We chat with author Sydney Langford about Someone to Daydream About, which is a swoony, fast-paced romance stars a teen who falls in love with the lead singer of America’s most popular boy band during a whirlwind summer tour. PLUS you can read a sneak peek at the end of the interview!
Hi, Sydney! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi everyone! I’m a 22-year-old, Deaf, queer, and physically disabled author from the Pacific NW. My biggest passion is writing novels that feature diverse characters so that readers from marginalized communities, especially Disabled and/or queer readers, can see themselves represented on-page.
My novels range from contemporaries featuring queer-platonic love to swoony romcoms where Disabled main characters get to experience a “happily ever after” – but no matter the genre, my novels celebrate diversity and inclusivity, and give readers a glimpse into perspectives they may not have had insight on before!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
As a pre-teen I wrote a lot of fanfiction for my various fandoms (One Direction, Hamilton, Percy Jackson, etc.) and had a blast escaping into those worlds. But my real “aha!” moment came when I was navigating my sudden hearing loss as a teen and read This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender. Seeing a Deaf character portrayed as loveable, smart, and worthy of accommodations from those around him resonated so deeply with me. So often disability “representation” in media falls into really frustrating stereotypes, so reading a story that treated a Disabled character with so much care genuinely changed how I saw what YA books could do.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Probably “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown. I still have my childhood copy!
- The one that made you want to become an author: Another book that inspired me to write was “Meet Cute Diary” by Emery Lee. Such a fantastic diverse romcom!
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Cass Biehn’s “Vesuvius.” So heart wrenching and healing all in one!
Your latest novel, Someone to Daydream About, is out March 24th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Swoony, diverse, feel-good (that counts as one word, right?), banter-y, and FUN!
What can readers expect?
Someone to Daydream About is a swoony, fast-paced YA romcom that stars a Deaf, demiromantic teen—Natalie—who falls for the neurodivergent, pansexual lead singer of America’s most popular boy band—Felix—during a whirlwind summer tour. . . all while desperately trying to save her family’s struggling Deaf Center.
It showcases so many chaotic teenage hijinks, the dark side of fame, a vibrant ensemble cast, badass Disabled characters, and provides a peek into a marginalized experience for able-bodied readers. I hope StDA will be a perfect vehicle for underrepresented teens to be able to see themselves! Within the humor, banter, and big romantic moments that pull a reader in, there are some meaningful themes about identity, grief, belonging, and how all kinds of people navigate the world.
Where did the inspiration for Someone to Daydream About come from?
A huge piece of inspiration for Someone to Daydream About in particular is rooted in a fanfic I wrote at the ripe old age of 12 about the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer. One random day, I stumbled upon my old Ao3 account and aforementioned 5sos fanfic… it was spectacularly bad. But! I reinvented it and that kernel of an idea eventually morphed into Someone to Daydream About!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I had SO much fun with really leaning into the grump/sunshine dynamic between Natalie and Felix. That trope is such a fantastic foundation for banter and incredibly fun dialogue to write. Felix is all neurodivergent chaos and silly charm, while Natalie is more guarded and logical, so every interaction between them has a little spark to it.
Speaking of which… I greatly enjoyed exploring Natalie’s character. Outwardly, she’s very tough, independent, and capable, but underneath she’s really a girl who had to grow up too fast because of life and family circumstances. It was important to balance her goofy side with the reality that she’s also a Type-A, responsible eldest sibling and a devoted pillar in her D/deaf community.
And of course, writing the band was an absolute blast. There are five members, and each of them has their own personality and dynamic with Natalie and each other. Watching those friendships shift and grow throughout the story was so fun to explore. Getting to sit in that chaotic, whirlwind boy band headspace while writing was one of my favorite parts of the whole process.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The drafting process was really quite smooth for me; I wrote StDA in only 3 months when I was 18 years old. BUT it took another 4+ years to get it edited and polished. Two agents (different agencies) and two editors (different publishers) were involved in the evolution of this book. And, of course, each one of them had their own recommended edits. This made the story stronger in the long run, but it did make me really define what I felt was the heart of the story and fight for it.
Having a book in the editing process for so long also meant reading it through SO many times. And even a tiny change could domino into multiple other changes and plot holes later on. That process was quite demanding and laborious at times. Putting on my StDA playlist, and making sure I had time away from the manuscript so I could look at it with fresh eyes, helped me greatly.
On a smaller scale, Natalie and the band were out-and-about a LOT less in the original manuscript! My agents/editors consistently recommended getting the characters out of the tour bus, hotel, backstage, and into the local areas more. It was tricky to figure out how to accomplish that realistically. Finally, inspired by One Direction’s music video cover of “One Way or Another”, the idea of the band doing a self-filmed, chaotic music video at different iconic U.S. locations on tour was born.
What’s next for you?
I’m in the line-edit stage for my second romcom (third book total), which is slated for publication by FSG/Macmillan in 2027! The title hasn’t been announced yet but should be soon! In some respects, it’ll be vastly different from the first two novels, but you can count on there being disability and queer rep, enemies-to-lovers, hurt/comfort, loads of nature, and tons of sarcasm and banter.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Two YA debuts I’m really looking forward to are Clare Edge’s “Natural Selection” and E.G. Young’s “A (Dead) Thing Like Me”, and of course Aiden Thomas’ “Espíritu,” and “Second Time’s a Charm” by Taylor Epperson!
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