Feeling festive

Today, I'd like to talk to you about festivities. Whatever your culture, religion, or faith, we all have our own festivities (and at various times of the year), and I think those are to be shared and enjoyed, understood and respected, throughout each community. Evidently, as it's December, most will notice that I, personally, celebrate Christmas. But, aside from that, I adore learning about all the other festivities that occur around the world throughout the year, whether it's Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al-FitrEid, Imbloc, We Tripantu, Hanukah, Christmas, The Chinese New Year, or one of the other many festive celebrations our great world has been gifted with.

So what does that mean for YA writing? Simply put, I'd love to see more of these wonderful, unique, individual expressions of faith in our young adult books. The understanding and knowledge that books can give us is important. Why do others believe differently than you? What gives us all a human commonality despite our own, individual faith?

In my own home, we have conflicting beliefs, but they unite us, rather than divide us. I'm compelled to find out more about this faith that isn't my own. To respect it, see its own truth, see the world through different eyes. Does it make me change my own belief? No and yes. No, my belief didn't change. However, what did change is that I could a) empathize and understand the other faith, and b) I am giving myself room to explore. After all, who says change is bad? Perhaps something will strike a chord with me one day, and I'll find my faith evolving. Who knows?

So here is my challenge to myself, and please feel free to play along - whenever there is a big religious festivity from a faith I don't know about, I'm going to put a book in my hands that tells me about it. Educates me. Enlightens me. Brings me further knowledge of our humanity. And if I'm lucky, it's going to come in the form of a YA novel.

Writing a good scare!

Hey guys!

Ah the month of Halloween is upon us! In just 21 days all the spooky and creepy will hit our doorsteps and homes. And I, for one, couldn’t be more excited. This is hands down my favorite holiday of the year. The haunting atmosphere connects with my eerie little W.I.P. So, I wanted to look at some fundamental elements that I think should be in a “good scare” book (just to be clear: this is only my ramblings, no one else’s. Also, I’m talking spooky, not full on horror – though some elements might overlap).

All right, let’s get to it.

When it comes to eerie, one of the first thing I think of is pacing. A spooky book isn’t going to be a languid walk in the park. It’s got to be fast and unpredictable at times, and then at others there needs to be a slow, but ever-increasing tension buildup. This can’t be just your average building of tension. This needs to build a particular atmosphere. It needs to be an increasing “heart in your mouth” feeling. Think about those old horror movies where the girl goes creeping around the house. Cheesy, yes. Effective? Also, yes. Most of us will still hold our breath, even though we know what’s going to happen. It’s human nature. Now, I’m not saying write an old-fashioned cheesy horror (but you can if you want!). What I’m getting at is the variation in pacing should go between these two. You need to build up, then be quick and unpredictable.

So, here’s where I want to build on atmosphere aside from it building your tension. Atmosphere is crucial for a spooky book. You need to decide what kind of atmosphere you want (and I do recommend either doing this before you write your first draft, or doing an entire edit pass focusing on just this aspect.) Are you looking for eerie and peculiar (ala THE ACCIDENT SEASON by Moira Fowley-Doyle) or are you looking for something off-kilter and uncomfortable (ala CORALINE by Neil Gaiman)? Perhaps you’re going for an old-style Goosebumps book, or what about something like ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake? Whatever your choice, you need to think ahead – what makes an eerie tone as opposed to a “hold your breath” tone? Word choice, word choice, word choice. Sentence structure. Choice of details. Be careful in your choices.

Then, of course, there’re characters to talk about. You can have a cast of completely normal characters, of course, but you can up the spook by having odd characters, too. Think about HOW TO HANG A WITCH by Andriana Mather. The Descendants are plain unusual – descended from the witches from the Salem witch trials, all dressed in black, and giving fierce looks, and a closed circle kind of feel.

