Q&A: Aiden Thomas, Author of ‘Cemetery Boys’

We’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Aiden Thomas, author of the upcoming masterpiece Cemetery Boys (you can read our #ReadWithPride article here) and got to ask him all the things about his upcoming releases, hilarious Twitter content, and more!

Hi Aiden! Thank you so much for taking the time to let our readers pick your brains! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hey there! I’m Aiden (he/they pronouns) and I’m a queer, trans, Latinx young adult author! I was born and raised in Oakland, CA but recently relocated to Portland, OR. I’m a jock/book nerd/weeb hybrid currently obsessed with Animal Crossing: New Horizons when I’m not working my day job or writing.

Since this is The Nerd Daily, do you have any current obsessions you’d like to share with our readers?

I feel like at any given time I’m frantically jumping between like four obsessions at once, but I’m currently in over my head obsessed with The Untamed! I’ve been devouring the episodes since quarantine started and I am madly in love! The high fantasy, the Chinese culture, the queer love story — it’s amazing!

Talk to us about Cemetery Boys! Where did your inspiration come from for this story? What was the one thing you knew needed to be included in the book and what did your writing process look like?

“Cemetery Boys” was inspired by a writing prompt I saw on Tumblr — “What happened if you summoned a ghost and couldn’t get rid of it?” My main character, Yadriel came to life first. He’s transgender, Cuban/Mexican, and gay. When it was time to come up with a love interest, since I was going with this idea that the ghost is so stubborn, he refuses to be released to the afterlife, I knew Julian needed to be kind of obnoxious and a total pain for Yadriel. I think they have a really fun dynamic that comes with a lot of banter!

I actually fast-drafted “Cemetery Boys” in six weeks, so it was a bit wild. When it came to writing and coming up with a plot, I really wanted to explore and showcase how vibrant Latinx culture, and the love and magic that’s involved with Día de Muertos! I brain-stormed a bunch of ideas with my family one night and really let Latinx culture and our practices for Día de Muertos guide the magic system and story.

We’ve asked this question a few times now especially with debut authors – how do you find time to write? How do you deal with the challenge of balancing a full-time job with writing? 

Oh gosh, the big question! Honestly, I’m very lucky in that my day job makes it easy for me to work on my writing. I work in tech and it tends to be a feast or famine workload, so when I have downtime, I try to sneak in some writing when I’m on break. I also write when I get home from work and on the weekends. It also really helps that I don’t have much of a social life! Honestly, my best friends will come over and just chill and watch Netflix while I sit at my desk writing. It’s true introvert friendship!

Being completely transparent for a second here, I am a huge fan of your Twitter and all the little tidbits you have shared with upcoming readers about Cemetery Boys! Has there been a fan reaction or comment you just can’t shake?

Thanks so much! I genuinely love interacting with readers on Twitter! I always crack up when people tag me in memes or funny posts and say stuff like, “This is Yadriel and Julian!” It totally cracks me up. It’s also incredible to see folks really connecting with Yadriel and his story, and I especially get overwhelmed with warm fuzzy feelings when people make fanart! Never in a million years would I have thought I’d actually publish a book like this, let alone have readers who loved it so much they made fanart. It’s totally wild and so rewarding!

Adri over at perpetualpages on YouTube has done an outstanding reading vlog for Cemetery Boys, highlighting the importance of #ownvoices narratives and the impact they can have on readers of all ages. What do you hope readers will take away from Yadriel’s story?

I am really hoping readers will find connection and feel seen. I wanted to create a story for readers to connect with Yadriel on universal truths that are basic to the human experience, things like struggling to fit in, feeling accepted for who you are, and being loved.

Isolation is a killer in the queer community, and it’s important to find connections to keep you afloat when you feel alone. I wanted to mirror that experience in “Cemetery Boys”. Julian is a ghost — someone Yadriel literally can’t touch — and one of the first people to unquestioningly accept and affirm Yadriel’s gender. Meanwhile, the living and physical people in Yadriel’s life keep failing him.

