Tag: YA Fiction

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Interview with F.T. Lukens, Author of Otherworldly

F.T. Lukens (they/them) is a New York Times bestselling author of YA speculative fiction including the novels Spell Bound, So This Is Ever After and In Deeper Waters (2022 ALA Rainbow Booklist; Junior Library Guild Selection) as well as other science fiction and fantasy works. Their contemporary fantasy novel The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction and the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Gold Winner for YA fiction and won the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction. F.T. resides in North Carolina with their spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats.

I had the opportunity to interview F.T., which you can read below.

First of all, welcome back to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself to readers who might not know you yet?

Hello, I’m F.T. Lukens. I’m an author of queer YA speculative fiction. My previous works include So This Is Ever After and Spell Bound.

What can you tell us about your latest book, Otherworldly? What was the inspiration for the project?

Otherworldly is a paranormal romance that blends elements of Faustian folklore and classical mythology in a contemporary fantasy setting. There are crossroads bargains, supernatural beings, liminal spaces, and a magical romance.

The inspiration was that I wanted to write a retelling and explore themes with different myths and folklore. I have always wanted to write a Faust-esque book because of a class I took in college. And magical bargains with dire consequences had started to appear in YA spaces again recently so it felt like a perfect time. I also relied on some classical myths and mythical figures as well as western European folklore to round out the worldbuilding.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, particularly young adult fiction and romance?

The themes of young adult fiction—coming-of-age, finding yourself, making steps toward adulthood, making difficult choices—are themes to which most readers can relate. And I enjoy writing characters who are in that process of discovering themselves. As for romance, I am a fan of a good meet-cute and love writing them even if they are at times a meet-disaster. Also, I feel that books with a ‘happy ever after’ or a ‘happy for now’ are important for queer teens to be able to read and access as a part of YA shelves. It’s empowering to see queer characters thriving and overcoming odds in an adventure or romance.

How would you describe your creative process?

Honestly, it changes for each book. For Otherworldly, the process started with an idea for a specific scene between the two main characters. And from there I started brainstorming a narrative for how that scene would take place. However, I had started the novel as a high fantasy, more in the vein of So This Is Ever After but changed it to a contemporary fantasy. And when doing so, many of the details had to be altered, including that initial scene I had thought of. But the core of the story and relationships remained the same.

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

I’m a big believer that inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. I’m inspired by the authors that I read when I was a teen/young adult – Douglas Adams, Mercedes Lackey, Neil Gaiman—but I’m also inspired by authors who are my contemporaries. Like Ryan LaSala, Julian Winters, CB Lee, Beth Revis, Becky Albertali, etc.

For inspiration in general – I watch tons of movies and tv shows – especially anything speculative. I also read widely, not only fiction novels and comics, but non-fiction, newspaper/magazine articles, and the occasional social media app (though I’ve taken a huge step back over the past few years). I love browsing tvtropes.com and similar websites and watching YT videos on various subjects. And I like to explore new music as well.

What are some of your favorite elements of bring a book to life? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

One of my favorite things to write are character interactions, relationships, and dialogue. I think it’s one of the aspects of writing where I excel.

One of the most challenging is conveying the picture or thought I have in my head to the page. Sometimes, I forget to add a detail or explain a concept because it makes sense to me and to the world I built in my mind. And there are times I don’t quite translate the idea to the page. Luckily, I have an amazing editor who assists with that process.

Many creators would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helped you accomplish this?

Outlines! I’m a big fan of outlining. Recently, I’ve found that writing a detailed synopsis and then an outline of events through to the end has really helped with staying on task and following through. I also will utilize word sprints/timers and writing communities to help when I need encouragement. I use wordcount trackers because it’s helpful for my brain to see the numbers increase and to see the future finish line. And I like to envision the ‘happy ever after’ or ‘happy for now’ for the characters as well and it motivates me to give the characters that resolution.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I’m an avid crocheter and fiber artist and currently have too much yarn. I have a deep affinity for the characters of Nightwing and Spider-man from DC and Marvel respectively. I collect Funko Pops and action figures of both. I try to attend DragonCon in Atlanta every year as both an author and a fan.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I haven’t been asked about the research I did for Otherworldly. And I know it might seem weird that a paranormal romance book would require many hours of research, but it did. I re-read Chrisotpher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and did research on crossroads bargains in media and in other cultures. I re-read the myths of Eurydice and Orpheus. I refreshed my memory by reading about classical gods and goddesses to develop the characteristics of those in the world of Otherworldly. And I read tons of articles on folklore for specific references.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

I would say to not give up. I know it can be difficult. Publishing is a challenging business and can be disheartening. But just keep writing, practicing, and developing your craft.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Yes. I just turned in a manuscript for my next YA novel. Currently, it’s titled The Future Tense and it’s pitched as Wednesday meets Heartstopper.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

I mentioned a few above but I think readers should check out Jason June, Ryan LaSala, Julian Winters, CB Lee, Terry J. Benton-Walker, & Sophie Gonzales.

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Interview with Sarah Kuhn, Author of Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story

Sarah Kuhn is the author of the popular Heroine Complex novels—a series starring Asian American superheroines. The first book is a Locus bestseller, an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, and one of the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog’s Best Books of 2016. She also penned the beloved YA rom-coms I Love You So Mochi and From Little Tokyo, With Love, and a variety of short fiction and comics, including the DC Comics graphic novels Shadow of the Batgirl and Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story and the Star Wars audiobook original Doctor Aphra. Her books have been Junior Library Guild Selections and nominees for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults and the Golden Poppy Award. They have also been featured on Best of… and Most Anticipated lists in People Magazine, Barnes & Noble’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Book Riot, Amazon, the AV Club, Nerdist, Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, and more. Additionally, she was a finalist for both the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) New Writers Award and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. A third generation Japanese American, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and an overflowing closet of vintage treasures.

I had the opportunity to interview Sarah, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Hi! I’m Sarah Kuhn, a writer of prose and comics. My stories are often about Asian American superheroines and nerds in love—sometimes in the same story, sometimes not! And I like to say my general writing focus is Asian Girls Having Fun. I wrote the Heroine Complex series, which was all about Asian American superheroines in San Francisco—fighting evil things like demonic cupcakes and gigantic porcelain unicorns, falling in love with wild abandon, singing bad karaoke and eating worse junk food, and just generally being complete messes. I also wrote the YA rom-coms I Love You So Mochi and From Little Tokyo, With Love, and I’ve done a fair bit of licensed work, like the DC Comics graphic novel Shadow of the Batgirl (with amazing artist Nicole Goux) and the Star Wars audiobook original Doctor Aphra (which is all about the best Star Wars character ever: queer, chaotic, morally gray space archaeologist Doctor Aphra). And now our book, Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story! I’m also a bisexual, biracial third generation Japanese American, a proud Angeleno (transplanted from the Pacific Northwest), and an enthusiastic enjoyer of fashion and food and art.

What can you tell us about your latest project, Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story?

Our book follows a biracial Japanese American teenage Lois Lane as she embarks on her first big internship in the big city (National City, which is kind of DC’s version of LA). It’s the summer before college, and she’s full of fire, raring to go, and keeping track of everything in her extremely detailed Life Plan notebook, which I believe we described as “your bullet journal on steroids.” But a bunch of obstacles immediately block her perfect summer—an unexpected and annoying frenemy/roommate, a dream internship that morphs into a nightmare when the hip website she was supposed to work for is acquired by a huge media conglomerate. In true Lois Lane fashion, she refuses to give up without a fight. This book is bursting with so much color and joy and movement thanks to Arielle Jovellanos’ jaw-droppingly beautiful art, Olivia Pecini’s vibrant colors, and Melanie Ujimori’s dynamic lettering. It’s so delicious, I want to eat every page.

What was the inspiration for this story?

