We chat with author L.T. Thompson about Devils Like Us, which is a YA historical fantasy about three queer teens and their found family of queer pirates facing down a secret magical society—think Our Flag Means Death meets The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.
Hi, L.T.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a trans author and a proud public library worker. I love writing stories about queer and trans kids and teens discovering themselves and having adventures. I’ve written two books for middle-grade readers, The Best Liars in Riverview and The House That Whispers. Devils Like Us is my first young adult novel, as well as my first historical fantasy.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a family of readers, and my siblings and I were constantly playing pretend games and making up stories together. It just felt natural to start writing stories, too. From elementary school onward, I’ve pretty much always had at least one book idea bouncing around in my head, something I can daydream about during quiet moments.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Poky Little Puppy with my grandma
- The one that made you want to become an author: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg; I already knew I wanted to be an author, but that’s the first time I remember reading like a writer and starting to consciously pay attention to the mechanics of the storytelling
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Babel by R.F. Kuang
Your debut YA novel, Devils Like Us, is out June 3rd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Queer found family at sea.
What can readers expect?
Devils Like Us is a historical fantasy about three teens in 1840s Massachusetts. Cas, Remy, and Finn each have their own tie to the supernatural. When the three of them get tangled up in a magical mystery, they set sail to infiltrate the secret society that kidnapped Remy’s father years ago, and that’s kidnapped Cas’s fiancé now. But the adventure prompts them toward some queer self-discoveries when their journey brings them aboard a sailing ship with an all-queer crew. (Remy and Finn have a slow-burn sapphic romance, and Cas comes out as trans masculine.)
It’s simultaneously a high-stakes, spooky adventure story, and also this cozy found family story about queer and trans identity and what it feels like to find yourself in an accepting community for the first time.
Where did the inspiration for Devils Like Us come from?
The idea at the heart of the book—this crew of sailors creating a space for themselves to live and love openly—was inspired by real history, specifically by accounts of how pirate ships were often surprisingly queer-friendly compared to the rest of Western society at the time. But I felt very intimidated by the amount of research I would need to do to write historical fiction. I spent years swearing I would never write this book, even as I kept imagining what the book could become. I kept gathering scraps from other projects: Whenever I hit a dead-end on a different story idea, I took my favorite pieces from it—characters, backstories, even the rescue-mission plotline—and reimagined them into this fantastical nautical adventure.
By the time I finally admitted to myself that I did need to write this book, the idea had become a pile of story pieces that I already loved. That made the research exciting instead of intimidating.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
My favorite chapter in the book—probably my favorite scene in anything I’ve ever written—is Cas’s transition. The three main characters have agreed to “dress up as a boys” as they set out on their journey, and Cas (who’s been using she/her pronouns up to this point) jumps at the excuse wholeheartedly. He cuts his hair and has this moment of self-realization when he looks in the mirror and really recognizes himself for the first time. And the narration and the other characters switch to using he/him pronouns for Cas for the rest of the book.
I loved getting to write a trans character exploring his gender in a historical setting. Our terminology and even our conceptions of “sex” and “gender” may have changed, but trans people have always existed, and people have been having experiences like these in different ways throughout human history.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Devils felt very different from anything I’d written before. Besides the historical research, there were fantasy elements to figure out, and three point-of-view characters, and a plot that’s much more complex and ambitious than anything I’d attempted previously. There was so much to weave together. It felt like every time I fixed one piece of the story, I broke five other pieces at the same time.
I had to learn to trust the process. I spent a lot of time talking things through with my editor or with friends when I got stuck. Ultimately, I just had to give myself time to let all the threads connect in my mind so I could make them connect on the page. I’m incredibly proud of how it all tied together.
What’s next for you?
Devils Like Us Part 2! The story is a duology, so right now I’m deep in revisions for the second book. It’s an incredible privilege to get to spend more time with these characters who I love so deeply.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I just finished Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and I’m in awe. I also adored Icarus by K. Ancrum, and I’m very excited to read her newest book The Corruption of Hollis Brown! And I’m counting down to the release of Martha Wells’s Queen Demon, the sequel to Witch King, which was one of my favorite reads last year.