Plot – well, this one goes without saying. But just a reminder: twists, turns…the unexpected, and the guessing game of who is going to do what. And then you have the “this is weird…what the heck is going on?” And the “is there going to be something terrifying in there?” Choose whatever plot you want, but make sure it keeps the creepy factor throughout!

All right. So, there are many, many more things that can make a novel spooky, but if I try and write them all here, I’ll end up with a book (and I’m not writing non-fiction lol), and there will be plenty that I miss. So this is just my little nook in the web to tell you the main things I look at on my first edit pass when it comes to spooky!

Happy Halloween to come, you guys!!!

Pitching your novel

So, it's just around the corner...Pitch Wars! Hurrah! This annual contest is great, so it means you have to get your pitch in order. However, Pitch Wars isn't the only contest that runs through the year. There are floods more, from Sun vs Snow, #PitMad, #KidPit, #DVPit, and so the list goes on. Because there are so many, this means that a writer needs to prepare a pitch. Actually, they'll need to do more than one, as there are various types of pitch:

1) A Twitter pitch - 140 characters or less, including the hashtags (usually including the contest hashtag, the age category, and sometimes the genre if it fits).

2) The elevator pitch - this gives a little more room to expand your pitch and add in some details.

3) Your query letter - this is where you can get into a little more meat - basically, it should read like the blurb of the back of a book.

Now, I'm not going to be greedy and talk about how to do all of these pitches myself, as I'm sure my fellow YATopia bloggers are going to have some super good advice to give you. But let's have a look at the Twitter pitch.

Lots of writers panic over a Twitter pitch. 140 characters, you shout? But hey, you took some of those away when you added the hashtags! I don't have 140 characters anymore. Good point. However, it is what it is, and we writers just have to get creative - because that's our job. When it comes to writing a Twitter pitch, most people have seen the general layout:

CHARACTER in SITUATION must DO SOMETHING to solve PROBLEM.

or

When CHARACTER learns/does/discovers CATALYST they must overcome OBSTACLE or STAKES.


There are plenty of other versions of these Twitter pitch formats. However, there are other ones that do well, too. For example, you can do the comp title pitch. Word of warning: Don't pitch two titles that are too similar (e.g. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS meets BEFORE I DIE). This doesn't show your market as the books are too similar. You need to show something fresh. For example: BONE GAP meets GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE (I'm not sure how that could be written, but if you have written that, it's going to catch someone's eye!). You also need to be careful of using comp titles that are too big (e.g. HARRY POTTER meets THE HUNGER GAMES). This is the equivalent of saying "my book is going to be a huge best seller and make lots of money" in a query letter. Your book may very well end up being that, but for now, keep it realistic. Otherwise, you'll make agents shy away.

The other thing to remember is to add a hint of what is unique about your book. What is the wow factor? What has your book got that everyone else's doesn't have? Now this is hard, I know that. But think of books like THE SCORPIO RACES for example - vicious sea horse races to the death? Wow. Or THE LUNAR CHRONICLES - science fiction fairytale retellings? Uh, double wow. This is super important, because you need to hook your agents trolling the contest feeds,

When it comes to pitching on Twitter, take time to think about your pitches. Don't just throw one together without much thought. Boil down your book to its essence. What is it your book is about? Not all the subplots. Not all the characters. Not all the generic "or the world will end", or "she will lose her true love". Give the agent something to catch their eye. "Children fight to the death" (we all know what that book is).

Sit down with your CPs and brainstorm. Root through your query letter for ideas. Re-read your book and pay attention to your core theme. Look through your synopsis. Do whatever it takes. Catch an agent's eye, and you're one step closer to becoming a published author!

Most importantly though...have fun!

Good luck Twitter pitch warriors!

Agentopia: Gabrielle Piraino

Welcome to the June edition of Agentopia! This month we have Gabrielle Piraino from DeFiore and Company in the spotlight.

