Debut Author Interview: Lindsey Olsson and To Drown a Witch Giveaway and IWSG Post

 Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today, I’m excited to have debut author Lindsey Olsson here to share about her YA fantasy To Drown a Witch. I enjoy stories about witches and murder mysteries, and am excited to read Lindsey’s book. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

A criminal and a royal guard are drawn into the hunt for a dangerous witch—and an unexpected romance—in this YA enemies-to-lovers romantasy, perfect for fans of Heartless Hunter.

In Gadore, the Witch is feared above all else. Reborn into each generation, she is the only person with magic running innately through her veins, able to wield magic with a single thought.

So when guards across the city begin to drop dead, gruesomely murdered by violent and vicious magic, everyone knows the Witch has returned—and no one will be safe until she’s killed.

Toran is the Prince’s Crown, the most highly skilled fighter in the King’s Guard. Tasked with the responsibility of leading the hunt for the Witch, Toran tries to focus on his assignment to forget the ghosts of his past. And after he learns of Nes, a thief with an uncanny ability to sniff out magic, he forcibly recruits her into joining his hunt.

As the two face deadly magic and otherworldly threats, their mutual dislike soon turns to something more electric, and they find themselves drawn to each other in ways they’d never imagined. But the Witch is always a step ahead of them, and with bodies piling up, secrets threaten to come to light—secrets that could destroy everything from the fragile trust between them to the very city of Gadore itself. 

Before I get to my interview with Dana, I have my post for the Insecure Writers Support Group. 

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.  

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

The awesome co-hosts this month are:  Shannon Lawrence, Diedre Knight, Liza, and Pat Garcia! 

Optional Question:  As a writer/author what is something you regret? Or something that you wish you'd done differently in your writing process? 

I don’t really have any regrets. I enjoyed the creative process of creating stories. In a time when I was crazy busy with my job as a lawyer, a parent, and caregiver to my late husband, I felt like it was something I did for me. And I would never have been the blog host of Literary Rambles if I hadn’t joined the writing community. So, I’m really grateful I took the plunge and started writing, even when I had no idea how to write a book. 

Interview With Lindsey Olsson

 
Hi Lindsey! Thanks so much for joining us.
 
1.  Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
 
Growing up, I loved to read, especially stories with hidden magic. I loved the idea that there was more to the worlds in these novels than the mundane and sometimes exercised my imagination by imagining our world to be the same. I wanted to be a writer since I first learned to write way back in the first grade. Writing stories, specifically fiction, quickly became my favorite assignment in school. When given the freedom, I wrote as many stories as I could—stories about magic wands and visits with kings and mysteries only children could solve. Eventually, I realized I didn’t have to wait for a school assignment to write fiction and began writing on my own. I did a creative writing independent study while in high school and majored in creative writing in college. A few years after that, I went back to school to earn my MFA in creative writing for children and young adults. It took me years to truly understand what it takes to become a published author and to hone the discipline I needed to succeed as one.
 
2. Where did you get the idea for To Drown a Witch?
The idea for To Drown a Witch came to me during a writing prompt session in grad school. I was working on a different novel at the time and had planned to continue that YA contemporary story. However, during that prompt session, I wrote what later became the “Before” section of To Drown a Witch. I knew I was not going back to my YA contemporary novel the moment I wrote the last line of that “Before” section. I would have to say it was that last line that really spurred the rest of the story. From then on, the idea for To Drown a Witch consumed me and slowly Nes and Toran’s stories found their way onto the page.
 
3. That’s a cool way to come up with a story idea. Did you plot out this story, or were you a pantser? Did your process change at all as you wrote your story?

After I wrote the “Before” section, my inspiration and my desire to write this new story were incredibly high. Without any idea where the story was going, I very quickly wrote 40,000 words. But then, probably just as quickly, I stopped. Because those first 40k words were not the story I so desperately wanted to tell. Somewhere between my brain and the page there had been a miscommunication. At the time, my main character, Nes, was called Vanesla and she was nothing like the character in my head. Vanesla was annoying and whiny and, frankly, I hated her. On top of that her story felt far too simple compared to the layers of the “Before” section. So I scrapped those 40,000 words and started over. In the next draft, I gained a better idea of who Nes was as a character and I had a beginning and ending planned out. The middle I continued to pants. With each subsequent draft, I found myself plotting out the story more and more. Though it probably takes longer writing this way, I enjoy giving myself the freedom of pantsing in the early drafts of a novel then plotting it out the deeper into the story I get.
 
