Hi, Ashley! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m a debut author, originally from Massachusetts and now living in Vermont. As a former English major at Emory University, I had always wanted to be a writer, but I never had an idea that could sustain a full-length book. So the majority of my career was spent in the education nonprofit sector and writing was kept as a hobby. Little vignettes about bad dates that I’d send to my girlfriends and sister, or a murder mystery script I wrote for a friend’s birthday party. But after moving to an old farmhouse in Vermont, my imagination kicked into overdrive and slowly, the bones of a story that would become my debut Wildwood took shape.

My writing leans dark (but not too dark) and gothic, and I love leveraging the gorgeous moodiness of the New England landscape to enhance my plots!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

Oh gosh, since forever? As a kid I devoured books. Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, Nancy Drew, Mary Higgins Clark…Then I think in college I kind of took a hiatus from reading for fun, and it wasn’t until my mid-late twenties that I found my way back and have been a voracious reader ever since. Mainly mysteries and thrillers, some literary fiction.

I think another good indication that writing was my true calling was during my business school program. When I should have been studying for finals, I was instead writing a short story about a few of my classmates and me having an adventure in the White Mountains and encountering a rock monster.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: A Goosebumps book. I think it was called The  Ghost Next Door.
• The one that made you want to become an author: Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium. It was my first introduction to modern gothic suspense and I devoured it.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. I read it on my honeymoon in Transylvania.

Your debut novel, Wildwood, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Inheritance. Autumn. Gothic. Witchy. Vermont-y.

What can readers expect?

Wildwood is a slow-burn gothic mystery about an old house with dark secrets beneath its floorboard. Readers can expect the always tantalizing gothic tropes of an old house, ghostly apparitions, cemeteries and a cast of characters that cannot be trusted, with themes of colonialism, feminism, and legacy woven into a story that thrills and chills, while also provoking thought.

Where did the inspiration for Wildwood come from?

From my new hometown! Newfield is like the upside down version of my actual town, which is lovely and charming and like a postcard for Vermont tourism. Shortly after moving here, while I was on maternity leave with my youngest, I began to have little daydreams. Like, what if the nice couple down the street were actually members of a cult? Or what if the cute covered bridge was actually a place where witches were executed? I’m a very joyful person, but I’m drawn to the gothic and mysterious.

The story was also inspired by my lifelong interest in witchcraft, both in the actual Salem Witch Trials and by my interest in the current practice of witchcraft.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved writing the fall harvest festival scene! It was so fun describing the decadence and the autumnal overload, pumpkins, apples and maple galore! It was a party I’d love to attend if anyone wants to host!

I also loved writing the Salem scenes, mainly because they gave me an excuse to go back to Salem for research. It’s also just a lovely, historic city, with the most interesting shops and fantastic restaurants.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I definitely hit moments of writer’s block, moments of thinking the book was terrible or that I had no idea where to go with it. Whenever that happened. I simply stopped writing. Sometimes for long stretches of time, like six months or longer. At the time, I was truly writing as a passion project, so I didn’t feel any urgency to get it done, and I think taking the time to let the story marinate in my head and to not push through when it didn’t actually feel good to write, really paid off. However, I recognize that taking long blocks of time off of writing is not necessarily feasible if I want to be a career writer. So I’m going to have to come up with other strategies.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

The path was relatively smooth. I know so much of this comes down to luck and timing. Ie. The right agent getting the manuscript at the exact right time, same for the editor.  So I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to give this a go. I wish I had some magic advice to give, but I think the main thing is just making sure your manuscript is the best it can possibly be before querying.

What’s next for you?

Hopefully many more books! My second book The Loon will be published in fall 2027. The Loon is another gothic suspense, following a woman who goes to take care of an elderly man with dementia at a remote New Hampshire lake house, and an homage to Henry James The Turn of the Screw.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

I read Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen earlier this year and absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop talking about it with friends and family. It’s a beautiful, heart-felt coming of age story. I can’t wait for “The Forest Bleeds” a debut horror by Rachel Kitch, and Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel.

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

The post Q&A: Ashley Woo, Author of ‘Wildwood’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Kalynn! Welcome back! How have you been since we spoke last September for the release of Make Me A Monster?

Things are good! Just trying to stay busy! I have lots of projects in the pipeline. I’m grateful for the work and for the readers who continue to pick up my work.