About Gabrielle

Gabrielle Piraino was raised a Navy brat but has always called the East Coast home. As a kid, she could either be found with her nose in a book or clambering around outdoors collecting freckles, though not much has changed. She graduated early from St. Bonaventure University with a dual-B.A. in Honors Classical Languages and English. Trading upstate for the five boroughs, Gabbie then earned her Masters of Science in Publishing at Pace University in Manhattan. She has previously worked for both major commercial publishing houses and literary agencies alike, including Farrar, Straus & Giroux and most recently, AGI Vigliano. Gabbie joined the team at DeFiore and Company in the summer of 2016. Outside of the office, her hobbies include baking, crafts, rugby—though she’s retired from the pitch—losing miserably at Mario Kart, and befriending strangers to pet their dogs. 

When considering new projects, Gabbie is most drawn to strong narrative voices, unique world-building, and diverse casts of characters. Focused specifically on building long-term relationships with authors, she is currently accepting queries for sci-fi, fantasy, horror, thriller, and up-market chick lit (both Adult and YA). She’d also be happy to review queries from prospective author-illustrators for comics/graphic novels, as well as Children’s and Middle Grade stories with compelling characters. 

Children’s/YA Authors she can’t get enough of (in no particular order) include: Lewis Carroll, Philip Pullman, Leigh Bardugo, Gennifer Albin, Laini Taylor, Marissa Meyer, Orson Scott Card, Ann Aguire, Caragh M. O’Brien, Emmy Laybourne, Paulo Bacigalupi, and Ursula Le Guin.  

What is currently on your wish list?

At the top of my #MSWL right now is fast-paced horror. I’d love to represent a story that leaps off the page and forces me to sleep with the lights on. I’m continually on the look out for sci-fi/fantasy stories with strong character development and world-building. Own Voices projects, as applicable, are great too.

What's a personal turn-off in a query which is guaranteed to get the author rejected?

Please proofread your queries very carefully. Any egregious misspellings, letters addressed to different agents, or inability to follow my preferences/guidelines on our company website lose my attention very quickly. Personally, I also prefer to see the word count in the query letter. Bonus points if you spell my nickname correctly (but if you’re nervous, Gabrielle works just as well).

Do you google authors and if yes, what are you looking for?

I review links that the author has chosen to include with their query if I’m interested in requesting more material. Otherwise, I'll ask about the author’s internet platform after I’ve read the full manuscript. As I’m more active in fiction, the strength of the novel is my first priority. 

To submit to Gabrielle, send all queries to gabrielle@defliterary.com with “QUERY” in the subject line, as well as a brief plot summary; a brief, relevant bio; the first 50 pages in the body of the email; and a link to a website/portfolio for prospective illustrators. 

Character motivations as shown by Disney’s ‘Tangled’

Confession: I’ve not followed the theme this month. The closest I can get is that the weather in Tangled is really summer-y… and the Darling Buds of May is summer-y too….

Yeah OK it’s not linked.

Anyway, I was listening to Disney’s Tangled’s soundtrack yesterday (Yes it’s on my workout list) and as I was singing along to ‘I’ve Got a Dream’, I realised that Disney has basically whittled down one of the most important parts of fiction writing into a really catchy song. For those of you not Disney-inclined, this is sung by a group of scary pirates/thugs in a dodgy tavern, and it’s describing how even though they’re a bit murderous, they all have a dream that’s separate from their ‘day job’ of being violent.

I can’t directly quote the lyrics here due to copyright, but the opening of the song describes one pirate’s desire to become a concert pianist. (It’s so catchy, look it up.)

I know in YA writing we can’t be quite as obvious as Disney can, handily providing an exposition song to explain a character’s motivations, (if only) but the song is a really good reminder that no matter what character you’re creating they will ALWAYS have something driving them, and often more than one thing. So here we have a guy whose motivation seems to be money, taking out his anger on others, intimidating others etc… which is a bit of a 2D cliché, right? But then we’re told he actually wants to be a pianist. So, let’s say we were writing about this character and taking him out of a Disney realm, we could show his hidden motivation in subtle ways such as demonstrating his fondness for music; exploring his lack of opportunities to follow his dream growing up; maybe even having another character hear him secretly practising his tunes…

The song goes on to describe a multitude of cameo characters’ dreams, such as being a florist, doing interior design, being a mime artist, making cupcakes, knitting, sewing, performing puppet shows and collecting unicorns.