4. Share about your world-building process? Did you draw from any other cultures in creating your world?
 
The world-building for To Drown a Witch started with the magic hiding in the trees. From there it expanded to how would people feel about this magic, how would they access and use it, was there anything about the magic that stood out, and, probably most importantly, how people might combat this magic. Answering that last question was the only time in my world-building process that I drew from prior knowledge of history. I remembered how the suspected witches were most often burned during the Salem Witch Trials and knew I wanted something different for the suspected witches in my world. Through the answers to all those questions about magic I was able to build a world around the magic system. I actually created a world map pretty early on. I already had some vague ideas of the characters I wanted to appear in the story and being able to see the world they lived in really helped me to pinpoint not only where they came from but also what their backstories were. In one of the early versions of this story, Nes and Toran actually traveled the continent in search of the Witch. Ultimately that version didn’t work out because the setting was too large for the scope of the story and I scaled it back to just the city of Gadore.
 
5. Tell us about Nes and Toran, your two main characters. Was one of them easier to develop as a character? If so, why?
 
Toran was by far the easier character to write. I think this was because his story felt quieter to me. It also helped that I knew how his story would end and, from the start, I had a good sense of his backstory. I knew he had tried to hunt the Witch in the past (with that mission ending disastrously) and I knew he had a fiancée who had recently died, with both losses resulting in him hitting a low point. From there it was a matter of figuring out who or what might be able to help pick him back up. Nes, on the other hand, was much harder to write. I knew less about her backstory, only knowing she was closest to her father and that he had deserted Orlonea’s King’s Guard. However, her voice in my head was much more insistent than Toran’s. Nes demanded to be written and, as I previously mentioned, the first time I tried to write her, she came out a completely different character. She wasn’t the strong, sassy, independent person found in To Drown a Witch. In the very first draft, Nes was much more of a whiny, pining teenager. It took a few drafts for me to truly get the Nes in my head down on the page. I think this was because, while I gave Nes my love of doughnuts, Nes is a very different person from me. Though I can have my sassy moments.
 
6. Your agent is Danielle Burby. How did she become your agent, and what was your road to getting a publishing contract like?
 
I had queried several other agents (with either no response or flat-out rejections) before an advisor from my grad school suggested I query Danielle. I am so happy I did. Danielle took an immediate interest in To Drown a Witch (which, back then, was titled Welcome to the Witch Hunt) and I knew after one video call with her that she would be a perfect fit for me. Once I signed with her, we did a few rounds of revision on my draft and she even brought in beta readers to offer a new perspective. Then, about a year after we started working together, I went on sub. To those who don’t know, “going on sub” is when an agent sends a manuscript out to various editors in hopes of getting offers from the publishers. Over the course of several months we received many rejections from the editors Danielle had reached out to. As time went on, we also didn’t hear back from other editors, so Danielle sent out a new batch of submissions. From that second round, one editor showed interest and then, to our surprise one of the editors we hadn’t heard back from in the first round of submissions reached out. After a year of no interest, I suddenly had multiple editors interested in my novel. From there, Danielle worked hard to secure me the best deal. The rest is history!
 
7. That’s a great road to publication story. Was there anything that surprised you about working with your agent or publisher?
 
While working with my publisher, I was surprised to be included in the discussions surrounding the cover. As a debut author with absolutely no clout I expected to simply be given a cover and, if I was lucky, asked to approve it. But that wasn’t what happened. I was consulted on the cover from the very beginning: from the brainstorming phase all the way to final approval. It was a very pleasant (if a bit of a daunting) surprise. And while I most certainly will not take credit for the final cover, I do think our collaborative work turned out beautifully.
 
8. You’re right that not all authors get to have imput on their covers. How has it been navigating being a debut author? What tips do you have for other writers about being published for the first time?
 
Becoming a debut author has been such an incredible ride. Every step has been new and exciting and I’ve welcomed each one. Though I have to admit, the hardest part for me has been the social media outreach. I’m not big into social media so creating content isn’t easy for me. I often end up making super corny posts that thankfully my followers have yet to call me out on. To other writers who are also being published for the first time, I would advise them to ask questions. If there is ever anything you don’t understand, ask either your agent or editor or a publishing contact about it. Before becoming an author, I had previously worked in the publishing industry, but there were still so many aspects about publishing a book that I didn’t know. I’m grateful to have learned a lot over the course of my journey. And, of course, to all the new writers out there: enjoy it.
 