Your latest novel, Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Paranormal. Mystery. Scary. Strange. Meaningful.

What can readers expect?

I’m once again leaning into the strange and unusual. This time with a group of teens who have paranormal abilities and are in the ghost hunting business. This is a mystery but with a paranormal edge and the horror vibes my readers know me for.

Where did the inspiration for Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone come from?

It sounds wild, but it was a combination of my love for the musical Annie, my guilty pleasure of watching ghost hunting shows, and my habit of always working in found family somehow! I love Annie and I thought, “What if all those kids had weird, paranormal abilities?”. It was a weird sort of thought process but that’s where my best ideas come from—a musical, a horror element, and something that touches the heart.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved writing Ossie’s character. He’s such a cutie. And I have a severe fear of mice and rats so giving him the ability to control those particular creatures was like me working through my own issues (I still don’t like them!).

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I really wanted to strike a balance between the heart of the story and the more supernatural or paranormal elements. I love a good scary story so sometimes I got a little carried away with those horror threads. I had to pull back and refocus on the characters because nothing else matters if we don’t care about them. I’m glad that I’ve come to a point in my writing career where I can recognize those things for myself and make the correction early on. I’m always learning. Always trying to be a better writer. The challenges are what allow me to grow.

As we head towards the spooky season, what are three paranormal books, movies, or shows you love?

Oh there are so many! I think the first Paranormal Activity movie stands out. It really left a mark! I also love the Blair Witch Project and the original Poltergeist. I have a laundry list of others but those are some of my faves!

What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?

The best advice at this point in my career is to write the story you want to tell versus writing toward a trend. I try to write things I’d want to read no matter what’s trending. The worst advice I’ve seen is to take reviews as critique. Those are two very different things and I think it’s best to receive critique from people you trust want the best for you. Reviews are for readers. Full stop.

What’s next for you?

I have another YA slasher novel out next year alongside the second Olive Oakes book for my MG readers. My adult debut is also making its way into the world next year. It’s a horror novel too! I’m doing all the spooky things next year!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

Daggermouth by HM Wolfe was great! I’m looking forward to Strike a Chord by Bri Monet. Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig and Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig are next up on my TBR.

Will you be picking up Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone? Tell us in the comments below!

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The post Q&A: Kalynn Bayron, Author of ‘Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Rose! Welcome back! What have you been up to since we last spoke for the release of Maggie and the Pirate’s Son?

Thank you for inviting me back! Oh my goodness, I have been so busy. Since Maggie, I have published 2 contemporary romance novels, and now I’ve returned to my beloved historical. It’s been exhausting but so incredibly fulfilling.

Your latest novel, The Unknown Birds, is out September 8^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

War-torn soulmates finally reunited.

What can readers expect?

The Unknown Birds is a little different than the rest of my catalog. It is a single POV, dual-timeline romance, set during WWI and the cusp of WWII. Kirkus called it, “A wartime novel that hits familiar romantic beats but also offers beautiful moments of shared humanity.” Readers can expect a rosy-realistic setting in the wartime trenches that leans into the poetry written by soldiers of the day. I say rosy-realistic because the story definitely explores the brutality of the war, but it’s softened around the edges by the love story.

Can you share some insight into your research process?

Whenever possible, I love to read correspondence or historical records from the period, but I will say, I learned early on writing this book that it is actually possible to research too much. By that I mean it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day, you are still writing fiction.

My public library had an amazing interlibrary loan program, and on my behalf they acquired a 3 volume set of the Surrey Regimental papers. It was an incredible resource. But for a little while I did get too caught up in troop movements—where the regiment would have been, what days they engaged in battle, versus what would serve the story best. It was an important lesson to learn early.

Now, one of my favorite ways to research, is to visit a museum where I can immerse myself in physical items from the period. Seeing uniforms and tools and everything up close and in person really brings them to life in a way that photographs and descriptions might not do. I love to learn about all the little items that made up people’s lives at the time, alongside reading those written records, and sprinkle it all into my work like lagniappe, just adding to the authenticity and flavor.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge with this book was that the story I was originally telling wasn’t the story it was meant to be. Perhaps I wasn’t ready to write that story yet. I worked on the first version for longer than WWI even lasted, and I think I also fell into another trap that inexperienced or unconfident writers can make, which was taking onboard too much disparate feedback and losing sight of the story I was trying to tell. It got to a point where I knew it wasn’t working, but I didn’t know how to fix it, and so I put it away. That was heartbreaking. I loved the book so much. I told myself it was’t necessarily forever, but I didn’t believe it. But then I let it marinate for about the same number of years I’d spent writing it, and I kept writing other things and improving my craft, until last year I realized I knew the story I wanted to tell and everything fell into place. It was such a joy to come back to it at last.