So now we have an ensemble cast who have suddenly become individuals with names, hobbies and aspirations, all in eight lines! Again, I know that when we’re writing YA we can’t just list what drives our characters, but if we know what they are as the writer, it will shine through in their actions; the way they speak and react to things and their understanding of other characters, which will all contribute to making them well-rounded 3D characters.

Within the song, we also have the main characters’ love interest sing about how his dream is to be ‘surrounded by bags of money.’ This is great, because it shows us how the character perceives his own motivation, whereas by the end of the film we know what will really make him happy is to find someone to share his life with. So now we start adding layers onto the motivations of our characters – what do they think drives them in comparison to what they ACTUALLY are looking for, if they were honest with themselves?

If you know all this, your characters will naturally demonstrate their motivations (hopefully in ways slightly more subtle than bursting into song,) within your writing.

And if nothing else, this post will ensure that you won’t be able to stop humming ‘I’ve Got a Dream’ for the rest of the day.

Lop of their heads!

Welcome to May, everybody! I'm extra happy this month, as it happens to be my birthday, which means I get to splurge a little.

Our awesome Sharon Johnston came up with the idea of "Killing your Darlings" for our May theme (don't you just love themes? In fact, you may (boom boom) have noticed a theme throughout our blog this year!). Yes, that was corny, but I really couldn't help myself.

There are a lot of ways to kill your darlings (it could be sentences, scenes, paragraphs, characters, dialogue, etc.). However, I'm going to talk about ones people rarely talk about. *Whispers dramatically* *long pause* Books. Yes, you heard me. Books. Sometimes you just have to cut that darling free. Hold on, let me explain. I mean this in two ways. Let me ease you into this by offering you the abstract version:

1) At some point or another, you're going to have to stop editing, polishing, tweaking, and adjusting that baby bird book of yours and cut the apron string - let it fly out into the agent slush pile, or out on submission, or out to your CPs. I know it's hard. You want your darling to stay your darling forever. But what if someone hurts it? Doesn't like it? Says my characters are flat? Gasp - hate it?! Well, thems the breaks. I'm not being harsh here. It burns like hell. However, there are benefits. Feedback will help you improve. You'll learn about subjectivity. You'll gain a new perspective. But, you'll also learn that, well, you can't please everyone, and you can't be perfect. And people will have read your book. That's the point of becoming a published author, right? So, as hard as it is, kill that darling string of yours, and let your baby book go.

Okay, that wasn't so bad, now was it? Good. Glad we're on the same page. This bit, though, is going to be tougher:

2) Sometimes you're going to actually have to kill your book. I mean it's got to go. Your book might be written in the wrong tense - give it up and start again, darling. It might be the wrong character POV. That's right - kill the POV and choose another one. It might be the wrong story. WHAT? The wrong story? But I wanted to write that story! Hey, calm down. No one's arguing with you there. What I'm saying is that your story may have went off track. What you wanted to write might have gotten muddled up, your vision changed, your characters went off track...in fact, any number of things could have derailed your story. That means you have to kill that darling story and start from scratch. Painful, I know, but a good writer always does what's best for their vision, and if that means starting again, then that's what you've got to do.

There you go. That's killing your darling. Ah, wait, one more thing. Don't shoot me, but sometimes a book just doesn't work for publishing. It might be a saturated market, the book might not just have a wide enough appeal, it might be too niche of a market, it might not fit comfortably on the book shelves. There are a lot of reasons a book might not get published. I'm afraid that at some point, you might have to kill one of your books. I have a few dead ones myself. That doesn't mean I don't love them. It doesn't mean they weren't worthy. It just means that right now, you need to work on something fresh. Make sure you're moving forward, being objective, and remember...this is a business, as well as an art.