After I finished writing Batgirl, I really wanted to keep working with my incredible DC editor, Sara Miller. Sara is everything you could ever want in an editor and creative partner—kind, clever, passionate, empathetic, and up for fighting the good fight right alongside you. We talked about a few possibilities, and we really loved the idea of exploring Lois just as she’s falling in love with journalism and finding her voice. I drew a lot from my own experiences as a young journalist with fire in my belly. And I’ve always been a huge Lois Lane fan, going back to the Christopher Reeve movies with Margot Kidder. She was such a force.

Asian American identity is a big facet of Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story. Could you talk a bit about what it meant for you to write/illustrate a story discussing that subject?

I don’t know if I can even express how meaningful this was—at least not in mere words. Possibly some exhilarated screaming would do it? Since I’ve always loved Lois, it meant so much to me to be able to reimagine her in this way, and to think about what this might have meant to the child I was. Like our Lois, I grew up in a really small, really white town and I was always dreaming of what a bigger world would be like. I hope young people of color get a kick out of seeing a legendary legacy character like Lois depicted in a modern and inclusive way. Everyone deserves to see themselves as this kind of larger-than-life hero—and it was wonderful for Arielle and me to be able to include a wide range of specific cultural references drawn from our own lives. Also, apparently a lot of Asians of my generation always thought Lois was Asian. Well, now she is!

As a creative, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically within the comics/ graphic novel medium?

I’ve always been obsessed with comics—I used to haunt those spinner racks at the grocery store like a tiny, superhero-obsessed ghost. There is something beautifully unique about the ways in which comics can tell a story—images and words together, layouts that feel like actual movement, page turns that make you gasp. I love the visual language of comics, and I feel like I’m constantly learning new ways to tell a story through the medium. And I love the collaboration of it—comics are all about teamwork, writing little notes back and forth to each other, getting excited about what your other talented teammates are doing. It starts to feel a bit like you’re all working on a big, shared fanfic—you’re fans of both the story and each other. I guess what I’m trying to say is there’s lots of (joyful) screaming. I don’t know how screaming became a theme of this interview. Arielle and I screamed a lot.

How would you describe your creative process?

I feel like it’s different every time and it depends on the specific project. I suppose the part that is a constant—and maybe the part I love the most—is when you’re really intensely in it and you are just totally obsessed with the thing you’re working on. You hear the characters in your head, specific lines pop up in your dreams, images rotate through your brain on a constant cycle. I’ve always been an obsessive person, so I think that feels like a good outlet for that. I don’t know if it’s a healthy outlet, but I do enjoy it. And while I’m happy to finish a project, I also tend to feel a little sad because I have to say goodbye to hanging out with those characters every day and hearing them in my dreams.

For those curious about the process behind a graphic novel, how would you describe the process?

I think this is highly dependent on what kind of graphic novel—licensed, creator-owned, traditionally published, self-published, print, digital, etc.? So many possibilities! For Lois, editor Sara and I went through a long pitch process before the book was approved. Then we did a few versions of the outline. I think it was around this time that Arielle came onboard and she started doing character designs and figuring out the visual style of the book. The script was written in four parts, so sometimes Arielle was working on Part I while I was writing Part III—which was pretty cool because we could really start playing off of and responding to each other as a creative team. I love the way she does body language and expressive movement, for instance, so I felt like I tried to write even more fervently toward that as we progressed. And then once we got Olivia and Melanie, we started seeing pages at every stage for every step of the creative process before the whole thing came together.

And as a team, how would you describe your collaboration style for this project?

It was a beautiful thing. Arielle and I have been wanting to work together forever—we both had our first official comics gig in an anthology called Fresh Romance, which focused on modern romance comics. We were on different stories, but I keep saying we saw each other across the pages of the book and developed artistic crushes on each other. So it just felt like it was meant to be. When I was writing the script, I had Arielle’s art style playing out in my mind—imagining how she might bring it to life was so exciting, and definitely shaped the overall voice and tone of the script. I think it was Judd Winick who said that he envisions a script as a letter to the artist, so I felt like I was basically writing Arielle total fangirl letters on cute stationery the whole time. And the more we worked together, the more it felt like we were sharing a brain.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I was a story devourer, so there were many I was touched or moved by or that stick with me to this day. There wasn’t as much that I felt truly reflected in, though—when I was younger, the casts of the sci-fi, superhero, and fantasy stories I loved so much were usually still all or mostly white. Perhaps the earliest reflection of myself I saw was Claudia Kishi in the Baby-Sitters Club books—she wasn’t like any Asian American girl character I’d seen before. She was artsy and creative and an incredible dresser and really bad at math—truly relatable. And like me, she was Japanese American and growing up in the suburbs. She’s still an icon to me and many others, and I think she showed a lot of us that being an artist was possible for an Asian girl. And now we have many more Asian American storytellers getting to write narratives that truly reflect who we are, in so many different genres and mediums—I love seeing that and am grateful to be part of it.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I have a short story in the anthology From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi. This is part of a series of books telling stories about various supporting or background-type characters in the Star Wars movies. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it helped me heal a very specific childhood trauma. And last year, I wrapped up the Heroine Complex series, which was very satisfying. I’d been with those heroines since the beginning of my career, and it felt wonderful to be able to give all of them much deserved happily ever afters.

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Interview with Erika Turner, Author of And Other Mistakes


Erika Turner is a writer, a poet, and the daughter of storytellers. Sometimes, she writes songs she may one day share. Once, in a Brooklyn community center, she read James Baldwin’s quote “You can’t tell the children there’s no hope,” and she carries those words from the city to the desert and beyond.

I had the opportunity to interview Erika, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hiiii! I’m a debut author, raised in the city that is centered in this book. While my day job is working as a book editor, my nights and weekends are spent writing, dreaming, and making sure my dogs are fed.

What can you tell us about your debut book And Other Mistakes? What was the inspiration for this story?

There were a lot of things I wanted to accomplish about this story – part of it was centering queer friendships, while understanding that romance is always sort of inevitable when you’re a teenager figuring out your emotions for the first time. I also wanted to write a contemporary story about a queer protagonist that went beyond the issues of identity – something that recognized that our highs and lows often do exist outside of who we’re attracted to, even if that’s always a part of it. In this instance, for the character Aaliyah, it was having a rocky home life due to her parents’ own issues with each other.

Finally, I really wanted to talk about music in a way that was fun and relatable. I was a black kid who loved emo and rock, and didn’t grow up knowing very much about black culture, of which music is a huge part. While that’s not at all unusual, it was something that made me feel really isolated as a teenager, so I wanted to write a relatable character for other teens who have similar experiences.

Since Geeks OUT is a queer centered website, could you tell us a bit about the LGBTQ+ characters that will be featured in your book?

It would probably be easier to tell you about the straight characters, ha! Aaliyah, the main character is a lesbian, and there are bisexual, queer, and trans characters throughout the book.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction?

I’ve always found writing to be the best medium to process the world, and when I started to write a book for the first time, this is the one that pushed itself forward. Part of it, probably, is that I was in my mid-twenties at the outset of this project, and that’s usually a good time to start processing your own teen years. For me, I also had cousins and siblings who were just starting to come into their late teens, so seeing how they were processing those first steps into adulthood and independence inspired me to write something that I hope could be a little bit of a roadmap, especially for brown and/or queer kids trying to find their footing in a world that doesn’t always deem their experiences worthy of examination, or nurturing.

How would you describe your writing process?

I’ll put it this way – I discovered recently that I have an ADHD diagnosis, and that’s been pretty transformational in me being much kinder to the chaos that is what someone might hope to call “a process.”

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

Ella Enchanted was one of the first books I read constantly, and Gail Carson Levine became my “go-to” author, as a child and teenager. Anything she wrote, I read. I’m fairly certain most of her characters would be considered white and straight, but I think I connected to the fact that the girls were always brave, stubborn, and strong. As a kid, I wanted to be the same.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

As a young writer just starting out, I had the incredibly privilege of being mentored by Naomi Jackson, Janet Mock, and Kirya Traber… black, queer, female writers who taught me the value of pushing forward, pushing through, and believing in yourself. Their wisdom and encouragement helped me get through some of my darkest days of uncertainty, and also gave me real, in-person models of possibility.