It was a double-edged sword though. I was gripped by the new story, I mean it had me in a chokehold. I was afraid of losing it again, so I leaned into it, but I really did exhaust myself, until by the end of the last few polishing revisions I was incredibly burned out. I had to force myself to put it aside for awhile and go do other creative but completely different things: Lego, painting, crochet. I had to force my brain to rest so I could come back and finish it.

What’s next for you?

I’m not entirely sure. There are a number of books I want to write, both contemporary and historical, and I keep changing my mind where to go next. I’ve been very focused on this upcoming release, and just letting myself recover from the burnout. But the plot bunny that’s most enticing to me right this second is a time travel romance.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

Oh I love this question. Like everyone else, my TBR list is a million miles long. I’ve been deeply obsessed with Sarah MacLean’s back catalog recently. I just read her Bareknuckle Bastards series for the first time back-to-back-to-back, so I’m really looking forward to her new book coming out in February (Mastermind). I’m also really looking forward to The Gilded Age coming back so I’ll probably  pick up some Joanna Shupe soon.

Will you be picking up The Unknown Birds? Tell us in the comments below!

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About The Mystic and the Missing Girl: In The Mystic and the Missing Girl, Vikki VanSickle seamlessly draws listeners into an utterly charming world in this unputdownable, small town mystery. Out September 8th 2026.

I consider myself an ambassador for tarot. I am always singing its praises—offering readings to friends, encouraging people to listen to tarot podcasts or replace their standard morning pages with a tarot card pull. Tarot is a highly elastic and interpretive discipline—it serves different purposes for different people. For me, it’s akin to a meditation or journaling practise—a processing method that provides structure and clarity in my life. I’ve had an interest in tarot ever since Janeane Garofalo pulled The Death card in the millennial childhood classic Now and Then, but it took me years to buy my own deck. Tarot felt like something other people did—people who called themselves Wiccan or had an uncanny intuition. I felt a little too mainstream—and a little too skeptical—to pull it off. I’ve always been more of a Scully than a Mulder—I want to believe, but I also want proof.

But a persistent interest in the mythology, artwork, and the history of tarot eventually became too strong to ignore and I got my first deck, the traditional Smith-Rider-Waite. Chances are the imagery that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘tarot’ is from this deck. You may know it as the Rider-Waite deck—Rider as in the publisher William Rider & Son, Waite as in A.E. Waite, creator of the deck. The problem with this name is that it omits the name of the artist, Pamela Colman Smith, a fascinating woman who created all of the imagery on the cards and is believed to have been responsible for deepening the meanings of the minor arcana or ‘pips. To correct this historical wrong, some people refer to the deck as the ‘Rider-Waite-Smith,’ others (like me) as the ‘Smith-Rider-Waite.’ See? Fascinating already!

I was incredibly overwhelmed in the beginning. Seventy-eight cards, jam packed with symbolism and multiple interpretations, are a lot to digest. I devoured tarot books, podcasts, daily card pulls, even a colouring book. I learned that tarot is a practise—an active, on-going process of learning and doing. I made a personal tarot bible with my favourite interpretations, associations, and spreads. Eventually my own tarot language started to emerge. I started to recognize the cards as you would a neighbour or old friend, made my own connections between them, and felt comfortable reading for others.

Reading cards for someone is very intimate. Ninety-nine percent of the time querants (a fancy tarot term for the person getting a reading) have a question about work or love. In the beginning, I felt like an unqualified therapist. Eventually I understood that the querant isn’t seeking my opinion, they are looking for a new way to assess the issue. I think of tarot as a tool, not a crystal ball. I’m not giving predictions, I’m providing a story, a mirror, an angle that hopefully provides clarity, comfort, or a new perspective.