Agentopia: Patricia Nelson

Welcome to the May edition of Agentopia! This month we have Patricia Nelson from Marsal Lyon Literary Agency in the spotlight.

About Patricia:

Patricia Nelson joined Marsal Lyon Literary Agency in 2014. She represents adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction, and is actively building her list.

In general, Patricia looks for stories that hook her with a unique plot, fantastic writing and complex characters that jump off the page. On the adult side, she is seeking women’s fiction both upmarket and commercial, historical fiction set in the 20th century, and compelling plot-driven literary fiction. She’s also looking for sexy, smart adult contemporary and historical single title romance. On the children’s side, Patricia is open to a wide range of genres of YA and MG, with particular interest in contemporary/realistic, magical realism, mystery, science fiction and fantasy. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents.

What is currently on your wish list?

Diverse books and #ownvoices stories is my #1 wish list item -- like many others who work in the publishing industry, I think it's SO important to expand the voices and stories we're hearing in kidlit. Beyond that, I would love to find a haunting YA contemporary fantasy with gorgeous, literary writing. I'm always looking for page-turning YA fantasy or sci-fi with a compelling heroine and a premise and setting that feels truly unique. I also like YA contemporary, but generally tend toward the upper-YA or more literary side with a very strong sense of place and characters who are complicated (and might even be a bit tough to love) -- I often use AMERICAN GIRLS by Allison Umminger, in which a teen girl spends the summer in LA with her sister and becomes fascinated by the Manson murders, as an example of the kind of contemporary YA I tend to fall for. And I'd love to take on a contemporary YA with a teen girl protagonist who reminds me of the amazing young women who write for ROOKIE and TEEN VOGUE: smart, socially and politically engaged, explicitly feminist, fighting to resist and to build a better world. I think a lot of teens are more interested in social justice than adults give them credit for, especially now, and it would be great to see that trait in more YA characters.

What's a personal turn-off in a query which is guaranteed to get the author rejected?

It drives me crazy when the querier frames themselves as the savior of YA! You'd be surprised how often people say things like: "Unlike all the vampires and dystopias being published in YA now, my book has substance." Not only is this an inaccurate characterization of the publishing landscape, it's patronizing and dismissive of all the other brilliant writers out there working in this genre -- and it makes me think you won't be a positive member of the writing/publishing community, which is not a great sign for career longevity. When a query starts with a comment like this, I'm almost definitely going to send a pass.

Do you google authors and if yes, what are you looking for?

I only look up authors after I've read the query and pages and I'm interested, but if I like the writing, yes, I do turn to google. Mostly, I want to see that you've at least dipped your toe into being a person on the internet, because that will be a necessity once you have a book to promote. For me, I hope to find that a querying writer has at least one of: a twitter account, an instagram account, a tumblr, or at least a simple website with an "about me". It doesn't matter to me how many followers you have, though!

If you're on social media, I do tend to scroll back and look at posts to get a sense of your personality and whether I think we'd get along. It's not make-or-break, but I do view it positively when I see that authors are posting about what they're reading and/or the writing process, and when they're engaging with other writers online, which tends to be a good sign that you're engaged in your genre and starting to build a community. The big red flag is trash-talking the industry or the querying process, or a general tone of persistent negativity.

To submit to Patricia,  send a query letter with the first ten pages of the manuscript with the word QUERY in the email’s subject line to: Patricia@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com.

Further submission guidelines can be found here.

Follow Patricia on Twitter at @patricianels

Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Kill Em

I had this character once whom I adored. Her dialogue was so easy to write and she was young, scrappy, and hungry, and I'm not giving away my shot. Oh  I loved her! I even named her after my childhood best friend and this character, in my mind, became a vital part of the book.

