the characters.

Q: The Deadendia series tackles a lot of sensitive issues, from sexuality to autism; is there anything that inspired you in real life to tackle these issues?

A: For all the demons and ghosts and stuff, DeadEndia is still meant to be set in the real world. And it's bizarre to not include real people in a real world setting. There's a lot of people who think the inclusion of a gay or trans person, or a person of color, is someone "forced diversity", as if there needs to be some story justification for that. But if you took any random street on Earth and made a show about all the people walking down it and you DIDN'T include those kinds of people, THAT would be forced. So it never really crossed my mind to include the kinds of people I hang out with in my stories. That's just how I see the world. And people come with baggage and it feels correct to write about it.

Q: What was it like adapting your books into the Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park?

A: Honestly, it was a blast. I feel so lucky. Truthfully, every day I feel lucky. How many people get this opportunity? The main thing I wanted to do with the show was allow it to be a collaborative experience. Making a comic book can be very solitary, so I was very excited to make Dead End with a team of writers and artists way more talented than myself. I really let them lead the way, only occasionally looking back to the books as a map if we got lost. I've written some things that if they were turned into movies or shows, I'd want a really faithful adaptation but for DeadEndia, it was already so anarchic, I encouraged us to not treat it with reverence.

Thank you to Hamish Steele! If you’re a fan of mystery and monsters, and want to support creative writers like Steele, check out the Deadendia books at the Winter Park Library and/or watch Dead End: Paranormal Park on Netflix.

 

5 Questions With... Abiola Bello!

By Grace H.

Abiola Bello is a London-raised, Nigerian author. A writer from a young age, Abiola grew up creating fantasy stories about strong, black female protagonists (now the Emily Knight middle grade series), knowing that she wanted this to become her career. 

Abiola recently published two holiday YA romance novels, Love in Winter Wonderland and Only for the Holidays (available in the U.S. this October!), and the following 5 questions will be in regard to these novels.

One of my favorite parts about both of your holiday novels is the setting, both within the bookstore in your first novel, and then Saiyan Hedge Farm in your second. They both take place during the holiday season, and the reader can feel that magic within every page. Were you inspired by any real-life places when crafting the setting and holiday vibes of your novel?

There's an independent bookshop on Stoke Newington High St which inspired Wonderland. It's not black owned but I envisioned Wonderland in that place. There's a lot of London, especially in Love in Winter Wonderland and its places that I've grown up around, that mean something to me. 

With Only for the Holidays, Mike's party is based on a real venue in Peckham, South London but Saiyan Hedge Farm itself was inspired by Google image search :) Also I was watching a lot of Bridgerton and wanted to create my own version with the Winter ball.

Is there a character in either novel that you felt especially drawn to while writing? Maybe one that you could relate to personally?

Tia is me! Just her moany side lol. All the stuff she hates, I hate too like horses, the countryside, poor communicators in guys! Boogs and Annika are also me - love to dance, straight talking, funny, can get along with everyone.

The most special character for me was probably Ariel as I had lost my dad while writing about her losing her dad so there were a lot of my emotions in her.

If you had to describe each of your holiday novels in one sentence, what would they be?

Ooh that's quite tricky. Okay, I will give it a shot.

Love in Winter Wonderland: “Two teenagers fall for each other as they try to save a Black-owned bookshop from closing down on Christmas Eve.”

Only for the Holidays: “A country boy and a city girl fake date but end up realising that their perfect partner is each other.”

You mention in the biography on your website that you're super passionate about writing diverse books that are inclusive for all people. Can you expand on what it means to you to write about black main characters in your novels?

It's definitely gotten better, but in the UK there are just not enough books with Black people as the main characters that aren't trauma-based. There's pretty much none in UK YA romance books, and it's important for me to show Black people in different lights and not always related to violence or slavery.

And finally, what comes next on your writing journey?

I just released The Love Dare on July 4th which is my third YA. I've finished my first adult book and I have a younger fiction series and a middle-grade out next year. I have an idea for YA but need to flesh it out first!

Thank you so much for speaking with us, Abiola!

5 Questions With...Vanessa Montalban!

By Grace H. 

Hello and welcome to the first post in part of the TBG’s new series: “5 Questions With…”!

Today we will be starting off with the local author of A Tall Dark Trouble, Vanessa Montalban! She was born in Miami, graduated from UCF, and now writes young adult fiction. A Tall Dark Trouble was her first novel! Without further ado, here are the 5 questions!

                               

First off, can you tell us a little bit about what inspired your debut novel?

Oh yes, so many things went into the inspiration for A Tall Dark Trouble. First, I'm a big fan of witchy stories. I rewatch Practical Magic every year, and the sisterly storyline always reminded me of my own sister! I was also really charmed by the idea of a love curse because it's such a common motif in Cuban/Caribbean lore. You'll usually have a family member who'll swear they were cursed by an old bruja (witch) on the island. The idea was already ruminating, but it wasn't until 2016 that it all came together. I was visiting my dad in Miami when the news that Fidel Castro had died was announced. Castro was the dictator of Cuba for over 50 years. All the streets of Miami were suddenly filled with people cheering and crying, waving the Cuban flag and hoping the news would spell freedom for their island. I felt the relief, the joy of my family, but at the same time, I felt disconnected from it. I didn't live through what they had lived through, or suffer what they had suffered. That's when I had the idea of writing a multi-generational story. I loved the idea of stepping back in time, into another generation's shoes and exploring how their experiences influenced them as people. It was also important for me to show how being a product of that inherited trauma, being part of the diaspora, affects you even when you're born and raised in the United States. Tossing in murder, mystery, and magic made it all the more fun to write.

If you had to describe your book in one sentence, what would you say?

An adventurous witchy story about three teens navigating love, magic, and murder!

What were some of your favorite scenes to write?

One of my favorite scenes to write was the final scene when it all came together! I know, sorry. That's really vague. It was just so cool to see how every character stepped into their power and conquered fears. And there's a high-speed chase! I also really loved writing the romantic moments between the characters. Each duo was so different from the other. There's also a scene when Delfi and Lela are making up after a sisterly fight, and it's a quiet scene in their house, but it felt so real while I was writing it.

What was your experience writing from the perspective of three different characters and two timelines? Was it difficult to keep track of?

Keeping track of the two timelines and figuring out where exactly they should intersect was incredibly difficult. Took a lot of work between me, beta readers, my agent, and my editor. We wanted it to flow together as organically as possible, so if I introduced a certain symbol or theme in the past chapters, I wanted it to carry through somehow in the current-day chapters. I also had to plan reveals to align with both timelines. On the other hand, writing from each perspective wasn't as hard for me. It felt natural to fall into that character whenever I had to switch to another point of view. I think it's because with every character I write, even the villains, they all carry some aspect of me, and it's always fun to think from another perspective, taking into account everything that's shaped that specific character.

And finally, what comes next on your writing journey?

Yes! Thanks so much for asking. I'm really excited about my next project. It releases in February 2025 through Zando Young Readers. It's another standalone YA paranormal/contemporary fantasy. A reimagining of La Cegua, a mythical creature from Nicaraguan folklore who lures men into the woods towards their doom. I'm hard at work with revisions now! After that, who knows? Hopefully, there'll be more to come.

Thank you so much for speaking with us, Vanessa! 

If you'd like to read her action-packed fantasy, A Tall Dark Trouble, check it out from Winter Park Library today!