9. Your book was released on July 14th. How have you been celebrating your book’s release, and what are your marketing plans?
 
To kick off the celebrations, my husband, my friend, and I went out to brunch the morning of my release. Our waiter was very excited about my book and, with any luck, I managed to sell them a book. Later that night, I had a launch event at Main Point Books in Wayne, PA. I had the pleasure of discussing all things To Drown a Witch with the incredible Chelsea T. Reed and then I signed books for all those who came. It was such a lovely event, with a great turn out, and I am grateful to Main Point Books for hosting. Since then, I’ve participated in several podcast interviews—whose hosts have all been so kind and welcoming—and I will have another event celebrating To Drown a Witch on August 7th at 6:30pm at the Barnes & Noble in Princeton, NJ. To anyone in the area, I hope you stop by!
 
10. What are you working on now?
 
If all goes to plan, readers can expect To Drown a Witch’s sequel to be published July of 2027! Since the sequel is already written, I returned to a project I had been writing while To Drown a Witch was on sub. This is an entirely new story—that I also hope to make a duology—set in a fantasy world that looks a lot like our own world but back in 1908. This world also has an entirely new magic system that is more grounded than the magic found in To Drown a Witch. The story follows a newly appointed female detective who discovers a gruesome murder and, as a result, runs afoul with some dangerous criminals. I’m incredibly excited to be working on this story again and I hope readers have the chance to fall in love with it as I have.
 
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Lindsey. You can find Lindsey at
Website- lindseyolsson.com
IG- @lindseyolssonauthor (https://www.instagram.com/lindseyolssonauthor/)
FB- Lindsey Olsson (https://www.facebook.com/people/Lindsey-Olsson/61577942242386/#)
Goodreads- Lindsey Olsson (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/60645001.Lindsey_Olsson)

Giveaway Details

Lindsey’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of To Drown a Witch for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by August 15th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

 

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Lindsey on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.-only.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Sunday, August 16th, I’m participating in the Old School Giveaway Hop

 

Monday, August 17th, I have an interview with Máire Roche and a giveaway of her MG Little Monsters

 

Wednesday, August 19th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Jackie Garcia-Morales and a query critique giveaway

 

Monday, August 25th, I have a guest post by Paige Classey and a giveaway of her MG Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer

 

I hope to see you on Sunday, August 16th!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

On Writing a Mult-Genre Story and Finding the Right Agent: Interview With Debut Author Amber Chen and Of Jade and Dragons Giveaway and my IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Amber Chen here to share about her YA silkpunk fantasy Of Jade and Dragons. I’m really excited to read her book because it combines silkpunk, fantasy, and mystery and has a strong main character interested in science.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a world-class engineer like her father, but after his sudden murder, her life falls apart. Left with only a journal of her father’s engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, a heartbroken Ying follows the trail to the capital and the prestigious Engineers Guild—a place that harbors her father’s hidden past—determined to discover why anyone would threaten a man who ultimately chose a quiet life over fame and fortune.

Disguised as her brother, Ying manages to infiltrate the guild’s male-only apprenticeship trial with the help of an unlikely ally—Aogiya Ye-yang, the taciturn eighth prince of the High Command. With her father’s renown placing a target firmly on her back, Ying must stay one step ahead of her fellow competitors, the jealous guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who may have mysterious plans of his own.

The secrets concealed within the guild can be as deadly as the weapons they build—and with her life and the future of her homeland at stake, Ying doesn’t know who to trust. Can she avenge her father even if it means going against everything he stood for, or will she be next in the mastermind’s line of fire?

 

Before I get to June’s interview post, I have my IWSG post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and me!

Optional Question: What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

Exciting Upcoming Agent Critique Opportunity for You

Before I answer the question, I want to be sure that you know of an upcoming agent spotlight interview with an amazing critique giveaway coming up on July 29th. I have an agent spotlight interview with Sheila Fernley that day. She is offering a very generous critique giveaway of a full picture book or three-chapter MG or YA critique and a one-hour Zoom call to discuss your project. I hope those of you who write kidlit stories and are looking for an agent will enter the giveaway contest, and you'll all tell your friends who are kidlit writers about this opportunity.

