We had the pleasure of chatting to YA author Merrie Destefano, who will be having her newest book Valiant published this month! We chatted about the new release, author life, writing, and more!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m a writer, an artist, a mom, a wife, a dog-and-cat lover, a reader, a nerd who loves Superman, The Walking Dead, apocalypse stories, and books with a literary edge. I was born in the Midwest, but I’ve lived half of my life in Southern California.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I have loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember.
How did you become an author? What was your journey like?
I’ve been writing and submitting for a very long time. When I was in my twenties, I submitted to science fiction magazines all the time. I also wrote two novels before I was twenty-five. Then I focused on my artwork for a long time. I don’t paint or draw anymore, since I have carpal tunnel, but I used to paint and enter competitions on a regular basis. I’ve won many awards for my artwork and I made my living as a graphic designer and illustrator. Then one day I submitted a handmade book I’d created for a class at the Pasadena Art Center. I broke all the rules they tell you about submitting! I didn’t have an agent and I actually sent the little handmade book directly to an editor at Thomas Nelson, a big publishing house. Three months later, I had a contract for four books.
Unfortunately, Thomas Nelson merged with Word soon afterward and they decided to drop all their midlist authors. So, I had a nice advance, but no published books. I’d worked in publishing my entire life, but at that point, I switched from the art department to the editorial department. It took me 17 years of writing and submitting to agents before I got my next book contract.
Your new book ‘Valiant’ sounds quite intriguing! Can you tell us a little more about it?
In a nutshell, it’s a story about a 17-year-old girl who will do anything to save her younger brother’s life. The caveat here is that she’s given the ability to travel through time and relive the day of his death, over and over, in order to save him—because it’s also the only way to save the world from an alien invasion.
How did ‘Valiant’ come to be?
I wanted to write a story that felt like classic science fiction, when aliens were bad and the fate of the world was at stake. To me, Valiant is reminiscent of stories like The Body Snatchers and War of the Worlds.
What challenges did you face while writing ‘Valiant’?
So many! LOL. I injured my hands during the first draft and haven’t been able to use my thumbs while typing since. (That was five years ago!) The book has been through multiple rounds of edits and there were many times when we (my agent and I) thought it was going to be picked up (by a publisher), but it wasn’t. We finally put it on a shelf and went to work on other projects. I was actually about a week away from self-publishing this book as a series of novellas when it got picked up by Entangled Teen. That was exciting! I was so glad that an editor finally saw the same high stakes elements and interesting characters in this story that I saw.
Did you enjoy writing a certain character or scene?
I loved writing Natalie. She was one of my favourite characters and, no matter what was going on, I always knew what her reaction would be.
What do you hope readers take away from your new book?
That there is always hope, even when things look their darkest. And that you don’t have to be the smartest person or the bravest person or the strongest person to succeed. The main character in Valiant—Sara—purposely found people to help her who were strong in areas where she was weak. Natalie: intelligence; Justin: strength; Billy: charisma. Sara was weak in many of those areas, yet she never gave up hope. I honestly believe that you can be valiant, even when you fail.
Why science fiction?
It’s always been my favourite genre, since I was a kid. Also, I grew up watching TV shows like Star Trek, Lost In Space, The Outer Limits, and Twilight Zone. Before that, honestly, it seemed like everything on TV was a western. (Ugh.) I loved authors like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs (the John Carter on Mars books).
What’s your process when writing?
I’m more of a discovery writer, so I don’t outline or plot heavily before I begin. The most important thing to me is to know my characters and to get them in conflict with one another and/or the world they live in. I usually freewrite the first ten to fifty pages before I decide if this is a project I want to invest months in finishing. Once I have a good setup, I’ll figure out several key plot points: the inciting incident, the doorways to Act 1, 2, and 3, a strong midpoint scene, and the end. That’s about as much serious plotting as I like to do. But I will make a list of things that can or should happen. It’s interesting to look back at my plot points before and after the book is done and see how much the story has changed!
Do you have any advice you would give to aspiring writers?
Don’t give up! Just don’t. You might get a contract with your first novel or your fifteenth novel. But you’ll never get a publishing contract if you stop writing.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently writing the sequel to Valiant. After that, I have a couple of YA thrillers that I’d like to write. I love suspense!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Wow, I have so many favorite books! Here’s a list: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, Pines by Blake Crouch, 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma, and Doll Bones by Holly Black.
Valiant is now available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