In a similar vein, I have been an eager student of James Baldwin as a writer, and his incisive and brilliant work always keeps me motivated, especially when the world seems at its most unreal.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I love writing dialogue. It’s really fun to think about how people connect to one another – jokes, quips, sarcasm, flirtation. An entire personality can be expressed in one word, and I find that so fascinating to explore.

The most frustrating aspect of writing is the act of putting a vision into words. It’s like painting a moving image – you know what’s supposed to happen, you even know how it’s happening, and who’s making it happen, but how do you show that on a page? And besides making it as clear as possible, how do you make it exciting? How do you make it sound good? It can be fun when the words flow, but that’s not always (or often) the case.

Aside from your writing, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I love dogs, the first several seasons of Grey’s Anatomy saved my life, and I will drink fully caffeinated coffee at 10pm, and you can’t stop me.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Who was your first queer role model, and that would be Aaliyah Dana Haughton – hence the name of the protagonist in AND OTHER MISTAKES. I remember watching the ARE YOU THAT SOMEBODY music video when I was like…seven? Maybe? And just knowing that she was magic.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Keep going, and surround yourself with mentors and community members who will encourage you, fight for you, cry with you, and know that you have a voice worth being heard.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m incredibly thrilled about a YA anthology I have coming out with Versify, with a cast of incredible authors – including Kirya Traber, who I mentioned above! And I have an adult holiday novel with Avon coming out this summer. Also, on the day-job side of things, I’m editing a middle grade series that I’m completely ecstatic about, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Jacqueline Woodson, Malindo Lo, Robin Talley, and CB Lee all day every day. The incredible Jaz Joyner, whose debut graphic novel, DEVOUR, is coming out from Abrams this May. Kalynn Bayron, naturally. One of my favorite contemporary YA novels of all time is The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth. Oh! And, obviously, James Baldwin. I could go on!

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Interview with Mel Valentine Vargas, Co-Creator of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel


Mel Valentine Vargas is a Queer Cuban-American graphic novelist based in Chicago. They hope to draw the kind of illustrations that their younger self, and others like them, could have seen to feel less alone. Mel Valentine Vargas loves singing in Spanish, playing farming video games, and eating lots of gyoza with their friends.

I had the opportunity to interview Mel, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT. Could you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Mel Valentine Vargas, I am a Non-Binary Queer Cuban- American graphic novelist and illustrator. I speak both Spanish and English and currently reside in Chicago, but I am originally from Florida. 

What can you tell us about your most recent project, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel? How did you come to work on this book?

I can say that it is as relevant today as it was ten years ago when the original chapter book came out. I loved working on a book that my younger self would have really needed while growing up. I’m very thankful to my agent Elizabeth Bennett, Transatlantic Literary Agency, for getting this book deal for me and connecting me with Candlewick. 

How did you find yourself getting into storytelling, especially comics/graphic novels? What drew you to the medium?

When I graduated High school back in 2015, that following summer was such a weird time for me. I didn’t really know what to do with myself and I was about to start college on a biology track. I spent that summer like a bit of a hermit, but I was reading so many webcomics and watching so many animated shows. Something within me was really drawn to those stories and mediums, I wanted to be part of their creation. I’ve always loved storytelling, both listening and creating, so as I tried creating my own comics that summer it’s like things just clicked.

What are some of your favorite things to draw?

My favorite things to draw are people. I love drawing different kinds of people. I love deciding their outfits, coming up with silly t-shirts they wear, styling their hair, it’s like having Barbies all over again. I also love drawing plants, I really enjoy making some up as I go. And while we are on this topic, my least favorite thing to draw is animals… I should practice that.

How would you describe your creative process? And what went into collaborating with Meg Medina for the book?

My creative process always starts with immersing myself into the topic and medium for said project. With this book I read the original book twice. You should see the copy Candlewick gifted to me, it’s covered in highlighter marks and little color-coded sticky notes. It’s important for me to really get to know what I will be drawing, and in this case, adapting. 

I think people would be surprised how little illustrators partner with authors of graphic novels. I actually didn’t get to speak with Meg very much during the process of this book. Of course, she saw and approved everything in the end, but she and I really did not discuss anything much during the making of this book. Occasionally I would get a note from my editors that Meg really wanted something a certain way and I would of course make sure that what I drew was true to her vision. 

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?

Some of my greatest influences are, of course, other graphic novelists and cartoonists. I love Rosemary Valero-O’connell’s work as well as Leslie Hung’s and Lucy Knisley’s comics. Generally, I get very inspired by work that showcases people.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

Growing up I didn’t have many stories that I saw myself in. I grew up Hispanic, bilingual, and fat. It was difficult finding books or movies and shows that talked about that in a positive way. I really gravitated towards media that showcased awesome women though. I remember being awestruck at Raven and Starfire from Teen Titans and Marceline from Adventure Time. Now I am so thankful that there is much more media that showcases different people in a way that I would have loved to witness as a kid. Turning Red, Dead End: Paranormal Park, The Owl House, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, and so much more.  

Besides your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

I would want readers to know that illustrators, like me, work really hard on graphic novels and would love it if you spend just a tiny bit more time on every page. Just really soak up the details. I would want readers to know that all comics and graphic novels are a labor of love. I would like readers to know that I watch so many shows while I draw, specifically BoJack Horseman which I watched about 13 times through the course of making this book alone. 

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were (and the answer to that question)?

I’m not too sure. This is my first book interview. What is my zodiac, perhaps? It’s cancer by the way. I’m a cancer sun and moon, do with that info what you will. 

Are there any other projects you are working on or thinking about that you are able to discuss?

YES! My next graphic novel Pillow Talk, written by Stephanie Cooke, is coming out in 2024! There are also other projects in the works that are a bit hush-hush. 

What advice might you have to give to aspiring creatives, especially those interested in making their own graphic novel one day?

The advice I always give people who say they want to get into comics is MAKE COMICS! You can’t possibly get hired or followed or whatever your end goal is with comics if you aren’t producing them. It doesn’t matter if they are bad, or if you don’t post them, just make them. Diary comics, or little joke comics, zines, or fan art comics. Read and make comics!

Finally, what books/authors (LGBTQ+ and/or otherwise) would you recommend to the readers of GeeksOUT?

Books I recommend-

Anything by Nicole Dennis-Benn, Maggie Nelson, and Madeline Miller. Of course anything by Meg Medina! Graphic Novels– Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Snotgirl series, The Leak, and honestly any graphic novel written/ drawn by women and genderqueer people.  

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Interview with Shannon C.F. Rogers, Author of I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom

Shannon C.F. Rogers is a multiracial American writer of Filipinx and European descent. Her work has appeared in Bodega Magazine, Newfound Journal, and on stage with Tricklock Company, Lady Luck Productions, and the UNM Words Afire Festival of New Plays. She earned her B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in Writing For Young People at Antioch University Los Angeles. She has served as an educator, after-school program director, and lost mitten finder at schools in Albuquerque, Chicago, and NYC, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. I’D RATHER BURN THAN BLOOM is her first novel.

I had the opportunity to interview Shannon, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m a multiracial Filipinx-American writer based in Brooklyn, NY, and I grew up in Albuquerque, NM. I work in the education field and I’D RATHER BURN THAN BLOOM is my debut novel.

What can you tell us about your debut book, I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom? What inspired this story?

It’s a story for teens (14+) about rage, loss, and learning to drive. The main character, Marisol Martin, is sixteen and grieving a parent, her mother, who dies suddenly in a car accident. Marisol blames herself for her mother’s death because they’d been in a huge fight right before it happened. Her story is one of personal growth – messy, and nonlinear, like grief really is. This book is inspired and informed by my own experiences with grief and growing up with a Filipina mom and a white American dad in the Southwest. Losing a parent is always traumatic, and for Marisol, she is also dealing with losing the parent who she feels was her only connection to her cultural heritage, which causes her to question her identity.

As an author, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction?