Guest Post at Anne R. Allen’s blog on 7/7/2024

I also want to let you know that I’ll be sharing a guest post on Anne R. Allen’s blog . . . with Ruth Harris next Sunday, 7/7/2024 that could help you in your search for an agent. My topic is Tips on Finding the Right Agent and My Secret Way to Discover Agents You Don't Know About. I’ll post a link to the guest post when it goes live on 7/7. I hope you'll stop by, read my post, and leave a comment.

Now here’s my answer to this month’s question. I keep it simple and just use Word and Grammarly. I have the upgraded version of Grammarly through my job as a writer, which I can open and check anything I write.

Alex has asked that we all start linking our IWSG posts on the IWSG Facebook page so that we can all see who has posted on IWSG dayt.

Interview With Amber Chen

Hi Amber! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

Hello! I’m Amber Chen, a Singaporean-Chinese author of SFF and contemporary fiction, and Of Jade and Dragons is my debut YA fantasy.

I’ve always been a book lover, but I didn’t think of writing my own stories until I was in university. While binging TV dramas (I watch a lot of these) in between lectures and tutorials, I realised that 1) there were so many unsatisfying plot points and endings out there and 2) there was a finite supply of content for me to indulge in, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and start writing my own stories.

2. Where did you get the idea for Of Jade and Dragon?

I really like reading up on history, and one of my hobbies is speculating about the lives and times of historical figures and filling in the gaps in historical records, so that’s what happened with Of Jade and Dragons. OJAD was inspired by the story of the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the woman he loved the most, Harjol, and there are plenty of easter eggs in the book that draw from real historical events during the transitional period from the late Ming to early Qing Dynasty of China.

Of Jade and Dragons was also inspired by the classic Chinese tale, The Butterfly Lovers. In that story, the FMC, Zhu Yingtai, disguises as a boy in order to study at a boys-only academy, because only boys were allowed to receive an education during that time period, and she managed to do all this because she had a supportive father who was willing to indulge her and support her dream. I loved that father-daughter dynamic, and it was what inspired Ying’s relationship with her father in OJAD!

Your Writing Process and Writing a Story That Combines Genres

3. Combining genres when writing a story can make it really interesting. Here you’ve combined three genres: fantasy, mystery, and silkpunk. First, explain what silkpunk is and talk about how you decided to combine these genres and the challenges you faced in doing so when writing your manuscript.

Silkpunk is a term that was crafted by the author Ken Liu for his Dandelion Dynasty series, to represent a “specific technology and literary aesthetic” that draws from the history and culture of East Asia and the Pacific islands. As a member of the punk family, it also encompasses the key themes of rebellion, anti-authoritarianism and a struggle for freedom.

OJAD began as a historical re-imagining, but I thought it would be interesting to invent a Chinese-inspired world that is tech-focused, given that most Chinese fantasies tend to be more magical in nature. That was how the idea for using silkpunk as the basis for the worldbuilding for the book came about. I think one of the main challenges in combining genres was trying to find ways to incorporate relevant technology with the main mystery plotline in a way that made sense for the world and the characters, without them feeling like two very disparate aspects of the story.   

4. I can see how combining them would have been challenging. Share about your world-building process and how you combined this with the true historical events and individuals you based your story on.

The world in OJAD is heavily inspired by Qing Dynasty China, so if you watch plenty of Chinese historical dramas then many of these elements such as the architecture, food, culture, would probably feel very familiar! Aspects like the hierarchical structure, the politics and the way the military is organised also take reference from the way things were in China during the 1600s. In order to create the fantasy world that OJAD is set in, what I did was to use the real historical elements as a frame, and then to layer on the fantastical (technological?) elements on top of that, so that everything feels like a world that could have realistically existed!

5. I love that Ying dreams of being an engineer in a male-dominated profession. Was it easy or hard to develop her as a compelling, strong main character as you’ve done? Why?

I think Ying’s character arc came quite naturally to me, because a lot of her experiences as a girl trying to establish herself in a male-dominated profession resonate very much with my own. The idea of empowering girls to not only take on but also excel in traditionally masculine fields, like engineering, is an important theme in OJAD, and a theme that is particularly close to my heart. When I crafted Ying, one thing that I made sure to keep in mind was to always keep her personal beliefs and motivations as a priority, and have that guide her actions as she navigates the world around her. 