I think a lot of queer people experience people in their “real” lives who let them down or don’t understand them, while the people who do make them feel seen aren’t tangible or within reach. A lot of queer teens experience their first sense of belonging or affirmation with queer bloggers, YouTubers, Tiktokers and, of course, characters in books — like Yadriel. Even if they can’t talk to them personally, seeing people with their identities, seeing themselves reflected in books, or internet stars telling them they’re valid gives them a sense of community and comfort. Sometimes our sense of closeness and connection to people has nothing to do with proximity.

If you had to choose one meme each to represent Yadriel, Julian, and Maritza, which ones would you choose?

Any given scene in “Cemetery Boys” is just:

Julian:

Yadriel:

Maritza:

One of the things I enjoyed most about your book were the family dynamics you explored! Without spoiling too much, there are conflicts but there’s also a lot of love in Yadriel’s household. How did Yadriel’s family come to be?

I feel like, when it comes to stories about queer characters, we get one side of the spectrum. Either the character’s family is totally supportive, and they’re outright rejected. I really wanted to explore the family dynamics that fall between the two.

Being gay and trans within the Latinx community can be incredibly difficult. We have a lot of traditions and beliefs that are so deeply ingrained, sometimes folks will blindly follow them without questioning or challenging them simply because “that’s just how it is.” I wanted to present readers with a family that isn’t intrinsically transphobic or homophobic. Yadriel’s family is not aggressively or purposefully trying to be hurtful. There’s a learning curve. These aren’t bad people; they don’t hate Yadriel or those parts of him, they just don’t understand. Very often, that teaching falls onto the shoulders of queer/trans kids, which can be exhausting. That’s exactly what Yadriel is dealing with throughout “Cemetery Boys”.

There’s this scene between Yadriel and Julian in the book where they listen to music (not giving more intel because I’m getting emotional just thinking about it). Are there some songs you associate with Yadriel and Julian on their own and as an item?

I use playlists religiously when it comes to writing! I’ve got playlists for individual characters, scenes and the overall book in general.

Yadriel is slow and dreamy chill pop. He’s Khalid, Troye Sivan and Ayokay. Two songs that really channel Yadriel for me are “There’s No Way” by Lauv and “Crime” by Grey.

Julian is the polar opposite. Julian’s trashy reggaeton with heavy bass and unrelenting beats like Bad Bunny and Ozuna. It’s got to have a lot of energy, but also surprisingly romantic, not unlike Julian himself! My two top songs for him are “Robarte un Beso” by Carlos Vives and Sebastian Yatra, and “Nunca Me Olvides” by Yandel.

As for #Yadrian songs, there’s two that actually inspired the Malibu scene in “Cemetery Boys”, which is probably one of my favorite chapters! Listening to “Eastside” by benny blanco, Halsey and Khalid, and “Malibu Nights” by LANY is basically listening to the soundtrack of that chapter.

What can readers expect from your upcoming project Lost in the Never Woods?

“Lost in the Never Woods” is incredibly special to me! I tell people it’s my heart book. It’s a contemporary, dark fantasy reimagining of Peter Pan set in Astoria, OR. As a child, Wendy and her brothers disappeared into the woods behind their house. While Wendy was found, her brothers never came back and she has no memory of what happened to them. On her 18th birthday, more kids start going missing into the woods and Wendy meets Peter, a boy who shouldn’t exist and claims to know what happened to her, and how to get her brothers back. It’s suspenseful and has creepy woods and a shadowy villain. It deals with mental health, complicated family dynamics and, of course, romance!

Due to the current world situation, a lot of book events have been cancelled. Would you like to share a few 2020 debuts with us that readers definitely should not miss out on?

There are SO MANY great 2020 debuts! If I had to narrow it down to some favorites I’m excited to read, it’d be:

• “A Song of Wraiths and Ruin” by Roseanne A. Brown
• “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn
• “Star Daughter” by Shveta Thakrar
• “I Kissed Alice” by Anna Birch
• “Surrender Your Sons” by Adam Sass

Bonus round because I do really love your twitter and don’t want to deprive readers of the joy that is your adorable dog! Would you mind sharing a photo of Ronan to brighten up everyone’s day?

I am ALWAYS happy to share pictures of Mr. Ronan! He’s my sweet rescue pup who was found wandering the streets of Mexico with his mom and two sisters.

Will you be picking up Cemetery Boys? Tell us in the comments below!