Hi, Laura! Thanks so much for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi, Mimi! Thanks so much for having me. About me – I grew up in Maryland and we camped on a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay which is the fictionalized setting for Edie In Between. But before I ever started writing books, I was a career counselor in higher education. After guiding so many students to follow their dreams, I followed my own. My first manuscript was about sisters who find out they’re witches. Seeds of that story are in Edie as well. In 2012, I obtained an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts where I found my people. I live with my husband (and sometimes my two adult children) in a part of Philadelphia that looks like Hogsmeade and I love taking walks with my dog in the nearby woods. My debut young adult contemporary novel The Art of Breaking Things came out in 2019 to critical acclaim and now Edie in Between will be out soon! I love writing about girls finding their power and taking up space in the world.

Lightning round! What is your favourite book cover ever, your reading pet peeve and a trope you’re always on board with?

Favorite book cover ever? How can you do that to a girl? There are so many gorgeous covers. And mine are some of them! I mean, the cover of Edie In Between with Lisa Sterle’s fabulous art is drop dead amazing. But I’ve got to say the cover for The Firekeeper’s Daughter is absolutely mesmerizing.

Reading pet peeve is when someone interrupts me while I’m reading. I have a book open in front of me. Isn’t that essentially a Do Not Disturb sign?

As for tropes, I’m a serious sucker for a specific version of Friends-to-Lovers which is They’ve-Been-In-Love-With-You-The-Whole-Time.

Now, onto Edie in Between! What can readers expect?

At the opening of the story, Edie is a reluctant witch living on a houseboat on the Chesapeake Bay with her eccentric grandmother and the ghosts of all their ancestors – including Edie’s mom, who had been Edie’s best friend. Fortunately, Edie’s made new friends in the tiny town of Cedar Branch — including the wonderful Tess and maybe more than a friendship with Rhia. Together, the three of them embark on a scavenger hunt to eradicate the corrupted magic that has hold of her family. Edie must learn to accept her whole self – and her power — before it’s too late. Through magic and the ever-present ghosts, Edie In Between explores the power of family, first love and discovering who you are and what you’re capable of in the wake of a devastating loss. I hope readers love these girls as much as I loved writing them.

Edie in Between is pitched as the modern-day Practical Magic. What magical movies did you grow up with and which ones would you recommend?

There have never been enough movies with witches imho. I adored Practical Magic, obviously, and The Craft, of course. Also, the TV show Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Netflix and Discovery of Witches. Hocus Pocus feels like a must at Halloween (though I prefer my witches at heroes, not villains.) And Kiki’s Delivery Service is pure delight.

Edie in Between combines magic, loss, and love. What was your favourite part of writing this story and what turned out to be a challenge?

My favorite part to write was the magic. Also, the flirting between Edie and Rhia. And Tess. I really loved writing this book! It got me through the pandemic. The most challenging part was weaving Kat’s diary entries in such a way that Edie learned new information when it made sense for the story.

The dead of the Mitchell family linger with Edie and her GG. If you had the chance to have someone you lost be with you every day, would you want it?

Who wouldn’t love to live like GG and have their ancestors floating around and silently commenting on everything that they’re doing wrong? In all seriousness, I love that whenever I touch an item that belonged to my grandmother, she’s brought back to me instantly. In this story, I’d hoped to convey the ways that physical items can be repositories for our memories.

You expertly depict grief and loss in this novel. What do you want readers to take away from Edie in Between when it comes to losing someone?

We never get over a loss. We learn to live alongside it. Eventually, we learn the new shape of a life that holds that loss. And most importantly, we love again.

If Edie in Between were to be adapted as a movie, which scenes would you love to see transformed on the big screen?

I’d love to see how a director manifests the scene where Edie is fighting the fire in the tree. And – because I’m a romantic at heart – I would swoon to see Edie and Rhia together.

With Edie in Between releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, can you share a tidbit about it with us?

I’m working on a new YA where a group of friends summons an urban legend connected to their old Philadelphia private school in hopes that the legend will grant them wishes. Naturally, things go terribly wrong. Also, there is a ghost hunter. And kissing. There is always kissing.

Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I have a million book recommendations! But I’ll try to keep it short. There’s another contemporary witchy YA coming out the same day as Edie In Between! Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis is getting great early reviews and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m currently reading Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey, and I love this fish out of water rom-com. (Sidenote: it makes me very hungry for Cuban pastries!) I just received an advance copy of All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. Amanda is joining me for my virtual book launch on August 25th and I can’t wait to talk books with her!

You can find me on Instagram @lauraosibson and Twitter @laurasibson. My website is www.laurasibson.com. My virtual book launch on August 25 @ 7pm EDT will be hosted by Children’s Book World in Haverford, PA and I’ll be in conversation with Amanda Foody!

Will you be picking up Edie In Between? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Laura Sibson, Author of ‘Edie In Between’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

While I initially struggled a bit with accepting why Edie doesn’t want to use her magical powers (I mean, really, who wouldn’t want to be able to use magic, am I right?), Sibson has crafted a really deeply story with Edie in Between. At its heart, this story is about the family dynamics—the loving, yet sometimes stifling relationship between Edie and her grandmother who only wants her to embrace who she is while Edie is fighting her hardest to break free from magic. Beyond that, we have the family dynamics between Edie and her mom prior to her reliving her mother’s memories and the nuanced way in which the relationship develops afterward. It’s a difficult task growing up with the support of your loved ones while also trying to break away from it and this was definitely showcased in Edie’s relationship with magic, which I really enjoyed witnessing in the story.