Your Journey to Publication

6. Laura Crockett is your current agent, but not your first. Share about your journey to find an agent that was right for you. What advice do you have for writers in a similar situation as yours?

Laura is actually my third agent! I queried for about nine months before I got an offer of representation from my first agent, Anne Perry. Anne was absolutely fantastic and we went on to sell OJAD at auction only two months after sending it on sub, which I am incredibly thankful for. Sadly, Anne decided to leave agenting to return to the editorial side of the business, and I transferred to my second agent in the same agency who then went on to represent me in negotiating the contract for my debut book. I eventually decided to make the hard decision to part ways with my second agent and plunge back into the query trenches because I felt that the future books I wanted to write might not be a good fit with that agent’s list, and subsequently I went on to sign with Laura J

I think switching agents midway through your writing career is more common than people might imagine, and this could happen for a variety of reasons, like agents leaving the business, agents not being the right fit in terms of working style, agents not representing certain genres you want to write in, etc. It was quite scary being confronted with the possibility of having to jump into the query trenches again, but after I managed to get over that mental barrier, my second experience with querying actually went a lot better than I expected. For fellow writers that find themselves wondering whether or not they should switch agents, I’d say go for it! Having an agent that is a good fit for your body of work is incredibly important!

7. I agree with you authors sometimes have to switch agents. You went on submission and sold your book on auction two months later. What was the experience like for you?

It was incredibly exciting! But also nerve-wracking. You always hear about how slow publishing timelines are and how long it can take to get responses, so I was very lucky to have spent a relatively short time on sub. When my agent notified me about the first offer, I was already over the moon. I honestly did not expect there to be as much interest in my book as there turned out to be, and I’m super grateful to all the editors for seeing the potential in OJAD! I also really appreciated getting the opportunity to speak with all the offering editors to find out more about their vision for the book (they were all fantastic), because it really helped to spark plenty of new ideas for the book and also helped me get a sense of who might be a better fit for me to work with on this debut journey!    

Promoting Your Book

8. It’s interesting how talking to the editors gave you new ideas for your story. How are you planning to market your book and reach out to readers in the U.S. when you live in Singapore?

I’ve always been very sad about being half a world away from plenty of fun bookish things happening in the US! That said, I’m grateful that there are now plenty of opportunities for virtual events and social media is so prolific that there are many ways to interact with readers all across the world, so these will be my main avenues for book marketing and publicity. My publicity team has been very busy helping me to link up with bookstores, book bloggers, podcasters etc. to get word about the book out there, so thank you to them for doing all the hard work! I would love to get the chance to travel to meet readers overseas one day though!      

9. That’s great there are so many online ways you can connect to readers, bookstores, and bloggers. You’re also a contributing member of Path to Publication. Tell us about this group, how you joined it, and how it can help writers on their journey to getting published.

Path2Pub was a blog that was started by my very talented friend Lucia, who has been so passionate about helping fellow authors by gathering and sharing as much publishing wisdom as she can. She approached me and a few other authors who were all at different stages of the publication journey and invited us to become contributors to Path2Pub, and we worked together to maintain a regular updating schedule for the blog where we’d take turns to write posts about different aspects of publishing and our reflections on these topics. Path2Pub also features many interviews with agents and editors, which I love to read because I find these interviews shed a lot of light onto the opaque world of publishing! We’ve stopped updating the site as a group now, but Lucia’s still maintaining the blog with interviews with publishing personnel whenever she can, so I’d highly recommend everyone to check it out because it helps demystify the world of publishing J      

10. What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on edits for Book 2 of the Fall of the Dragon duology, so hopefully we are on track for publication one year after Of Jade and Dragons is released J

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Amber. You can find Amber at ambercwrites.com, and @amberwrites88 on Instagram, X and TikTok.

Giveaway Details

Amber’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of Of Jade and Dragons for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by July 13th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or follow Amber on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, July 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Rebecca Williamson and a query critique giveaway

Tuesday, July 16th I’m participating in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop

Monday, July 22nd I have an interview with author Sally Pla and a giveaway of her MG contemporary Invisible Isabel

Monday, July 29th I have any agent spotlight interview with Sheila Fernley and a full picture book or three-chapter MG or YA critique and a one-hour Zoom call giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

Debut Author Interview: Megan Brennan and Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Megan Brennan here to share about her MG graphic novel Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess. It sounds like a fun story that also tackles many issues middle graders go through. I don’t read many graphic novels, but this one looks like one I’d enjoy.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Fashionable fights, flashy attacks, and friends that are out of this world! This wacky and funny graphic novel series is a love letter to manga fans. With a tongue in cheek humor and delightfully fun action scenes, this series is perfect for fans of Sailor Moon , Cardcaptor Sakura , and Katie the Catsitter.