Everyone who read this character LOVED her and so when I first got a note from a CP that they loved the character, but that she didn't seem to have enough agency and kind of seemed pointless, I was like, "What? WRONG."

I brushed off that note and kept revising, but there was something about it that stuck with me. As I kept revising, I began to see what my CP was talking about. Her role in the story was spotty. She didn't seem to have enough of a purpose to be on the page all the time. She lacked a lot of depth outside her role of spurring the MC onto new plot points. Yeah she was funny and sarcastic and challenged my MC, but was that enough?

Sadly, I realized that my most favorite character I've ever written needed to go. Y'all, I was sad. It was truly like killing one of my kids—or like taking a time machine and altering the space-time continuum so that there was no kid ever in the first place.

It ended up being a much better thing. I was able to combine her character with another one and it COMPLETELY changed the pacing of the story for good. More than the benefit to the story, having the guts to cut her character (and all those awesome dialogue lines) gave me courage as a writer. Sometimes it can be hard to cut thousands of words. You're afraid you'll never get them back—as if revising them out means 10k less words you'll ever be able to write in your lifetime. But we both know that's not true.

Killing your darlings is a tough, but necessary tool writers have to use. We can't be a slave to our characters or even plots, we have to be always be writing in service to the story.

So if you're having a tough time with a particular plot line or a character, take a risk and remove it. See what happens! You might just find your story is stronger because of it.

Want to connect?

Find me at www.destinycole.com

or follow me on Twitter or Instagram: @destinywrites

When NOT to Take Criticism

Several contests opened this spring, so in a few weeks, authors will be getting back scoresheets and . . . criticism. 

But not all criticism is helpful. “I don’t like this character” is one of those unhelpful comments. What isn’t liked? Personality? Reactions? Hair color? I mean, it could be any reason, and if you don’t know the why, how can you improve? 

Then there’s other criticism that means well, but is wrong. You just know it’s wrong. For example, my debut novel, Betrayal of the Band, that releases in August contains three POVs. Five years ago, when I was just starting the story, I met with an established author at a conference for feedback. She advised telling the story from one POV. She also informed me that my plot was lacking excitement. 

I left the meeting feeling less than encouraged. I’m a plotter, so on the one hand, at least I only had to throw out a synopsis and a scene list, not an entire manuscript. On the other hand, did I really need to abandon my vision and create an entirely new story?

I spent a couple of weeks thinking and praying about the story and the concept, and I came to the conclusion that the story was supposed to be about the band. Not one character’s journey, but the journey of the band. So one POV wasn’t right for the story. But while I knew I wouldn’t take that advice, that didn’t mean the rest of her advice should be ignored. Confident in my decision to keep the multiple POVs and tell the story of the band, I tackled my synopsis and scene list again. I analyzed books with multiple, equal POVs and brainstormed until I had a better manuscript to write. Three years and two rounds of edits later, I received an offer of publication.

So not all constructive criticism or well-meaning (and well-respected!) advice should be taken. But that doesn’t mean the criticism isn’t useful. Examine your story and determine why you shouldn’t listen. Perhaps the advice is off the mark, but that doesn’t mean the story isn’t lacking in some other way. And you’ll have a strong argument for your decision!

Easter Author Surprise!

Happy Easter everyone! As some of you might know, I live on the wonderful island of Cyprus (near Greece), and Easter is a very big deal over here, so it’s time for us to celebrate! For me, there’s no better way to celebrate than to tell you all about the release of my close friend’s (and CP’s) debut book: THE CASTAWAYS by Jessika Fleck. First off, just look at that cover.

Isn’t that the most gorgeous thing you’ve seen? It reminds me of Aslan from Narnia, and you can’t not fall in love with that. So, go ahead, read the blurb below, and be super lucky and pre-order. Trust me, this book will whisk you away (and I’m not just saying that because Jessika’s my friend. Her book is actually really good).

