Q&A: Michelle Cuevas, Author of 'The Dreamatics'

We chat with author Michelle Cuevas about The Dreamatics, which features a fantastical theatre and its troupe perform a young girl’s dreams, until nightmares take over. PLUS we also have an excerpt to share with you at the end of the interview!

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

Hi! I’m Michelle, author and sometimes illustrator of novels and picture books for readers of all ages. I mostly write about characters (be they animal, imaginary or dream) who are on a quest to find connection and their truest selves. I live in a house by the woods with my husband, our dogs Fable and Indy, one elderly albino rabbit, and a myriad of foxes, bears, deer, and owls. Some of my favorite things are poetry, Muppets, vintage 70s dresses, painting watercolors, travel, time travel, the ocean, surreal hats, British baking shows, and octopuses.

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

I wrote my first book in about second grade. It was about a talking shoe. I’d heard people refer to that front part of a sneaker as the tongue, and thought, well, then they must be able to talk. Boom! The Talking Shoe, a beloved family (well, my family) classic.

Growing up my mom worked in a grocery store as a checkout person for 25 years and was a single mom for some of that time. Regardless of price, she always bought me books, and we’d read a chapter before bed every night. I always asked for books as gifts for holidays and birthdays, and valued them as this beautiful, important thing. I try to be involved in every aspect of my books now and choose every word carefully; it’s what people who spend their hard-earned money on books deserve – something beautiful and timeless. They deserve a work of art.

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

The first book I remember reading was The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.
A book that made me want to become an author was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
And I book I can’t stop thinking about is Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman.

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

Dramatic Re-Enactments of Acclaimed Memories, which is the (made up by me) acronym for D.R.E.A.M.

Or something a bit more descriptive, I’d go with: Magic. Cozy. Pixar. Muppets. Dreams.

What can readers expect?

I’d say readers can expect a story about a fantastical theatre that performs a young girl’s nightly dreams; a very atmospheric book; a theatre that is a bit haunted and very magical. I’d probably describe it as a Pixar movie meets The Muppets meets Hogwarts Castle.

I recently commissioned an artist to make me a painting. It’s an old Penguin’s Classics cover, and the title is Almost Forcefully Philosophical, by Michelle Cuevas. It’s a quote from a negative review I received a few books back, the rest of the quote being “Almost forcefully philosophical… for children.” I loved that, and the idea of making it into art. All that is to say, readers can probably expect more philosophy than they often expect in books for kids, mostly because I consider myself a writer for everyone. I try to put lots of layers of meaning into my books. I think that readers read the story they are ready for at different points in life, and the same book can have different effects at different ages.

**Where did the inspiration for The Dreamatics come from?**

The magical world of Anxiety! I started taking medication for my anxiety a while back and was having WILD dreams, very where in the world does this stuff come from kind of dreams. And I started wondering well… what kind of place could they come from? I love taking something everyone experiences, like dreams, and creating a whole world and system for how they function.

It was also inspired by my dog, Indy. He’s a giant Bernese Mountain Dog, almost eight years old, and one of my Big Fears is when we lose him because he’s basically my soulmate. It’s hard to imagine life without him. This book is a meditation on losing a soulmate, and the journey back to one’s (new) sense of self.

And lastly, I just love sleeping.

Q&A: Judy I. Lin, Author of ‘A Magic Steeped In Poison’

So, this is my Ode to Sleep. Thanks for everything, sleep!

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

Magic! I’ve written magical realism before, but never straight up magic and it was SO MUCH FUN. Magical systems need rules, but mine had only one: Is it cozy? All the magic in this book is Cozy Magic, whether it be a weather closet full of jars of weather, a talkative teapot, haunted pencils, a theatre that redecorates itself on a whim, or Friday-flavored popcorn. All the magic in this book is the kind you want to read about while curled up in a fuzzy blanket on a rainy day with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

**With The Dreamatics set in a theatre, are you a theatregoer yourself?**

Theatregoer and theatreDOER. In eighth grade I starred as Amanda Chickenwing in a play called Murder in the Magnolias where I danced with a broom and had a horrible accent. Honestly, I kind of peaked there, but I did go on to act in plays in high school and college. I love the theatre and go whenever possible, whether it local or Broadway.

What’s next for you?

Well, like most people, I’ve got a lot of ideas for Halloween costumes. Jerith from Labyrinth? Perhaps, if I can convince my husband to go as the baby. Or maybe Edgar Allen Poe, but where to get a real raven? OH WAIT, you probably mean books, don’t you? In that case, I loved writing about magic, and have an idea for a magical series. I recently wrote a TV show about time travel and am working on turning that into a book. And I have some very weird picture book ideas, as always.

But yeah, mostly Halloween costumes.