There's nothing cooler than Magical Girls - pretty superheroes fighting villains with the power of friendship and glitter? What could be better than that! This year in middle school, Kira is going to be cool and popular and have SO many friends because she’s going to be a MAGICAL GIRL! ...Or not.

Frustrated beyond belief, Kira makes a wish on a shooting star that her life will change – and when Catacorn, a cat-unicorn-space-princess, crashes into Kira's backyard, it seems her wish has come true…kinda…maybe… Oh no. Is Kira's dream of being a Magical Girl really possible...or is Catacorn not really what she promises to be?

Follower News

Before I get to my interview with Megan, I have Follower News to share. Follower Elizabeth James has

a new chapter book release, Pippa Speaks Up. Here's a blurb: All Pippa wants to do is blend in at her new school—which isn’t easy when your mom’s new job is President of the United States!  But when her teacher assigns class speeches, Pippa's best-laid plans at blending in begin to crumble and she literally becomes sick to her stomach. She must learn to calm her anxieties and embrace the power of speaking up—before she not only flops the assignment but also buries her true feelings from everyone closest to her, including the President herself.

And here are a few links: 

https://youtu.be/VxEelHTfimM?si=A3r2YD7aG0H65xZm and www.elizabethjameswrites.com/pippa-speaks-up/

Interview With Megan Brennan

Hi Megan! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Te ll us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I always loved writing and drawing, and spent a while as a teen trying make some kind of epic fantasy story, but never really got past the daydreaming stage! I ended up going to school at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and majoring in cartooning, because I knew I wanted to make comics (and luckily had parents who supported me in that). Getting to be in an environment that nurtured young creatives while also pushing them to improve was really helpful for me, because I lacked a lot of confidence in sharing the things I wanted to make.

 After graduation I made my own comics while trying to freelance – doing art assistant work and collaborating with people occasionally. Eventually, after posting my own comics online and doing some smaller jobs, I got a gig writing scripts for Boom! Studio’s Amazing World of Gumball graphic novels. Having to come up with ideas and write whole graphic novel scripts for a property I didn’t create was weirdly great for my growth as a writer! There was an existing framework of characters and world, so I had to focus only on making the plot make sense and feel engaging within that. I learned a lot about the process itself.

2. That’s great that your job helped you with your own writing. Where did you get the idea for Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess?

It’s funny, I originally drew Kira and Catacorn in a 3 page tiny submission to a comic anthology focused on nostalgic shoujo comics (shoujo comics = Japanese comics aimed at young girls, the genre which magical girl stories like Sailor Moon, a huge inspiration for me and for the Kira books) called Hana Doki Kira. I had so much fun coming up with scenarios related to magical girl tropes! After I finished that little comic, I kept coming up with what might happen next. I ended up expanding to three short Magic Girls comics that I self-published over a few years.

Back in 2019 I was trying to pitch a completely different graphic novel that didn’t work out, with a pitch for Magic Girls as a graphic novel as kind of a backup plan. Of course, I ended up struggling with my other pitch, but Magic Girls was more fun and ended up being what Random House Graphic wanted anyway! I feel lucky that the comic I have fun making is the one that seems to also connect with people.

Your Writing Process

3. What is your plotting process like? Do you think this is different than for writers who are only writing the text and not illustrating the story too?

In some ways it’s different for sure, but I think the need to find some kind of structure under the creativity on is the same. Especially since I have to keep in mind that I need to make the drawing and planning process understandable to my editor, so she can see what’s going on.

I usually have to use my sketchbook to think about what should happen, and what kinds of visuals I want to include, but to make it all cohesive I have to make an outline. I think because my previous work in making a graphic novel was focused on the script, I am a little more intense about that stage of the book than some other comic artists. I have to write myself a really detailed outline to get my ideas in order. Some of this is because as I go into the thumbnail stage (rough sketched plans of all the pages) I end up tweaking things. Once you’re working visually, things sometimes come together differently than you planned! So I have to really know what I was intending to happen in each part of the book. But that kind of thing is what’s so magical about writing and drawing the comic myself.