Reading was a big part of my life as a young person, I was at the library all the time, checking out the maximum number of books allowed. Writing flowed naturally from that. I wrote stories as a kid in Elementary school and that evolved to writing a lot of fanfiction when I was in high school– I wrote a self-insert Animorphs fanfiction with a word count that makes my eyes water, I wish I could still write that quickly and with so much abandon. Someone sent me a piece of fanart about it and I was over the moon. That was such a fun, magical time on the internet and my first experience being part of a writing community which I think is so crucial. I believe the reason I’m still drawn to writing for young people now, and about adolescence especially, is because it’s a time of life that’s about self-exploration and growth and change – all powerful ideas that still capture me as an adult reader and writer.

How would you describe your writing process?

I start with a character and see where that takes me, though my process is evolving to include more attention to structure earlier on in the drafting process, like outlining. It really makes life easier, I hate to say it, but it does. I’d describe my natural writing process as one that relies heavily on vibes, the vibes are very important and I love a book that really captures an elusive feeling and a mood, and ideas that are hard to articulate succinctly, ideas that need an entire book’s length of words to tease out. Because of this, I revise a lot. Like, a lot. I revised I’D RATHER BURN THAN BLOOM more times than I can count, but that was the process I needed to use in order to figure out what I was really trying to say.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in, in terms of personal identity? Would you say there are any like that now?

There are so many amazing stories I’ve read recently that resonated with me as a multiracial person, someone who feels very much in between – many more recently as opposed to when I was growing up, but that being said, back then I was searching for myself in every story and usually found something to grasp onto even if it wasn’t literal. I remember picking up The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw at my local library as a kid because of the image on the cover – it somehow communicated to me that the main character was an outsider. The Moorchild is about a fairy who grows up in the human world because she was switched with a human baby, and she never fits in. When she finds out the truth, she goes on this quest to get her family’s real daughter back. That struck me to my core as a kid. I think it was this feeling of not belonging, this feeling that your people are somewhere out there, that really resonated. As an adult, I’ve read so many amazing books about the experiences of young people that resonate with me, one that had a huge impact on me and my writing is Nicola Yoon’s THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR that places a romance in the context of family legacies impacted by the histories of colonization and immigration, which I so relate to, and also has a really interesting story structure, which showed me that you can be creative and take risks there.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

Reflecting back, I can see that Miyazaki movies had a strong impact on me as a young person– Kiki’s Delivery Service, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Princess Mononoke especially. I loved these stories that centered on girl protagonists and honored their feelings and inner worlds and also treated nature with so much respect and reverence. Creating a specific sense of place is really important to me in my writing. In the case of my debut novel, the setting of New Mexico is a key component in the story, both the physical landscape and its cultural history.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult?

I love writing dialogue, that always flows the easiest for me, and I think that’s because my primary interest in fiction is character. Why are people like this? Why do we do all the weird things we do? I love listening to how people talk and how people say things they don’t mean at all or say things they mean by accident. The most difficult for me is plot and structure, distilling down the scope of the story and articulating it in a way that feels satisfying for the reader– I have to pay a lot of attention to that as I revise my many drafts!

As a writer, often one of the hardest parts of writing a book is just finishing it. Could you tell us any tips or strategies you used that helped you accomplish this?

Something I do is write out of order so that I can write something I can be successful with that day rather than get mired in writing a scene I’m struggling with for some reason. I used to waste a lot of time doing that before I realized that sometimes I really need to let things percolate, render in the background. There is a reason why “sleep on it” is very good advice, there is a great deal of subconscious work in writing and sometimes the best thing to do is just not write. Then, you might wake up the next day and realize you know just what to do.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

Although it’s fiction, I think people can probably infer a lot about me from my work! I think maybe the fact that I’m left-handed doesn’t appear anywhere in my book– that’s one thing!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

One element of the book that I loved writing that I haven’t talked about much yet is the impact of music on Marisol’s life and how closely tied to her friendships her experience with music is. When I was in high school the mixed tapes and burned CDs my friends gave me were life-changing. In the book, Marisol’s friends take her to some basement shows to see touring bands and it’s like opening up a whole new world in her city she didn’t know was there. I guess the question I’m dying to be asked is “what are your favorite local Albuquerque bands?” and I would say: Red Light Cameras, Self Neglect (which is my brother’s band), and Prism Bitch.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Honestly, the writing life is really hard, but don’t let that stop you! Just know that it’s really hard for everyone, but it’s something that you will get better at over time, and that is so satisfying. The time is going to pass anyway, you may as well spend it doing the thing you want to do. Focus on your work, about why you want to do it, what ideas you’re interested in, and that will take you a long way. Join a writing group with other writers you trust. Give their work your time and attention. You will grow together, and it will be beautiful.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

My second book is currently scheduled to come out next summer from Feiwel & Friends! It’s another YA contemporary also set in Albuquerque, New Mexico! It’s a lot lighter and funnier than my debut in many ways (it centers on an aspiring stand-up comedian), but I would say it’s still pretty emotional (Sad Girl Summer remains the brand!).

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

So, so many great books on my shelves right now! I’ll mention a few other YA contemporary novels: THE NEXT NEW SYRIAN GIRL by Ream Shukairy, told in alternating perspectives between a Syrian-American teen, Khadija Shami, and the Syrian refugee her family takes in to live with them in Detroit, Leene Tahir – a really beautiful and nuanced story. MY HEART UNDERWATER by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo, which follows Fil-Am teen Cory Tagubio who is sent to live with her half-brother in the Philippines when her mother discovers her kissing her 25-year-old history teacher, Ms. Holden. I loved the exploration of Filipino familial duty in conflict with self-actualization and the tenderness and care Fantauzzo brings to the subject. BECOMING A QUEEN by Dan Clay is a heartbreaking yet very funny story about loss and coming of age which follows Mark Harris who begins to pursue drag as part of his healing and grieving process. Just lovely.

Additionally, for my book launch event I was lucky to be joined in conversation by author Yume Kitasei, whose debut book, THE DEEP SKY also just came out. This is a fascinating Sci-Fi thriller for adults that I just started reading – it follows Asuka Hoshino-Silva, a biracial Japanese-American who has been selected as one of a small crew of a spaceship bound to start a new civilization after climate collapse on earth. I’m also looking forward to reading FORGIVE ME NOT, by Jenn Baker, which explores family, forgiveness, and centers Violetta Chen-Samuels who is incarcerated as a juvenile defender, as well as THESE DEATHLESS SHORES by P.H. Low which is already on my TBR for 2024 – it’s a gender-bent retelling of Captain Hook’s origin story in an Southeast Asian-inspired setting.

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Interview with Linda Cheng, Author of Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

Linda Cheng was born in Taiwan and spent her childhood moving between cultures and continents. She received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and worked as an art director across South Carolina and Georgia where she developed a deep love for sweet tea, grits, and Southern Gothic stories. She currently resides in Vancouver, Canada with her family. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is her debut novel.

I had the opportunity to interview Linda, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m Linda, I was born and raised in Taiwan, spent a good chunk of my adult years in the Southern United States, before settling back in Vancouver Canada. I write spooky love stories that are often served with a side of body horror.

What can you tell us about your debut book, Gorgeous Gruesome Faces? What was the inspiration for this story?

GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES is about a disgraced teen pop star who comes face to face with her estranged former groupmate and the demons of their shared past at a deadly K-pop competition. It’s also a deeply personal story about grief, and how to forgive and love yourself again after making big, terrible mistakes.  

This book was written in 2020 when I was going through a lot of personal hardship. I wanted a way to explore that pain, but also to throw myself into the things that have always brought me joy. GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES is my love letter to Asian horror, pop idol survival shows, fan culture, complicated female relationships, and queer girls.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction and thriller genre?

Like many writers of my generation, I started my ‘career’ writing fan fiction, and then progressed to original works. Having moved across multiple countries in my formative years, I naturally gravitated towards coming of age stories, usually ones containing themes of self-discovery.