BLURB

The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous.

Renowned for its infamous corn maze…and the kids who go missing in it.

When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undetectable island where a decades-long war between two factions of rival teens is in full swing.

Trapped, Olive must slowly attempt to win each of her new comrades’ hearts as Will—their mysterious, stoically quiet, and handsome leader—steals hers.

Olive is only sure about one thing: her troop consists of the good guys, and she’ll do whatever it takes to help them win the war and get back home. 

You can pre-order Jessika's wonderful novel at:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Castaways-Jessika-Fleck-ebook/dp/B06XK9CW4H/

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-castaways-jessika-fleck/1125955437?ean=9781633759183

Right, we all want to know the juicy details from an author, but we want extra special questions since it’s Easter, right? Of course we do. So, let’s see what we can rustle up.

      Welcome to the blog, Jessika! Thank you so much for joining us. What we want to know is why did you choose YATopia. I’m sure some people think it’s simply promotion, but I know that isn’t true (see, I told you I know her). How is it we managed to entice you here?

First off, I’m so thrilled to be here and to have my lovely and talented friend, Fiona, interviewing me! Talk about win, win! I’ve been following YATopia for years now. I love the interviews (I’ve found some amazing books for my TBR list here!) as well as the posts on everything from craft to inspiration to editing to query etiquette!

     

      Well shucks, we’re happy you picked us. Alright, dual questions: Why did you write the Castaways? And what does it feel like to be pulled into such a dramatic world full of intrigue and danger?

I wrote The Castaways when I had two ideas come together in a struck-by-lightning sort of moment (Sometimes, cheesy as it sounds, it really does happen like that!). Part one was the story of a girl being bullied. At the time, I had a friend whose daughter was being brutally bullied at school and their struggle was heartbreaking. I knew there was an emotional and important story there. Part two happened when, around the same time, we took our daughters to a pumpkin patch for Halloween and, of course, we went into the corn maze. We had to have been the only ones there because it was dead silent and when we decided to split up and race to the finish, my youngest daughter and I silently roamed the corn stalks. As we twisted around corners and hit dead ends, I was struck: what a perfect place to run away or hide. And then, inevitably, the what ifs began to spiral and the beginnings of The Castaways was born. As for what it’s like to be thrown into this dangerous fantasy world... I suppose I’m used to it. I definitely tend toward telling darker tales in strange settings. So, I was quite at home.

      What’s your favorite moment in the book? Why is it your favorite?

This is hard (especially without giving away spoilers), but I’d have to go with when Olive is tasked to take Bug to bathe in the springs. It was a fun, sweet scene to write.

Since it’s Easter, I’m going to ask…do you think the time of year you set your plot in helps mold your plot? Would the plot be different in Christmas/Easter/Thanks Giving/the summer holidays? Why or why not?

Definitely. The Castaways is set in the fall when carnivals and festivals are most frequent in the US. Also, I’m pretty sure corn, as a crop, grows in the summer, is harvested, and then, in some instances, the left overs are made into mazes in autumn. This book WOULD NOT work without the corn maze. If set in Easter, it’d have to be a tulip maze – not near as creepy. Thanksgiving might work, but the maze would be pretty dried out by then. Christmas would be too late (Pine tree maze? Probably not.). The summer is too hot, I needed a bit of bite in the air (even if set in Texas). Yeah, The Castaways had to be set in the fall.

      Do you have any “Easter Eggs” hidden in your plot? Can you give us a clue (no, seriously, we need a clue!).

I’m the worst at planting Easter eggs! Sometimes, I’ll admit, they show up unintentionally (that’s how truly bad I am at them). I do include Easter eggs across books. You’ll find some seriously recurring items or mentions... things like names and locations and pop culture references. Even sometimes made up plants from fantasy worlds. Hint: a plant from the island on The Castaways will resurface in my next YA novel, THE OFFERING.