I also have to step back and think a lot about how the reader will view each page objectively, if it makes sense from panel to panel, and if the way the page is set up will lead to reading things in the correct order. I guess a novelist wouldn’t have to think about that on each page!

4. It’s so interesting to learn about your plotting process and what you have to think about creating the graphics too. Writing a graphic novel that is a satisfying middle grade story sounds challenging because you’re telling it through a combination of illustrations and words. What are some of your tips for getting the balance right and telling a complete story?

I think you have to take advantage of each half of the medium - the potential for really funny or cool images, and the power of dialogue (or narration, though I don’t use this as often), and really embrace them. You don’t want to crowd up a page with a ton of text when an image could communicate the mood or action in a more effective way. The art is also part of telling the story, so while it’s more work, it also means I have another tool in my arsenal.

5. Share about how Kira developed as a character and three things you really like about her.

Honestly, the first version of Kira was really just a parody character! She was kind of a generic teenager, who just loved snacks and wanted to look cute. Which is definitely relatable, but I hadn’t given much thought to her as a whole character. The old version of the comic was all jokes. As I tried to expand it into a graphic novel, I ended up having to think of her as a person, what kind of kid she would be.

I like that she is really determined, and even though she is SO easily embarrassed, she still is pretty sure of who she is and what she wants. I like that she is also is really open to trying things, even if she might complain a little about it.

Your Road to Publication

6. Linda Camacho is your agent. How did she become your agent and what was your road to getting a publishing contract like?

Graphic novels usually require a kind of proof of concept packet/etc to communicate what the book will be, instead of an entire manuscript. Obviously it’ll vary with each publisher, but that seems pretty standard, in my experience. was really lucky, in that I had a version of my pitch in talks with Random House Graphic before talking to Linda! I already knew Whitney Leopard from comics shows and from working with her at Boom!, so we were in an ongoing conversation about pitching things. She wound up being interested in the Kira books! But I had to go on a panicked search for an agent to negotiate for me.

I had previously been trying to find an agent and didn’t hear back from anyone at the time. One of the agents I queried actually was Linda, but it was with a totally different comic pitch, that worked less well. Thankfully Linda was able to take me on when I emailed her that I had an offer and needed help with negotiating specifically, which I am so grateful for! I was interested in working with her because I knew a few of the other graphic novelists she works with, and I thought my work would fit on the same shelf, if that makes sense.

7. It’s cool that you had a connection with your publisher through your job. How long did Linda and you work on revising your manuscript before you went on submission? What are your tips on working with an agent on revisions?

Honestly I’m an anomaly and mostly skipped this stage of the process with this project! I’m interested myself in how it will work in the future. Linda has been great at helping me navigate all other complicated parts of the process and being a cheerleader.

My revision conversations are with my editor. I’m pretty open to making changes to my work, so I think trying to weigh what are necessary changes vs things that might cloud the vision I have for the story is the thing I keep trying to keep in mind. I want all the changes I make to make the overall story more clear and cohesive.

Promoting Your Book

8. How are you planning to promote your book after it is released? What advice do you have for other authors who have an upcoming release on marketing their book?

I’m planning on attending some comic festivals with my book, which will be an exciting way to meet readers and potentially get new readers who are seeing it for the first time! I’m on social media, and will be using that to talk about the book, but getting to see people in person and feel the enthusiasm for comics hits different.

9. What are you working on now?

I’m currently midway into the follow up to Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess. I’m finally at the stage where I’m working on the final version of the line art (we call it inking), so the book is starting to feel real to me!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Megan. You can find Megan at www.Megan-Brennan.com or on Bluesky under the username @MeganBrennan

Giveaway Details

Megan’s publisher is generously offering an ARC of Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by March 9th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Megan on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This ARC giveaway is U.S.

 Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Friday, March 1st I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, March 6th I have an interview with author Rajani LaRocca and a giveaway of her MG fantasy Sona and The Golden Beasts and my IWSG post

Monday, March 11th I have an agent spotlight interview with Rebecca Lawrence and a query critique giveaway

Saturday, March 16th I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Monday, March 18th I have an interview with debut author Anne Rellihan and a giveaway of her MG contemporary/mystery Not the Worst Friend in the World

Wednesday, March 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Stuti Telidevara and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Friday!