The supernatural world and the spiritual beliefs surrounding it are intimately tied to daily life in Taiwanese culture. Growing up as a child I was both scared and fascinated by the plethora of ghost stories, which eventually evolved into a full on love affair with the horror/thriller genre.

As Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is centered on K-pop, I was wondering if you have any favorite artists of your own that you like to listen to, as well as any that influenced your book?

My favorite K-pop girl group is ITZY, and I listened to a lot of IU, Red Velvet, and BLACKPINK as well when I was writing the book. The music videos of Pink Fantasy also inspired some of the imagery.

Since Geeks OUT is a queer centered website, could you tell us a bit about the LGBTQ+ content featured in your book?

I like to refer to my book as a horror-romance, as the sapphic love story is equally as important to the plot as the horror and mystery elements. Like me, my protagonist Sunny is bisexual, and her relationships with her love interests run the gamut from friendship to lust to obsession to rivalry. I wanted Sunny to have plenty of opportunities to be messy and make tons of mistakes, because growing up and falling in love and trying to find your identity is a messy process!

How would you describe your writing process?

My stories are character driven, and so I typically start by creating the main characters first, and then build the plot and setting around them. I tend to be more of a plotter, and I like to do a detailed outline before drafting so that I have a road map to follow, even if I do usually end up changing things along the way.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I really can’t recall seeing any Taiwanese-American protagonists in young adult literature back when I first immigrated, and there certainly were no queer ones. Malinda Lo’s Ash was the first young adult sapphic romance I’d read, and I remember being blown away. Seeing authors like Emily X.R. Pan, Cindy Pon, and Gloria Chao not only write about Taiwanese characters in their young adult books but also set their stories in Taiwan has been so inspiring, and was a huge motivating force for me to write my own.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

Horror/thriller movies and television shows are some of my biggest inspirations when it comes to writing. GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES was greatly inspired by Korean vengeance thrillers and classic Japanese horror movies like The Grudge.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I love exploring flawed characters and the bad choices that they make, writing romances, and of course, coming up with good scares! I also enjoy creating unexpected plot twists that will take the reader by surprise. Developing the right pacing and figuring out when to deliver the scares and reveal the plot twists takes a lot of trial and error on the page.

Many authors would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helped you accomplish this?

Having a critique group of other writers encouraging me and holding me accountable was what got me through to the end. Community support is invaluable.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

Despite loving horror movies, I can’t actually watch them alone!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I love reciving and giving horror movie recommendations. My current recommendation is the Taiwanese folk horror movie Incantation.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Write what brings you the most joy, what makes you smile. Don’t put the pressure on yourself to constantly produce. If writing becomes draining and you’re finding a lack of enjoyment, give yourself permission to step away for as long as you need. Your story will be there for you when you’re ready again.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I am currently working on the second book in the GGF duology!

Finally, what books/authors (LGBTQ+ or otherwise) would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

The short stories of Alyssa Wong, Eugenia Triantafyllou, and Nathan Ballingrud

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran, I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea, The Witchery by S. Isabelle, Chlorine by Jade Song, Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.

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Interview with K. X. Song, Author of An Echo in the City

K. X. Song is a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. An Echo in the City is her debut novel. Visit her on Instagram @ksongwrites.

I had the opportunity to interview K. X., which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourselves? 

Thanks for having me! My name is K. X. Song and I’m a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai, currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

What can you tell us about your debut book, An Echo in the City?

AN ECHO IN THE CITY is a dual point of view novel set in Hong Kong, following Phoenix, an aspiring photographer and student protester, and Kai, a police officer in training and artist from Shanghai. The two meet when Kai is assigned to spy on Phoenix due to her involvement in the protest movement, but of course, nothing goes as planned. 

What was the inspiration for the project?

AN ECHO IN THE CITY was very much inspired by its setting, Hong Kong. Hong Kong in the summer of 2019 was simply an electric place. Through story, I wanted to somehow capture that dynamic energy, and the vibrant, beating pulse of the city. People often say change is hard, or even impossible, but that summer, it felt like change was not only possible, but already in motion all around us. It felt like we could do anything, everything. Of course, much has changed since then, but for those who were there, I wanted us to remember, and for those who were not there, I wanted to write a bridge, a way for readers to experience a bit of what it was like.

Based on the book’s description, this story seems to center diaspora identity and culture. I was wondering if you could expand on that theme here, and what it might mean to you as a diaspora author yourself writing it?

As a first-generation immigrant myself and someone who grew up moving between cultures and countries, I often felt a sense of guilt and isolation in struggling where to place myself. For example, in the east, I felt weird calling myself Chinese. In the west, I felt awkward calling myself American. Even calling myself Chinese American felt dishonest at times, given I didn’t relate to Chinese Americans who had never grown up outside America. The thing that was hardest for me was choosing where to call “home”. Home meant many places for me, which, in other words, meant no place. And that led to a pervasive feeling of otherness.

Since then, I’ve met many diaspora kids who experience a similar feeling of being stuck in liminal spaces. I hope readers, both diaspora and otherwise, who relate to these experiences of alienation, can read AN ECHO IN THE CITY and resonate with Phoenix and Kai’s struggles, whether it be through the question of where one belongs, or of who one belongs with, or even of belonging itself–and how one can endeavor to make sense of their place and purpose in an ever-changing world.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction and romance?

I don’t remember the exact moment I became interested in telling stories, but what I remember as a child is writing stories on the backs of paper towels and napkins, in restaurants or trains or even at school. As a kid I spent many aimless hours in Shanghai, with my grandparents, where the only English language books available to me were long classics like War and Peace—not exactly appealing to a child! So I started writing my own stories to amuse myself. Young adult romance was particularly interesting to me because often, you’re telling stories about first love in YA romance. All your emotions are heightened; everything is big, intense, powerful. Growing up as a kid, I loved coming of age stories, and as an adult today, I love them still, and find them equally relevant.

How would you describe your creative process?

During the novel ideation process, I’m a pantser. The first spark for AN ECHO IN THE CITY came to me as a setting, but from there, I continued to ask myself freeform questions. Which perspectives do I want to showcase here? What different kinds of stories can I tell? These questions spark images, scents, slivers of scenes. A girl in the rain, waiting for a boy who shouldn’t come. A boy looking at a painting on a billboard, feeling seen and yet invisible. These emotions and images guided me as I then took a more structured approach to outlining. Of course, my outline doesn’t remain the same as I write. The original outline for the story would’ve made the book over 150,000 words. I had to shorten and rearrange the order of several scenes. Certain beats I had planned didn’t make sense in lieu of a character’s changing personality. So I would say my creative process is a combination of pantsing and plotting, with pantsing at the beginning and end, and plotting in the middle.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging?

I love coming up with the idea for a story, I love writing dialogue, and I love tension. Building tension is so important to keeping your readers engaged. You can do this by asking questions, then leaving them unanswered (until later in the plot). In books that are dual point of view, like AN ECHO IN THE CITY, you can have one character keep a secret that you know the other character would react negatively to, if they found out about that secret. In this way, the reader knows something that one of the narrators does not, and that anticipation adds to the overall tension of the plot.

What I found most challenging was writing a fictional story based on a historical event. In my first draft of ECHO, nearly all the events took place according to a historically accurate timeline. However, this made for a slow-paced and often tedious draft. My editors at Little, Brown were instrumental in helping me tighten the timeline and become more liberal about reconfiguring the order of events to refine the plot and pacing. Writing historical fiction, I learned you often must make a choice between story and fact-telling. As a novelist, I intentionally chose the former, while trying not to sacrifice the core of the historical time and place.

Growing up, were there any stories or books in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

As a child, I loved the Studio Ghibli movie SPIRITED AWAY, and the novel CORALINE by Neil Gaiman. Both pieces examine the idea of being able to traverse between worlds, and the consequences of such an ability.