      If you could add any one character from another book to your book who would it be and why? Or would you choose not add anyone else?

Hmm... I’m a big fan of animal companions (as you know ;) and I love polar bears. Now... I know, a polar bear would never work on an island, but you said ‘any one character’, so I’d love to have had Iorek Byrnison from the His Dark Materials trilogy there on the island (inserted interviewer's note: I adore your choice!). The kids definitely could have used a calm, voice of reason and a great big cuddle.

      We always ask authors what one piece of advice they would give an aspiring author (and of course we want to know that, too, so spill it!), but we have another question, as well: if you could go back in time before you wrote the Castaways, what would you have told your former self from your experiences?

My one piece of advice for aspiring authors is to persist. I know it’s like the author’s rallying cry, but it’s the biggest piece of truth I can offer: Don’t. Give. Up. As for what I’d tell myself if I knew pre The Castaways what I know now... Probably to get to the island sooner! I ended up cutting thousands of words from the beginning that, in the big scheme of things, just weren’t necessary and definitely slowed the pacing. I’d also tell myself to put my pantsing pants away and PLOT! 

      What was the hardest moment in writing your book? Why?

The hardest moment was finding a balance between the two very different sections of the book. Part of it takes place in modern day, small town Texas while the other is on a fantasy island. Eventually, (thanks to my editor) I figured out I needed to cut the beginning significantly and show more of Olive’s background throughout the book instead of up front. This worked wonderfully in regard to getting into the real action of the book as well as not bogging the reader down with erroneous details. Those editors... They know their stuff!

      Finally, how are you going to celebrate Easter (we want everyone to get to know you, not just one book – after all, you’re an author to look out for, as I know you have some very special books coming up soon!)?

My daughters aren’t little bitties anymore (they’re 10 and 12), but they still get baskets from the Easter Bunny who always leaves a sneaky scavenger hunt for them (which, incidentally, gets more and more difficult the older they get). Also, on Easter’s Eve, we’ll dye eggs per tradition

Now that we know all your secrets, I’m going to give you a tough one. Choose one of your characters (any one of them), and tell us how they’d celebrate Easter?

Bug! She’d be sure to trap a cave full of chickens and would gather piles of eggs herself. Then she’d forage for different plants and berries to use as dyes and hand paint each and every one, being sure to make a special egg for each of her fellow Lions. (She’d also be sure to stash a basket out of sight from Tilly so she and Charlie and Jude could have an extra-messy, secret egg fight!)

Thank you so much Jessika for joining us on YATopia. It’s a pleasure to see such a great debut author about to make it big on our blog, and we’re super excited to see how everyone will love THE CASTAWAYS!

Wait, hold on a minute (oh come on, you can’t get away from us that easy!). Bonus round: Give us a paragraph, one that’s not in your book, that never made it in there, but you still love!

It’s been my pleasure being here—thanks for having me! <3

Okay, this is fun! Originally, I gave a glimpse into how Olive and her BFF, Tawny met. Here’s a snippet of that elementary school meeting:

              ‘“I’m Tawny.”

”My name’s Olive.”

“Oh!” Her face lit up and I braced myself for her to flee. Instead she zipped open her lunch bag, ferociously dug through it, and pulled out a small container of black and green olives, setting the jar between us.

              “Want some? They’re my faaavorite.” She smiled, removing her pink sparkly retainer and setting it on a napkin.

              We laughed, divided up the olives, and have been sitting together since.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessika Fleck is an author, unapologetic coffee drinker, and knitter — she sincerely hopes to one day discover a way to do all three at once. Until then, she continues collecting vintage typewriters and hourglasses, dreaming of an Ireland getaway, and convincing her husband they NEED more kittens. Her YA debut, THE CASTAWAYS (Entangled TEEN), releases 4/3/17. Her next YA novel, THE OFFERING (Swoon Reads/Macmillan) is due out in the fall, 2018. Jessika is represented by Victoria Marini of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.