Not to mention that there is quite the sweet romance between Edie and Rhia, who works at the local occult shop and is, in a word, cool. Really, there is no better word to describe it because Rhia tinges the pages with her laid-back (yet not uncaring) demeanour and her come hither attitude toward life and danger. There are also great friends of Edie and the scavenger hunt that made for quite the heartbreaking and tension-filled journey.

That being said, Sibson shined most in her unflinching, layered depiction of loss. Losing your mother brings an unspeakable level of pain and grief and Edie portrays this, even a year after her mother has died. I loved how we got to see this kind of juxtaposition where people don’t tell you that you’re supposed to have moved on by now but the implication of doing so is always there, with this idea of reclaiming your memories of your loved one in secret, which Edie does through the scavenger hunt. The loss Edie feels is visceral and tugs at your heartstrings and will make sure that no eyes stay dry reading this story.

Also, as we get to see Edie dive into these memories of her mom and relive them, we see this switch between Edie thinking of her mom as a mother and gradually, as her own person. For some reason, that resonated a lot with me because I remember being a kid and being shocked when family members would talk about what they were up to before I was born and how they were connected to other family members because it seems so surreal that these people had a life before I even existed—and that is so expertly depicted in Edie in Between, the way Edie slowly comes to the realisation that yes, her mother was everything to her, but she was also someone else to other people Edie has never and will likely never meet. All in all, I think there is so much to this story that will keep readers heavily invested in Edie and her magical fate.

With atmospheric writing, two lush romances and a painfully nuanced depiction of grief, Laura Sibson’s Edie in Between is the Practical Magic-esque coming of age story that every witchlover needs in their lives!

Edie in Between is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of August 24th 2021.

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

Synopsis | Goodreads

A modern-day Practical Magic about love, loss, and embracing the mystical.

It’s been one year since Edie’s mother died. But her ghost has never left.

According to her GG, it’s tradition that the dead of the Mitchell family linger with the living. It’s just as much a part of a Mitchell’s life as brewing cordials or talking to plants. But Edie, whose pain over losing her mother is still fresh, has no interest in her family’s legacy as local “witches.”

When her mother’s teenage journal tumbles into her life, her family’s mystical inheritance becomes once and for all too hard to ignore. It takes Edie on a scavenger hunt to find objects that once belonged to her mother, each one imbued with a different memory. Every time she touches one of these talismans, it whisks her to another entry inside the journal—where she watches her teenage mom mourn, love, and hope just as Edie herself is now doing. Maybe, just maybe, Edie hopes, if she finds every one of these objects, she can finally make peace with her loss and put the past to rest for good. But this journey to stake her independence from her family may actually show Edie who she truly is…and the beautiful gifts that come with being just a little different.

Tinged with a sweet romance with Rhia, who works at the local occult shop, Edie in Between delivers all the cozy magic a budding young witch finding her way in the world needs.

The post Review: Edie In Between by Laura Sibson appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

We can’t believe we’re almost halfway through 2019 already! This month we are treated with a lot of summer reads new releases, so we will be sharing this month’s debut releases that you need to check out immediately!

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dazzling debut from Kristina Forest about a ballerina’s dream, roadside hijinks, heart-stirring romance, and a few broken rules.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set in the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco’s Chinatown, the story follows Natalie Tan and her journey when she finally returns home after her mother’s death and a surprising inherited restaurant from her grandmother. A story about family grief, community’s power and a side of romance.

Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When there are two guys named Martin, and one of them texted Haley, she thinks she’s talking to the one she doesn’t hate. The chemistry quickly sparks over the text messages, but here’s the problem… Haley doesn’t know who Martin is. And Martin doesn’t know that Haley doesn’t know.

The Paper & Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A brand new series from Booktuber Lucy Powrie – about what happens when you give up on trying to fit in and let your weird out! It’s time to join The Paper & Hearts Society…

Rules We’re Meant to Break by Natalie Williamson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Honest and full of heart, this clever contemporary romance debut deftly combines utterly relatable family drama with all the sweetness and uncertainty that comes with falling in love.

The Art of Breaking Things by Laura Sibson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this contemporary debut by Laura Sibson, one girl embraces the power of her voice: rules are meant to be broken and she won’t stay silent.

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Virtue of Sin is a compelling debut novel by Shannon Schuren about speaking out, standing up, and breaking free.

All of Us with Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Michelle Ruiz Keil’s YA fantasy debut about love, found family, and healing is an ode to post-punk San Francisco through the eyes of a Mexican-American girl.

In West Mills by De’Shawn Charles Winslow
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set in an African American community in rural North Carolina from 1941 to 1987, In West Mills is a magnificent, big-hearted small-town story about family, friendship, storytelling, and the redemptive power of love.

The Beholder by Anna Bright
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A story following Selah, the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, and her journey to find the perfect partner that will help secure the future of her people, but the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A debut YA contemporary fantasy from Kat Cho set in modern-day Seoul, following eighteen-year-old Miyoung, a nine-tailed fox, commonly known as a gumiho, who must devour the energy of men in order to survive.

Are there any other debut novels you’re looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Debut Authors You Need To Check Out In June 2019 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.