As an adult, I love PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee, for its examination of intergenerational trauma, as well as the film IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, which deeply touched me and reminded me why I create stories. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I’m a huge fan of Rainie Yang, BTS, and Younha. I’m also a huge foodie–I could go on and on about all the foods I love. One of my favorite foods of all time is zongzi–sticky glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. I eat it with sugar sprinkled on top, which is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Chinese people eat zongzi year-round, but particularly during the Dragon Boat Festival, in honor of a famous poet named Qu Yuan with an “interesting” back story. According to legend, Qu Yuan drowned himself in a river after the king ignored his wise counsel. The Chinese people, grateful for Qu Yuan’s loyalty to the country, threw zongzi into the river to feed the fish, so that the fish would not eat his body.   

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I wish more people asked who the illustrator of the gorgeous cover is! The cover of An Echo in the City is illustrated by Hsiao Ron Cheng, an incredibly talented Taiwanese artist who coincidentally also illustrated the album cover for Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighborhood (an album I adore and listened to while writing this book!)

What advice would you give to other aspiring writers?

I always start with questions. Ask yourself why things are the way they are. Look at your city or hometown through the eyes of a tourist. What is novel, unusual, strange? Contrast your hometown to other places. How are the people here different? What sets them apart? How do you know when you’re home again? What does coming home feel like? These questions can help you start to see your hometown–which can often feel mundane or ordinary–in a new and engaging light. Follow those questions like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading you to a seed of a story. That seed can come in the form of a character, for example, someone new to town. Or it can come in the form of an event, like the Hong Kong protests. What’s important to remember about documentation is that it’s impossible to be fully comprehensive. You can try, if that’s the aim of your novel, but don’t let the need for comprehensive documentation overwhelm the plot or heart of the story.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Yes! My next project is a big departure from AN ECHO IN THE CITY. Coming out next summer, THE NIGHT ENDS WITH FIRE is a Chinese fantasy inspired by the ballad of Mulan and the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, set in a thrilling world of magic and danger, strange beasts and otherworldly realms. I’m currently in the middle of revisions and can’t wait to share this book with the world. (You can add the book on Goodreads here!)     

Finally, what book/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

So many good books to recommend, but I’ll settle for three. THE IMPOSSIBLE CITY by Karen Cheung, which is an adult memoir about life in Hong Kong, amongst other things. A painfully honest read, beautifully written and truly thought-provoking. WHEN WE WERE INFINITE by Kelly Loy Gilbert, for its flawed yet loving mother-daughter relationship, which made me bawl my eyes out. And THIS PLACE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL by XiXi Tian, which is about hate crimes and racism, but also about sisterhood and identity, and how one’s identity changes over time, all rendered in gorgeous prose.  

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Interview with Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Co-Editors of Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For


Zoraida Córdova is the acclaimed author of more than two dozen novels and short stories, including the Brooklyn Brujas series, Star Wars: The High Republic: Convergence, and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. In addition to writing novels, she serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books, and is the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old, as well as the cohost of the writing podcast, Deadline City. She writes romance novels as Zoey Castile. Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and calls New York City home. When she’s not working, she’s roaming the world in search of magical stories.

Natalie C. Parker is an author, editor, and community organizer. She has written several award winning books for teens and young readers and has edited multiple anthologies including the Indie Bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old. Her work has been included on the NPR Best Books list, the Indie Next List, and the TAYSHAS Reading List, and in Junior Library Guild selections. In addition to writing, Natalie also runs Madcap Retreats, which has partnered with We Need Diverse Books and Reese’s Book Club to host the writers workshops for their new internship Lit Up. She grew up in a navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan and currently lives with her wife on the Kansas prairie.

I had the opportunity to interview Zoraida and Natalie, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourselves? 

N: Hi Geeks OUT team! Thank you so much for having us! Zoraida and I are both authors of young adult, middle grade, and, in her case, adult SFF and we’ve been friends since the day we met. Which was at the very beginning of our careers.

What can you tell us about your latest anthology, Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For? What was the inspiration for the project?

N: To tell you about the inspiration for Mermaids Never Drown we actually have to back up a bit and tell you about the first installment in the Untold Legends series, Vampires Never Get Old, which came out of a writing retreat. We were both floating in a pool that was far too cold for rational people to endure, and Zoraida breezily mentioned missing vampires. Suddenly we were deep in a discussion about how many vampires were missing from the stories we were most familiar with. Our solution was an anthology featuring an array of voices who were excited to revamp, if you will, the mythology we know and love. That book came out in 2020.

Z: Back in the pandemic days! It became an Indie bestseller and since then, we’ve seen one of the stories from Vampires, “First Kill” by V.E. Schwab, be adapted as a Netflix show, which was very exciting. And we sold two more installments featuring two more of our favorite cryptids/magical beings. Which is how Mermaids Never Drown came to be.

As authors, you’ve both written about merfolk before. This is also the second mythological creature you’ve tackled in this anthology series. May I ask what do you think draws you and the other writers from the Mermaids Never Drown anthology to this mythological creature?

Z: Mermaids have always been my favorite mythological creature. There are so many metaphors that can be applied to magical beings, but for me, the mermaid story is about straddling two worlds. As an immigrant living in the diaspora, what better metaphor could I choose? I’m not trying to belong to one world or the other. I belong to both, and that’s pretty powerful for me.

N: I’ve been captivated by mermaids for as long as I can remember. I’ve been a swimmer, a sailor, and a SCUBA diver and all of the mercreatures I write tend to be monstrous in some way, always hungry with sharp teeth and rough skin. That really fits my experience of queerness–I have felt monstrous and strange and also hungry and vicious at various points in my life, like I both did and didn’t fit in my own body or among regular humans. So for me, mermaids and queerness have a lot to do with finding home inside yourself, and making a new one in the world.

Zoraida Córdova Photo Credit Melanie Barbosa

For many people, mermaids and merfolk in general have often been a queer symbol, a marginalized creature traveling between different worlds, longing for love and freedom. Could you maybe tell us about some of the queer contributions to Mermaids Never Drown?

N: So many of our stories play on that theme of feeling trapped or pulled between two worlds, or on being denied access to spaces that feel crucial to identity or a sense of history. The stories in this collection use mermaid mythology and tropes to explore everything from intergenerational trauma to diaspora to queerness. In particular, I’m very excited for Rebecca Coffindaffer’s Storm Song, which grapples with sexuality and expectations. Queer romance is front and center in Julian Winters’s We’ll Always Have June, and Julie Murphy’s The First and Last Kiss. Katherine Locke’s Nor’easter features a nonbinary protagonist, andand several of the other stories have queerness braided throughout, including Kalynn Bayon’s Return to the Sea, Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s Shark Week, and the story I’ve co-authored with Zoraida, The Merrow.

What draws you to the art of anthology creation?

N: There is something really powerful about being invited into a story. As a queer person, stories about magical and mythical creatures have felt strangely off-limits. Anthologies give us an opportunity to change that, and while there’s no single collection that can invite every single reader in, I love working on projects that are opening doors rather than closing them.

Z: Short stories were my first love. From the classics we had to read in school, to the strange and experimental zines and flash fiction I found in college, to putting together these collections with Natalie. I love giving other writers a prompt and seeing what unfurls from planting that idea.

As writers, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult, fantasy, and romance?

Z: The real world is a mess, to quote our favorite soft shell crab. From the moment I decided I wanted to be a writer in high school, I’ve been dreaming up worlds. Fantasy is a reflection of our world, but at a distance. I don’t think you can truly leave the problems of our worlds behind. In fact, it should power your fantasy and shine a light on what, as an author, you are trying to say.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing and/or editing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging?

N: When it comes to anthologies, my favorite part is always getting the stories and reading them for the first time. It’s exciting every single time and I love the tantalizing feeling of not knowing how our authors will have tackled the prompt. It reminds me that stories are limitless and a single prompt can inspire wildly different and robust creations–it’s a kind of magic. The most challenging part is deciding the order of the stories! Seriously, we agonize over placement. Every. Single. Time.

