Welcome Back, Booklovers! I read her debut Why We Play With Fire back in January and if you're looking for a YA about the children of gods and goddesses that has cool lore that pulls from cultures around the world I suggest checking it out. But keep reading to find out more about the author behind the book.
How did you celebrate getting a book deal?
By telling everyone I knew! And popping open the bottle of champagne I bought four years before and was saving for when I got a literary agent—turns out I didn’t need one!
What was the inspiration for Why We Play with Fire?
I was inspired to write WWPWF after having a dream of the ending and the main premise, but different elements in it were inspired by different pieces of life/media. For example, the door in Malachite was inspired by the door in Howl’s Moving Castle, the ancestry of my main character Thea is based on my mother’s mix; and the journey Thea goes on (her emotional rite of passage into adulthood) was inspired by literal rite of passage I did when I was fifteen.
Did you create a story bible?
I wish I could say I was organized enough that I have a traditional story bible (one sleek document with all of the book planning inside of it), but my version of this was actually a mash-up of google docs, notes app entries, and pages documents on my computer.
This book includes illustrations, did you have input on what scenes were illustrated?
I did! I was lucky enough to give a list of scenes in the book that I really wanted to see come to life and starred my top picks! Then the illustrator ShinYeon Moon truly came through on bringing those picks to life visually.
What was the hardest part about the revisions process?
Knowing that no matter how much I edited there would always be something that could be better, could be improved. It can be really hard to switch out of revision mode into ‘letting it go’ mode.
I understand that you participated in The Writer’s Roadmap. How was that helpful in your publication journey?
Being a part of the Writers Roadmap was incredible, from it I started a writers group of all black women writers who also took the course, and we still meet up to this day. I also learned invaluable lessons on story structure that have helped me finish high quality first-drafts.
How do you know when a new idea needs to become a full story?
When its possibility feels endless.
For me, a new idea needs to be a full story when I recognize pockets inside of it that can be expanded in to, when there's opportunity for growth and expansion.
Sometimes ideas just want to be an idea, but sometimes they are more of a concept, and a concept is where you can fit all of your other loose idea’s inside of to create a full story.
What does success as an author look like to you?
It’s happening! Success as an author, for me, is people reading my book, asking questions about it, having opinions about it; and of course seeing the story exist outside of my head and knowing that it’s striking people in a positive way. That’s the dream, and it’s coming true.
What other hobbies do you enjoy (outside of reading and writing)?
My whole life is hobbies, I love to paint, sew, knit, and make dolls. I also play the guitar and sing. Then for exercise I hike.
Do you have any upcoming projects you’re able to talk about?
In 2024 I will be opening up my online writing course Book Baby again which teaches fiction writing to new writers, providing an inclusive gentle space to expand into storytelling.
You can stay up to date on this and any other offerings/projects through my Instagram @gisellevriesen.
No comments:
Post a Comment