We chat with author Libba Bray about Under The Same Stars, which is a propulsive historical mystery that examines truth, rebellion, reconciliation, and what must be sacrificed for a better world.
ND: Hi, Libba! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
LB: Well, hello there! I’m the author of ten books (The Gemma Doyle trilogy, Beauty Queens, Going Bovine, the Diviners series, Under the Same Stars). I once worked for a company where for years I wrote as Richard Simmons. I hate doughnuts but love oatmeal raisin cookies which makes me a weirdo. My favorite city is Paris. My favorite color is turquoise. I have a Blade Runner tattoo on my left arm. I’m scared of snakes and tiny elevators. If I were stuck in a tiny elevator with a snake, it would count as the ultimate horror movie. I’m originally from Texas but live in New York City with my partner, Simon, and our very mopey rescue dog, Wendell. He sighs a lot. The sigh says, “Once again, you have disappointed me.”
ND: When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
LB: I was the quirky kid who liked to make up dramatic scenarios for her Barbies and stuffed animals—“Barbie, you are the Queen of Romania who is also a mermaid-architect. Bert, you are a veterinarian-prince and secret spy who likes to sing Elton John songs. And scene!” I was also the kid who told the scary stories at sleepovers which, I’m pretty sure, was the only reason I got invited to the sleepovers in the first place. But what really made me a writer happened when I was eighteen. I had a very serious car accident and crushed my face and lost my left eye. Two months later, I went to college. I was broken on the outside and the inside. What kept me alive was being able to write down everything in my journal. After a while, I came to look forward to my writing time. I fell in love with writing. I always say that I know writing can save lives because it saved mine.
ND: Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: LB: Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban. I loved that quirky little badger in a dress.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. Sorry. That’s two. I’m bad at math.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Anything written by George Saunders.
ND: Your latest novel, Under the Same Stars, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
LB: Love is resistance; resistance, love.
ND: What can readers expect?
LB: Under the Same Stars is a sweeping, multi-generational novel spanning three different time periods (WWII Germany, 1980 West Berlin, and 2020 New York City) which are all connected by a cold case: the mysterious disappearance of three teenagers in a German forest on the night of the Winter Solstice in 1941. There is love and romance, deep friendships, found family, danger, long-held secrets, the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and above all, the argument for holding on to hope in dark times.
ND: Where did the inspiration for Under the Same Stars come from?
LB: From an article in The Atlantic that Grace Kendall and Elizabeth Lee at FSG sent me in 2020 about a very real 500-year-old matchmaking tree called The Bridegroom’s Oak. People write letters to this tree, which has its own postal code, and many a match has been made this way. (I like to call it “Analog Tinder.” Or “Timber.” Sorry. I’ll show myself out.) So I read that and because something ain’t right with me, instead of thinking, “Wow, how romantic!” I thought, “Murder. And espionage.” But I did immediately wonder, Wow, what happened with that tree during WWII? Could it have been used not just for romantic letters but to pass information for the resistance? And from that thought came a novel.
ND: Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
LB: I enjoyed all of it! But writing the Jenny & Lena chapters were particularly fun. A scrappy, all-girl punk band doing their thing in 1980 West Berlin—what’s not to love? Plus, I was also a teenager in 1980 so it was fun to draw on some of my own experiences. Never have I been more grateful for my misspent youth. J
ND: Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
LB: I started this novel in the spring of 2020 as the pandemic was raging and we were all on lockdown. I would’ve dearly loved to have gone to Germany to do research but I had to rely on other resources—archives, friends, librarians, librarian friends, books, whatever I could find. Also, trying to weave together those three different timelines with a mystery and a fairy tale was pretty challenging for a lady who loses her keys on a daily basis.
ND: What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as an author since your debut?
LB: That above all you must be, and therefore write, as yourself. Don’t try to be someone else; just tell your story and tell it true.
ND: What’s next for you?
LB: I’m finishing the first draft of a novel that I describe as “Friday Night Lights” meets “Almost Famous.” And I’m working on a vampire musical! Stay tuned…
ND: Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
LB: Nova Ren Suma’s Wake the Wild Creatures. Trang Thanh Tran’s They Bloom at Night. Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho. Karen Russell’s The Antidote, to name just a few. I need a reading vacation—just me, an iced coffee, a chair, and my TBR pile.