Growing up, were there any stories or books in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

Z: There are so many. I loved all the teen urban fantasy that came out in the late 90’s and early aughts. Those books really shaped me as a writer. I grew up watching Latin American TV, so I did see aspects of myself reflected in Spanish-language television and media, but until recently, that wasn’t the case in US American books and media. I think the first time I felt represented in a show was the first episode of ‘Jane the Virgin,’ which came out in my 20s. I’m still waiting for a book to do that to me, as an Ecuadorian person, but I’ve still found connections with books that feature strong main characters like Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera.

N: The first books I remember feeling a deep connection to as a queer kid were the Heralds of Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey. It was the first time I’d ever seen queer characters on the page who weren’t villainized. In fact, they got to be the main characters, have magic of their own and go on epic quests! Now, there are many queer books that reflect parts of me and many that don’t, and I love that we are getting to have that kind of expansion in literature. In particular, I’m currently obsessed with the works of Zen Cho, Andrew Joseph White, Tessa Gratton (I know Z already mentioned her, but I can’t help it), Adib Khorram, and Mark Oshiro.

Natalie C. Parker

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

Z: Natalie and I have a podcast called Untold Legends, where we deep dive (no pun intended) pop culture with our authors. Season one is all about vampires, and of course, season two is about mermaids. You can listen here.

N: I know this is giving the impression that Zoraida and I do everything together, but we also work with a new company called Electric Postcard Entertainment. Our mission is to act as a launchpad for creators whose backgrounds and experiences have long been marginalized by entertainment industries. Aspiring writers can learn more here!

What advice would you give to other aspiring writers?

Z: Read everything. It was the first piece of advice I received, and it holds true. Consuming stories–in whatever format–is part of the job. For me, it sharpens my sentences, and helps me figure out how I want my own voice to be different.

Any specific advice for those looking to create/organize an anthology themselves?

N: My best advice is to take your time and be really intentional about the project. The more focus you can bring to the idea at the pitch stage, the better the collection will be in the end. So, what I’m saying is that it’s good to be very clear about your mission from the beginning. 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Z: I’m working on my next adult book. It’s tentatively titled The Fall of Rebel Angels and is a love story between a woman suspected of murdering her former lover and a fallen angel who is cursed to search for his wings on Earth every one hundred years.

N: I am just about to announce two new projects that will be released in 2024 and 2025. The first is my first young adult horror novel, which has been a dream of mine for ten million years, and the second is a project I pitched as John Wick meets Adventures in Babysitting. Full details, titles, and covers will be released VERY soon.

Finally, what book/authors would you recommend to the readers of GeeksOUT?

Z: All of the authors in our anthologies have tremendous novels of their own. Make sure you check out their work!

N: What Z said! I will also offer a quick set of spooky season queer YA reads for consideration: My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayronn, The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, and These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall, and Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado.

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Interview with Ellen T. Crenshaw, Artist of Stacey’s Mistake: A Graphic Novel (the Baby-Sitters Club #14)

Ellen T. Crenshaw is the creator of the New York Times bestselling Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adaptation of Stacey’s Mistake by Ann M. Martin. She is the co-creator, with Colleen AF Venable, of Kiss Number 8, which was nominated for an Eisner Award and longlisted for a National Book Award. She is also the creator of What Was the Turning Point of the Civil War?, a Who HQ graphic novel. When she’s not making comics, Ellen loves playing video games, hiking with her dog, and deconstructing movie plots with her husband.

I had the opportunity to interview Ellen, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Thank you for having me! I’m Ellen T. Crenshaw, a cartoonist and illustrator. I worked for years as an editorial illustrator and a studio freelancer for children’s media development, but now I almost exclusively make comics and graphic novels. Journey is the best video game I’ve ever played. My favorite movie is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. This past spring I drove 3,000 miles with my husband, cat, and dog from California to Massachusetts, where we now live!

What can you tell us about your latest project, The Baby-sitters Club: Stacey’s Mistake: A Graphic Novel and how did you get involved in illustrating for The Baby-sitters Club series?

Stacey’s Mistake is the 14th book in the Baby-sitters Club graphic novel series. Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Dawn, Jessi, and Mallory all visit Stacey in New York City for a big baby-sitting job, but the girls clash with Stacey’s New York friends and her city life. There’s lots of big emotions, and loving depictions of NYC sights.

I got involved with the BSC graphic novels when my agent came to me with interest from the series editor, Cassandra Pelham Fulton. I was a Baby-sitters Club reader when I was a kid, so I couldn’t have been more excited!

Did you have any previous connections to The Baby-sitters Club series before working on this project?

I read my older sister’s hand-me-down copies of the original series when I was little. The two of us watched the ‘90s tv show on PBS, and to this day we can both sing the theme song. My niece also read the graphic novels when she was in middle school. It means a lot to me that my family and I have such ties to the series and my work on it now is something I can share with them. (I’ve actually consulted my sister a handful of times for advice and input on my adaptations!)

As an author, what drew you to the art of storytelling, particularly comics?

My mom instilled in me a love of grammar, and she was basically my first writing teacher. When my dad got home from work he would read with me, and my favorites were always a book of Hans Christian Anderson tales and the daily newspaper comics. I’ve always loved cartoons, too—so much that baby-me wished Toon Town was a real place—and I was constantly drawing my favorite characters. I was in elementary school when I started making my first comic books with friends, drawn on computer paper and stapled into booklets. Comics are just so accessible as a storytelling medium, it was only natural as someone who loved both writing and drawing to keep doing it.

As a comic creator, you are known for another queer fan-favorite, Kiss Number 8. Could you tell us what it was like working on that project?

Thank you! Kiss Number 8 was what made me decide to try out for my first graphic novel. Before then I was making short comics for myself and small-press anthologies. Reading Colleen’s script was transformative; I felt so strongly for those characters and the story, I wanted with my whole body to be the one to draw it. The balance of humor and drama was right up my alley, and thankfully First Second thought so too! The process was exceptionally hard for me, though, because making short comics is a sprint while a graphic novel is a marathon. The hours were grueling. (They still are!) Colleen was a real champion for me throughout; she gave me so much encouragement. When it was done, she gifted me a crocheted trophy! I’m so lucky to have collaborated with her, and our book is one of my proudest efforts.

How would you describe your creative process in general?

It seems to change with every project, but one thing is consistent: I avoid my desk for as long as possible. I go for walks, I take the dog to the beach, I play games, I read, I come up with ideas in the shower. I’m on the couch with my sketchbook, laptop, or iPad—sometimes all three—while I write a script and begin sketches. The rest of my process is usually some combination of traditional and digital tools, my favorite being ink on paper.

What are some of your favorite elements of making comics? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

As I said, ink on paper is my favorite. By that point, all the meticulous planning is over and it’s just me and my brush, guiding those lines, making textures, delighting in happy accidents. I can lose myself in the story and characters.

Pencils are challenging for me. They can be really tedious. It’s when I’m drawing endless perspective lines, poring over reference. There’s still an element of fun—especially when I’m taking photos of myself for posing—but it’s the most eye-melting, back-breaking part of my process.

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

A single influential moment that changed my entire creative life was when my college professor, the late great Robert Jay Kaufman, told me that I should convey more emotion in my characters’ hands. I took that to heart and I’ve since built a whole reputation of drawing expressive hands!

In general, I’m inspired by projects in which I get to research and learn new things. I’ll always prefer narrative fiction, but I appreciate any chance I get to do a historical piece that requires a trip to the library archives.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I mostly read my sister’s hand-me-down books growing up, my favorite among them being Anne of Green Gables. The first book of my own I remember loving was Totally Disgusting! by Bill Wallace, in which an uptight, scared little kitten learns to loosen up and be brave. I was a nervous kid and I wanted to be adventurous like Anne Shirley, but I think I felt more like Mewkiss the kitten.

Nowadays I’m really into historical fiction, adventure, and stories that explore the spectrum/question the boundaries of womanhood. I really enjoyed the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden and Circe by Madeline Miller. I’ll read and reread This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki from now until the end of time.

I’m also dabbling in horror, and Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass tv series especially moved me as a formerly religious person. I talk about it constantly.

Many creators would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helps you accomplish this?