The seeds of my first mystery novel were planted in my tarot practise. As much as I love giving readings, I’m not sure I have the emotional stamina or confidence to be a professional tarot reader, so instead I got to live out that dream via Drew Benson, the main character in my mystery novel, The Mystic and the Missing Girl. Like me, Drew uses tarot as a processing tool. Unlike me, Drew has latent psychic abilities, something she has been reluctant to tap into after watching how her aunt—a nineties-era TV psychic accused of meddling in an unsolved missing person’s case— was vilified by the public. But when the opportunity to solve that very same case comes along twenty years later, Drew realizes it might be those psychic abilities (and her tarot cards) that make all the difference. My own interpretations, experiences, and feelings about the cards are sprinkled throughout the novel. If you’ve never looked at (or cared about) a tarot card in your life, don’t be discouraged—I wanted to approach the tarot elements in an accessible, grounded fashion. You do not need an education in tarot to enjoy the book. But if it encourages you to pick up a deck (there are so many incredible options these days) and start your own practise, then I welcome you to the wonderful world of tarot—it’s lovely here.

The post How My Tarot Practise Led to My First Novel appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This sequel finds Queenie, now in her 30s, navigating new life challenges alongside some of the same old struggles. Keep reading to learn how Carty-Williams has grown in her writing alongside Queenie, as well as what writers have inspired her to infuse humor in her work. Plus, find out if we are likely to hear more from Queenie in the future or if her story ends here!

Queenie is back and I could not be more excited! She is one of my absolute favorite characters. If you could sum her up in five words or less, how would you describe Queenie?

Curious. Kind. Impulsive. Needy. Unserious.

Okay, that’s rather hard and she’s got a lot going on, so let’s use more words. Tell readers a bit about what has happened in Queenie’s life since we saw her last and what we can expect from her in your new novel Queenie Is Working on It.

Okay, SO. We’re back with Queenie eight years after we first met her – some might say it should have been ten years after, just to round things off a bit, but I felt like this time, at 33 years old, was the right time. Mainly because it’s where she’s at the biggest crossroads she’s ever faced, and I wanted her still to be in her early thirties when she arrives there. What readers can expect from this sequel is more. Of everything, really. More thoughts, definitely more feelings, bigger friendships, bigger fall-outs, more sex? The only thing there is less of is men. But where there are men in this novel, there are men. But there are mainly women. And family. Family is my favourite dynamic to write.

What did the process of writing this sequel look like compared to writing Queenie? Did you always plan to write more than one book about her?

Absolutely I did, but like I said, I wanted to bring her back when I could suitably put her in freefall, and for good reason. And this time, I actually planned the novel out. When I wrote the first novel, I was in my twenties and I was working so much out about the world through my writing of her. This time, I’ve been around the block a lot. I’ve done some things. Seen some things. I’m a lot more measured (I would like to think). And I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and what I wanted Queenie to feel. If the first novel was Queenie’s odyssey to look at herself in the mirror and know who she is, this is her journey of accepting herself as she is, by herself. It was a lot harder to write than the first one, if we look at it from a technical point of view. We both had to dig a lot deeper.

Queenie was also adapted for television in 2024 with you on board as both a writer and executive producer. How was that experience similar and/or different to writing the novels?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; writing for TV is like boot camp. When you’re in it, it feels kind of endless, and then suddenly, you’re on set and it’s happening (and actually, you’re still writing). For QTV, I was the showrunner, which meant I was working holistically to make sure everything felt true to the essence of Queenie from the hair on her head to the curtains in Grandma’s house. But that also means going from writing sex scenes to making sure you’re in the room with an intimacy coordinator and the actor performing them to make sure they feel comfortable. It’s a different way of working and certainly a more collaborative way of doing things, and that was the best part of it for me. It felt very surreal to go from writing in my bedroom to writing in the corner of Queenie’s set-room.

One of the things I love most about your writing is how you tackle serious, true-to-life issues …. and then, I’ll turn the page and you have me laughing out loud. What are some of your favorite books or authors that also infuse humor into everyday experiences?

Thank you, that’s very kind of you! One of my favourite writers of this style has to be Nora Ephron. I remember reading Heartburn when I was in my early twenties and being blown away by how outrageously funny one (neurotic) person could be. But I also love anything written by Issa Rae. I’m not sure I would have had the thought to write Queenie if Awkward Black Girl hadn’t existed.

Do you think we’ve seen the last of Queenie, or are there perhaps more stories left to share (whether on the page or onscreen)?

Queenie will be back. I still have too much to say, and she will always be my favourite person to do it through. As long as I am curious about the world, Queenie will be too.

Fill in the blank: If you liked _______________, you will love Queenie Is Working on It.

Luster by Raven Leilani meets Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid PLUS a funny essay (of which there are many) by Samantha Irby

Let’s Get Nerdy: Behind the Writer with 5 Quick Questions

• The book that made you fall in love with reading: The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
• A movie you know by heart: Dreamgirls
• A song that makes you want to get up and dance: “Get Low Remix” – Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz (feat. Elephant Man, Busta Rhymes & Ying Yang Twins)
• Introvert or extrovert: Introvert
• Coffee, tea, or something else: Tea (I can’t help it. I’m British Jamaican.)

Will you be picking up Queenie Is Working on It? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Candice Carty-Williams, Author of ‘Queenie Is Working on It’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

About Fall Into Place: Lenore’s life is falling apart. Propelled home from Manhattan to rural Vermont to spend one final autumn at her family’s historic apple orchard before it’s sold, Lenore struggles to say goodbye. Callan’s path has been laid out for him for as long as he can remember: live, work, and die in Whitbury, Vermont. He’s taken over for his father as the groundskeeper at Lenore’s family farm, but now that it’s soon to be sold, his future has turned abruptly uncertain. The last thing he needs is a distraction—like Lenore, his best-friend’s sister, showing up out of the blue. Releases September 8th 2026.

I took a literary criticism course during undergrad where we talked about houses. More specifically, what the houses in our favorite stories represent. The consensus was that, in one way or another, a house often parallels a character’s state of mind.

The titular country house in Wuthering Heights is as gloomy and uninviting as Heathcliff himself. The Mojo Dojo Casa House in the Barbie movie is the physical manifestation of the Kens’ takeover of toxic masculinity. Normal People by Sally Rooney uses Marianne and Connell’s respective homes to contrast both their social standings and their family lives.

Of course, any time this sort of analysis comes up, someone in the room is compelled to ask, “Isn’t is possible that the author simply wanted the red curtains to be red?”

When it came to my writing process with Fall into Place, the answer is: kind of.

At the onset, I didn’t have symbolism at the forefront of my mind. A lot of authors don’t. Tolkien, for example, vehemently denied that there was any intentional symbolism in his work, despite many readers noting that Lord of the Rings serves quite readily as an allegory for real-life wars. The clearest explanation is that an author’s experiences shape both what they choose to write about and how they write it, and readers inevitably pick up on that.

In my case, I knew that I wanted to write about an old New England farmhouse long before I knew anything else about Fall into Place. Why? Because I live in an old New England farmhouse.

It’s quite impossible—as a historian especially—to exist in an old house without considering its past. My house is overflowing with evidence of its various custodians throughout the centuries, from handwritten letters in a steamer trunk in the attic to walls insulated with torn-up newspapers from the 1950s. The original builder is mentioned in local history books and buried with his wife at the top of a nearby hill. The whole thing sits a bit crooked, doors that don’t close right and wood paneling that slants sideways, like the house is weary with age. It’s been around a few hundred years, so who can blame it, really?

You probably haven’t read Fall into Place yet, but if you had, all of this would sound familiar.

Slowly, as I built my story around the idea of this farmhouse, the characters took shape.

For Lenore, returning to the house is bittersweet. It’s representative of a family history she has tried to outrun, and it’s likewise irrevocably changed by the loss of her grandmother. Callan, as groundskeeper, has spent the past few years caring for the house. If the house parallels Lenore, then it’s easy to see how his role as groundskeeper parallels their relationship.

Contemporary romance, as genre fiction, is not always subjected to the ‘literary’ treatment. It’s not analyzed and dissected in classrooms the same way classic literature is. But the symbolism exists regardless, even when it’s not necessarily intentional.

The truth is that the farmhouse in Fall into Place shaped the characters as much as they shaped the house. Which is a bit how it works in real life, too, come to think of it. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter whether I intended for the house to represent anything. My writing is a direct reflection of where I live, and Lenore, in turn, is a direct reflection of the house that raised her.

The post How a House Shaped a Story appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Louisa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi Nerd Daily Readers! I am 29, from Sydney, Australia, and I love the sunshine, the beach, and all things books. My husband calls me a sunflower, because when I’m in a bad mood all he has to do is put me out in the sun and I lighten up immediately. When it’s a cloudy day, he’s screwed, watch out world. I originally started writing this book at 19, so it’s been a whirlwind ten years of writing and rewriting, but the day is finally here!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I can’t remember a time that I didn’t love writing. Creative writing was always my favourite subject in school, and I was always a big reader, especially of fantasy. I don’t think it occurred to me that I could try and make this my career until I was in my late twenties and decided to take it seriously. I started writing for me, and now I get to share it with all of you!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: OH My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman
• The one that made you want to become an author: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I recently read Because I Killed Him by Edith Birde and can’t stop thinking about it!

Your debut novel, The Shadows that Listen, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Tension, destruction, survival, betrayal, and nostalgia!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

It took me 10 years to get here, so there have been many hurdles in my journey. I wasn’t planning on publishing this book, until I was 26 and thought hey maybe there are other people out there who are craving this story. That’s when the stakes completely changed, and everything became so much harder. My biggest foe has always been imposter syndrome, as I think is the case for many authors. I try not to let it drag me down, and instead use it as motivation to improve. I think that it’s important to always be improving, and that it’s the best way to combat your inner voice telling you that you’re not good enough.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

My road to publishing has been full of many twists and turns, ups and downs. I originally self published The Shadows that Listen in January 2025, and that was an incredible but challenging experience. In May 2025, an agent reached out to me via Instagram to say she read my book and loved it and asked if I was looking for representation. At first, I thought it must be a scam, because what are the odds?! Alas it was real, and three days after I signed with my agency, we had Orbit UK requesting a 24 hour exclusive on the manuscript, and 24 hours after that they made an offer with Orbit US and Hachette Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so simulatenously stressed and absolutely ecstatic. The timezone difference meant that I was tossing and turning all night knowing I’d wake up to big news, I was running off very little sleep. There is a terrible video of me crying at 5am reading the offer letter while my husband tells me he’s proud of me. It will never see the light of day. It’s been 14 months now since I signed on with Orbit, and 10 years since I started my first draft, so it has really been a long time coming and I am so excited to see it in bookstores!

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on developmental edits for book two, but honestly I think a holiday. Somewhere tropical with no reception where I can sip cocktails and read for leisure, maybe a book that I’ve never heard of. But I am not good at shutting off and always have to be working on something, so keep your eyes peeled for other things in the pipeline.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

My tbr is almost as long as Australia at this point! I just read Because I Killed Him by Edith Birde, and absolutely loved it. I recommend it to everybody that enjoys dystopian. Next up I’m going to finally read Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, and then maybe something light after that, because I think I’ll need it!

Will you be picking up The Shadows that Listen? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Louisa Carmody, Author of ‘The Shadows That Listen’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Mackenzie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi there! I’m an author of young adult and adult fiction, lover of meandering walks, and pizza connoisseur. On the YA side, I like writing genre-bendy thrillers, like my books The Rosewood Hunt, The Wilde Trials, and my next one Worse Than the Others, which comes out February 9^th, 2027. As for my adult books, I’m having so much fun writing stories that straddle the line between paranormal, fantasy, and romance, such as my debut, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

From as early as I can remember, I always had a head full of stories. My mom says that I would sit in my car seat making things up and singing little songs. When I was ten years old, I started writing songs, and I began writing my first book when I was eleven. From there, I did both all the way through college, but it didn’t click that being a published author was something I could seriously pursue until I was a sophomore in college and finished writing a trilogy. That’s when I started exploring querying and traditional publishing. I really was just in it for the love of stories, and still am.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: My very first reading memory is with my mom, and we would read the Biscuit books together. I also loved Junie B. Jones and The Magic Tree House.
• The one that made you want to become an author: Meg Cabot’s The Mediator Suze Simon was my icon and it was my first venture into reading romance.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I’m currently obsessed with Cursed City by Kate Golden, which is book 2 in the Harker Academy

Your latest novel, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Hellish. Romantic. Adventurous. Zany. Slowburn.

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect a deliciously dark and funny paranormal romance about a receptionist who teams up with her hot demon hunter boss on a road trip to hell to save their emotional support coworker. Baked inside are corporate underworld antics like monsters going to work, hell hound hunters, and a certain devilish CEO I can’t wait for readers to meet.

Where did the inspiration for I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell come from?

It all started with the title. I was scrolling Twitter (RIP) one night and kept seeing the meme “This is how your email finds me…” and the phrase “I hope this email finds you in hell” popped into my head. Immediately, a story unfolded about a receptionist who goes back into work after hours and catches her hot boss performing an exorcism on Debra from Accounting, forever changing her life by discovering that demons exist and hell is real. From there, I knew I wanted it to be a story about friendship and the lengths we’d go for those we love, similar to Hadestown but without ending in tragedy. I’m a happy ever after type of girl!

Did you specifically write this book so you could email people with the subject line ‘I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell’? Have to say, we were very intrigued when we received that email from the publicist for the cover reveal earlier this year!

Ha!! It wasn’t intentional but that has been one of my favorite parts of sending emails for this book. I always follow it up with “I hope this email finds you well and NOT in hell…” I love knowing that something that began as a cheeky little book title now brings a smile to people’s faces when they see it.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

So many! One of my favorite moments happens in the Night Market, which is a chaotic place that our main characters Brie and Luke have to visit in the underworld. It was such a fun spooky spot to flesh out, and we meet some really interesting characters while there. It’s also a turning point for Brie and Luke, because they get separated and come together in a really sweet moment at the end of it.

What a stunning cover! Can you share any insight behind the direction?

I truly lucked out with the cover! When cover conversations began, I sent an inspiration deck to my team with motifs from the book and some potential directions, and they completely nailed the vision. My biggest thing was emphasizing the title and giving it a purple hue, because this book is so purple to me since that’s the color of the sky in hell. The designer and illustrator is Edward Bettison – I owe him my life!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Surprisingly, my biggest challenge was writing the romance between Brie and Luke. I wanted to make sure their romance felt earned, which was initially tricky because the book takes place over the course of barely a week. So that’s a lot to jam into a handful of days! It was also my first time writing a romance-forward story, where as usually my romances are more of a subplot. But don’t get it twisted – I had soooo much fun, and my research looked like reading more romance books. So it was a win overall!

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on my second adult book, and though it’s not a sequel to I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell, it’s another hellish paranormal romance. I can’t wait to share more about it because it’s one of my favorite books I’ve ever written!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

Some of my most anticipated reads of the year are: Tylor Whitlock Just Won’t Die by Kendall Annette, Sunflower Season by Daniva Nava, and Doomsdate by Laura Piper Lee. Recent reads I’ve loved are Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett, You Had Me at Halo by Taylor Epperson, and If Not You by Ellen O’Clover (fun fact: Ellen and I are celebrating its launch together at Boulder Bookstore on 9/14!).

For book tour information, please click here.

Will you be picking up I Hope This Email Finds You In Hell? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Mackenzie Reed, Author of ‘I Hope This Email Finds You In Hell’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Seema! What inspired Mo Farah, The Boy Who Ran to Be Free?

The first volume in the Muslim Mavericks series is the story of Maysoon Zayid, a brilliant and hilarious actress, stand-up comic and author, who has cerebral palsy. Her story shines a light on dreaming big and standing up for yourself. For the next book, I wanted to invite young readers into the world of a boy who grew up to achieve almost superhuman feats, as an athlete, and who managed to do that even during and after a difficult childhood. Maysoon’s story encourages us to think about ableism and disability; Mo’s story forces us to contend with the reality of millions of children worldwide who are trafficked, including 100,000 American kids who are trafficked each year. It’s a tough topic to broach and the book approaches it in an age-appropriate manner.

What research did you have to do for this book?

Lots of reading and lots of watching videos of Mo’s old races and interviews. I also learned about the prevalence and realities of trafficking and child labor, which was heartbreaking. I think of how many children we see in our day-to-day lives who might be living through what Mo endured as a boy.

What does your writing process look like?

I teach writing to graduate students, and I coach people with full-time jobs who want to write a book, so I think and talk a lot about the process of writing, and how different that looks for different people. For me, it also looks different at different times in my life. Right now, I’m on summer break before I commence the second year of acting school, so I am typing away like the Jim Carrey and Kermit memes: furiously. While I’m in acting school, it’s a challenge to write as vigorously as I am now. And even in this moment, I have stretches of days where my “writing” process looks like reading in bed, watching Netflix, and talking to friends. It’s all part of being a writer!

Tell us about the cover for Mo Farah, The Boy Who Ran to Be Free?

The book cover is illustrated by Noha Habaieb, who also illustrates inside the book, and who did the artwork for Vol I of the Muslim Mavericks series. It shows a smiling Mo winning a race with a gold medal already around his neck and a cheering crowd all around him. So, an average day in the life of Mo Farah, basically!

Why do you write in the genre (or for the age level) that you do?

I’ve written picture books, both fiction and non-fiction; middle grade non-fiction, as with the Muslim Mavericks series; fiction and non-fiction for young adults; as well as books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction for adults. My philosophy is “genre is but a line,” which I believe is a quote (possibly from the days of Twitter) by the poet Safia Elhillo. I am a perpetual line-crosser, I write what I want for whomever I want. I once met a novelist I admire who told me to pick a genre and “stay in my lane.” That’s a hard no from me. We need stories at every age and not only do I love writing for every age group, I encourage my friends to pick up a picture book or an MG or YA novel. In fact, just this morning, I told a poet I am book-coaching to read The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. It’s a picture book from 2001 and it is profound.

What do you hope readers take away from Mo Farah, The Boy Who Ran to Be Free?

That Muslims are not a monolith. That faith is a form of power. That people overcome hardships some of us can barely imagine. And that storytelling has the power to open minds and hearts.

What are you working on now?

I am revising my second YA novel, writing a screenplay adaptation of my first YA novel, and working on the third volume in the Muslim Mavericks series…but I can’t tell you who Vol III is about yet. Sorry!

Will you be picking up Mo Farah, The Boy Who Ran to Be Free? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Dr Seema Yasmin, Author of ‘Mo Farah, The Boy Who Ran to Be Free’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Evelyn! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m so happy to be back here on The Nerd Daily! For readers new to me, I’m a New York Times bestselling author of 11 novels. I’ve written everything from contemporary magical realism to a fantasy for Netflix to a sweet princess book for Disney. I live in California with my husband and daughter, and my current hobby is learning how not to kill my houseplants.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. Growing up, Pizza Hut had a reading challenge where you could get a free personal pizza after reading a certain number of books, and I was very motivated to eat as much free pizza as possible. The staff at our local Pizza Hut were probably like, Oh look, it’s that nerdy reader kid again!

As for writing, I wrote a lot of poetry and short stories as a kid, and I majored in Russian literature in college. But it actually didn’t occur to me that I could become a writer (as a real job!) until I was in my 30s.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Strawberry Shortcake’s Cooking Fun (it was a children’s cookbook, and I still have a copy on my bookshelf).
• The one that made you want to become an author: Twilight, because it surprised me how addictive it was and I wanted to figure out why I couldn’t put it down, and then see if I could write something as compelling, myself.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. The characters are so deep and nuanced. It’s a master class in writing.

Your latest novel, Ideal Life, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Rewind and redo 24 hours.

What can readers expect?

A scientist gets a watch that lets her rewind the last 24 hours, as many times as she wants. She uses it to redo things to perfection so she can live her ideal life. But her focus on optimizing herself causes other things to fray, like her relationship with her best friend and also her sister. The lingering question is, does obsessing over self-improvement and optimizing everything make us forget to actually live?

This book also explores AI and technology and what responsibility the inventors have when wielding the ability to change people’s lives, for better or for worse. I did a lot of research about Silicon Valley, and the characters represent different perspectives on technology.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

It was challenging to write about AI while the technology itself was changing so rapidly. With big publishers like mine, authors have to finish writing the book about a year before the publication date. So I had to predict what kind of technology would (or would not yet) exist by the time the book came out in order for the characters’ viewpoints and the plot to be relevant.

For example, when I started writing Ideal Life a couple years ago, smart glasses were not mainstream. But through my research, I saw that not only Meta, but also Google, Apple, and others were talking about them in their investor earnings calls and other industry news reports. So I wrote smart glasses into my book, in hopes that by the time Ideal Life published, readers would actually know what smart glasses were but also that they would still feel like relatively new technology. I was lucky I got that timing right!

What’s next for you?

I’m working on a secret project that is quite different from any book I’ve written before, but that’s part of the fun! I think that if you’re a writer, you shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into writing only one genre but should, instead, write what you enjoy at the moment. Anyway, I’m excited about this new book I’m working on and can’t wait to tell you all about it when it’s ready!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

I’m late to Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang but enjoyed it immensely. I recently read Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee; her prose is always so beautiful. As for what I’m looking forward to, John Green’s new one, Hollywood, Ending.

Will you be picking up Ideal Life? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Evelyn Skye, Author of ‘Ideal Life’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.