Deadlines help a ton, haha! Honestly, a looming due date is mostly what keeps me moving forward. Finished is better than perfect.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I laugh exceptionally loudly and if you’re one of my neighbors I sincerely apologize.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Q: What’s your favorite cookie, and would you like one?

A: White chocolate macadamia nut, and yes, please and thank you.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring creatives?

Find your people and hold ‘em tight. Community is everything. The support you’ll give and receive, how you’ll influence each other; it’ll make you a better person and artist.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m in the middle of two more Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel adaptations: Kristy and the Walking Disaster and Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter.

Finally, what books /authors (LGBTQ+ or otherwise) would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan is wonderfully romantic and adventurous and turns the whole idea of a “chosen one” on its head.

I grabbed this series for work reference and I instantly fell in love with it: Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi. It’s baseball manga, completely out of my wheelhouse, and I love it.

Header Photo Credit Matt Boehm

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Interview with Amber McBride, Author of Gone Wolf

Amber McBride is an English professor at the University of Virginia. She also low-key practices Hoodoo and high-key devours books (150 or so a year keep her well fed). In her spare time, she enjoys pretending it is Halloween every day, organizing her crystals, watching K-dramas, and accidentally scrolling through TikTok for 3 hours at a time. She believes in ghosts and she believes in you.

I had the opportunity to interview Amber, which you can read below.

CW: Discussion of Unite the Right Rally and depression.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi, so happy to be here! Thank you for having me!  My name is Amber McBride, and I am the author of Gone Wolf, Me (Moth) and We Are All So Good At Smiling! I am a poet and professor who lives in the countryside in Virginia. I am also a Mother of Bees, two hives of bees to be exact—one is feisty one is relatively calm. Outside of professoring and writing I practice Hoodoo, which is an African American folk magic system.

What can you tell us about your latest book, Gone Wolf? What was the inspiration for this story?

The idea for Gone Wolf first flickered to life after the Unite the Right Rally that happened in my mother’s hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017. Being Black and living in the United States is such a compilated, nuanced and sometimes frightening experience. I wanted to challenge myself to dive deeper into that nuance and fear. The only way I could do that was by leading with feeling which is what the main character, Imogen, does throughout Gone Wolf. I sat with the idea for a long time and ended up writing several versions before the story of Imogen and Ira surfaced.

While writing this book I also read The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson for the second time in my life and the feeling that history often repeats when it is not told truthfully really came to light.

As an author, what drew you to the art of storytelling, particularly novels in verse?

I come from a lineage of storytellers; people who told stories but did not write them down. So, I think storytelling, mythmaking, folklore crafting is in my blood. I was always a child who felt a lot—like my skin could not hold all the emotions inside of me. Then, out of nowhere, when I was 11 I wrote a story about a unicorn who flew down from the sky and saved a little girl from all her feelings. Soon after that I wrote my first poem. For me poetry became a gift that helped me process complex emotions.

In my books I usually write in verse when the heart of what I want the reader to grasp is a feeling that I can’t explain. A feeling that poetry gives life to. Gone Wolf is mostly written in prose because it has a clear message—what happens when we don’t tell history correctly?

As someone who has written both young adult and middle grade fiction, what attracts you in writing for these demographics?

I trust young adults as readers. I trust that they can glide on vibes and feelings. I trust that they will follow a character to the edge of the known universe even if the plot is wonky. It’s a privilege to write for young people.

When I write poetry for adults, I know logic will enter the chat very quickly. I love the whimsy, joy, and hope that YA and MG has space for, but most of all, writing for this demographic makes gives me hope. Young people make me hope-filled.

Regarding your previous work, We Are All So Good at Smiling, I found it profoundly beautiful how you explored the subject of mental health with magic. What inspired you to write about depression this way? Also, if you feel comfortable, could you talk a little about what writing about this subject means to you?

Thank you for this question. I’ve been an advocate for mental health awareness for all my adult life. I was first “officially” diagnosed with clinical depression in college and more recently diagnosed with treatment resistant depression—so my mental health is something that stiches through much of my life. I wanted to write about it differently in We Are All So Good at Smiling because the haunting feeling of being depressed is so real, heavy and often it feels like only magic can help it.

I also wanted to highlight that anyone can experience depression—Baba Yaga, Mama Wata, it’s not a thing to ashamed of and there are many tools and resources out there to help. In We Are All So Good at Smiling, Whimsy and Faerry realize that there are flickers of magic everywhere; in friendship, in community, in fairytales and with the right tools they can make it out of any haunted garden.

In previous interviews, you’ve discussed how you and your characters are informed by unique belief sytems such as root work and Hoodoo. Would you mind speaking a little of what it means to you to feature this in your books?

Seeing a belief system that had to be hidden for hundreds of years on the page means everything to me. My ancestors crafted Hoodoo while in bondage and used its tenants to keep healthy and to create balance. My ancestors are fierce and brave—I hope they are proud of me.

These practices sustained my ancestors and have fortified me. When I have young people, from all backgrounds, ask me about it I love being able to start a conversation about ancestral respect, herbalism and magic—finding power in oneself and the living world around them.

How would you describe your writing process?

I don’t plot. I don’t have daily word goals, but I do sit down six days a week hoping diligence gets creativity to spark.

Dance is a huge part of my process. I was a competitive contemporary dancer when I was younger. So, I often will want words to feel like a certain sequence of choreography on the page, which means I am often standing up moving, then sitting back down and writing.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

As a kid the stories that most touched me were the ones that my dad told me and my sister as bedtime stories. They were tall tales of him growing up in Alexandria, Virginia and Washington DC. Outside of that the stories that my grandparents and great uncles told me—I would listen to them for hours.

That’s not to say there was not literature I loved, Chronicles of Narnia series, Amber Brown is not a Crayon books—but there were not many books with characters that looked like me in the 1980’s-90’s. When I was in high school, I devoured Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. That’s when I really started seeing myself in books. When I met Toni Morrison right out of grad school, I sobbed.

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

Dance. Music. Nature. People. Dance (again). Documentaries. The phases of the moon. My bees. The fact that crows can talk but just don’t! Forests are connected by a network underground! Love is a medicine that amplifies all others!

Everything. Life. Curiosity.

Also (always) ancestors inspires me.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I love editing. I think that’s the poet in me. At risk of sounding too cliché, I really don’t find any part of writing frustrating. I find joy in the working and unworking of it. Like when you are learning new choreography and you practice till the movement fits your skin seamlessly. Like when you have to dig a 24-inch-deep hole to plant a tree and when you are filling the dirt back in all you are thinking about is how at this very moment—the living soil and living roots are conversing; literal magic is happening. I like the process in most things, especially writing.

Wait, I just remembered, I do very much dislike the first round of copyedits on novels in verse. lol. 

Many creators would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helps you accomplish this?

Don’t feel like you must write in sequence. Write what you are excited about.

Let yourself write badly. No first draft is stunning.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

Mystery is fine.

Jokes aside, I think everything you need to know about me is in my books.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Q: If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

A: If you believe every living thing (even trees and leaves and streams) have awareness and a soul, yes. If you don’t, no. So, clearly the answer is, yes.

This question spurs hour long debates with my friends.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Only you can write the story living in your heart and I promise you, someone needs it. Someone is waiting for it.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Very excited to hype up all the extraordinary Black poets featured in Poemhood: Our Black Revival, which is a young adult poetry anthology on folklore and the Black experience that comes out January 30, 2024. My debut (adult) poetry collection, Thick with Trouble, comes out in February 13, 2024. My next MG, Onyx and Beyond, is inspired by my dad and is about a boy named Onyx whose mother has early onset dementia, come out in October 2024. Also, a picture book in 2025.

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

This is my favourite question! In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker is a perfect fall witch book. This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko is brilliant, and her next book Broken Dolls is also wonderful. Vinyl Moon by Mahogany L. Browne is an excellent novel in verse and To Break a Covenant by Alison Ames who also has a pirate book and a demon book coming so look out for her name. I am most looking forward to The Other March Sisters which is a queer Little Women reimagining coming out in 2025 and Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams.