Lyla Lane

Sonia Hartl (AKA Lyla Lane) is the author of YA, romance, and cozy mysteries. Her books have received starred reviews from BookPage and Booklist, and earned nominations for the Georgia Peach Book Award, YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, ALA’s Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and ALA’s Rainbow Booklist, and was named an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Young Adult. When she’s not writing she enjoys board games with her family, attempting to keep her garden alive, or looking up craft projects she’ll never get around to completing on Pinterest.

Lane's new novel is The Best Little Motel in Texas. My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

My title was picked by my publisher because it conveys the exact expectation for the novel. It was heavily inspired by the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. So calling this book, with sex workers as the leads in the mystery, The Best Little Motel in Texas would immediately give people familiar with this movie an idea of the tone of the book.

What's in a name?

I picked the name Cordelia for my main character because it was an old-fashioned name that felt like dark wood walls, leather high-back chairs, and bookshelves that require a rolling ladder. It had a certain distinguished air to it that reminded me of a library that would fit nicely into a Clue-style manor. I thought it fit well with her personality and made for a funny juxtaposition against her eventual career as the madam of a senior brothel.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Probably extremely surprised, as my teenage self was a very moody and angsty person who preferred sad poetry and Stephen King to anything light and humorous.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find endings harder to write. In the beginning, the idea is shiny and new, and I can’t wait to get those first words on the page. But toward the end, I’m dragging myself over the finish line. The ending takes a lot more revision on my part because it’s rougher than the beginning, and I typically need to draft out a sloppy end before I can step back and see if all the pieces fit together the way I wanted them to.

Visit Lyla Lane's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Best Little Motel in Texas.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kelsey Day

Kelsey Day is a young adult author and queer Appalachian poet. Their writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Orion Magazine, Freeman’s and more.

The Spiral Key is their first novel for young readers.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Every year at Lincoln Academy, a high school student named Madison Pembroke throws a highly exclusive birthday party that takes place in a virtual reality called Ametrine. The high school’s social order bends around who receives an invitation and who doesn’t. Those invitations take the form of custom-made spiral keys—sleek, shiny keys that fit into the VR consoles used at Madison’s party. Receiving a spiral key means everything, especially for the social outcasts of the school. That’s why the book is called The Spiral Key: the key initially symbolizes the promise of acceptance, friendship, desirability…but turns to something much darker as the party begins.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Teenage me wouldn’t be surprised, but they might be a little uncomfortable. This book draws so much from my own high school experience: the pain of social ostracization, the confusing intensity of queer friendship breakups, how life or death everything felt. I don’t pull any punches: every character is flawed in their own way. When I was a teenager, I hadn’t come to full terms with my queerness yet, so I think that aspect would be nerve wracking to read about at first, and then extremely illuminating.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings, definitely. Oftentimes the ending arrives for me first, and I work my way backwards. The Spiral Key has so many twists and turns, so much complex tension and terror, I needed to know the entire plot before beginning to write it.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I don’t relate much to the individual characters in The Spiral Key, but I do relate to the feeling of the book: the terror of loneliness in high school, the betrayal and anger following friendship breakups, feeling like you would do anything to fit in. I was a highly sensitive, anxious and depressed teenager. Bree (the narrator of The Spiral Key) is sensitive and anxious, but more than that she’s angry. That’s a big difference between us. My anxiety tunneled inwards, and hers branches outwards.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I’m constantly influenced by the political state of the world, and I’m invested in the fury, resilience, and scathing intelligence of the teenagers today who are grappling with that world. The Spiral Key is particularly concerned with the rise of techno-fascism and surveillance in the United States, and how modern technology acts on the bodies and minds of young people.

Visit Kelsey Day's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Isabel Booth

Isabel Booth is the pen name of Karen Jewell, a former trial attorney and now a writer. She holds an undergraduate degree in English, a Master’s in Business Administration, and a Juris Doctorate degree. When she’s not writing she loves to read, travel, and cook dinner for friends. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband.

Booth's new novel is Then He Was Gone.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Then He Was Gone gets right to the heart of the story: someone’s missing. Combined with the cover art, the reader knows that it’s a story about a missing child. I came up with the title after I finished writing the book. The folks at Crooked Lane Books and I played around with some other titles, but ultimately it was the publisher’s decision, and they stuck with the original.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage reader self would be thrilled but not surprised. I was a voracious reader then, as now, and I started writing poems and stories at an early age. My teenage self might say, “Ah. Go ahead and be a lawyer if you want. But you know there’s a writer in there somewhere.”

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I don’t find one harder than the other. I find myself mulling over ideas for a story, and then it just starts telling itself to me. I do, however, spend a lot of time coming up with the first sentence or two of the novel – something that hopefully grabs the reader’s attention right away. I was well into writing Then He Was Gone when I came up with the first two lines: “I have a picture of my little brother, Henry, that my dad took that day. He was six years old.”

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality or are they a world apart?

I could probably find bits of myself and my life experiences in every character I write. Henry’s mother, Elizabeth English, is an attorney, so that’s obvious. But here are a couple of examples that are less so.

Monroe, the park ranger who leads the search for Henry, is a former Montana sheriff who’s seen it all. But here’s how he describes Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park as he’s driving to the scene of Henry’s disappearance in response to a 911 call: “The first time I looked across that valley and the high peaks west of it along the Continental Divide, long shafts of light piercing through the clouds at sunset like the fingers of God, it nearly took my breath away.” I experienced that moment years ago and I’ve never forgotten it.

There is another scene in the novel where ten-year-old Nick is drawing a picture of his house in a counseling session. He draws burglar bars on all the windows and tells his counselor that he wants them put on his house when Henry comes home to keep his family safe. Some years ago, I did volunteer work in an elementary school that served low-income children. One little boy showed me a picture he had drawn of a house with burglar bars on all the windows, explaining that he would have a house someday that would keep the bad guys out. His teacher told me later that he was living in a homeless shelter. It broke my heart. Two weeks later, he was gone, never to return to that school. I can still see his face.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

So many. For this novel, the hikes that my husband and I and our two sons took in Rocky Mountain National Park over the years as the boys were growing up. And, especially, the boys themselves. They are hilarious, and you’ll find some funny vignettes in the novel about what boys can get up to.

Visit Isabel Booth's website.

My Book, The Movie: Then He Was Gone.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ahmad Saber

Ahmad Saber is a young adult author who grew up on an all-girls college campus next to a massive fort in Pakistan. He now lives in Canada, and loves Broadway (favorite show = Phantom), travel (favorite place = 4-way tie between NYC, Seoul, Paris, and Melbourne), and Taylor Swift (favorite album = folklore) He's also a self-professed Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseur and has crowned New York's Culture Espresso’s as the best in the world.

Ramin Abbas has MAJOR Questions is his debut novel and is based in part on his own lived experience, exploring the inherent challenges of being queer and Muslim, and the struggle to reconcile faith with sexuality.

Saber is also a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

My book’s title, Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions, is aimed to drop the potential reader into a whirlpool of curiosity: who is Ramin Abbas? Why does he have questions? What kind of questions does he have? And why are they so… Major? Do his questions have answers? In some ways, it makes the reader come up with their own set of questions immediately. Our great hope is that the potential reader would get pleasantly curious enough to read the book description and the opening chapter, and then embark on the journey with Ramin– a closted gay Muslim teen who attends an all-Muslim school and feels that he has to choose between being gay and remaining faithful to Allah—as he explores his questions and embarks on an internal quest to find the answers.

The idea of “questions” was initially suggested by my genius agent Dan Lazar, who connected deeply with the story and hoped that readers, especially those struggling with reconciling their faith and sexuality, would remain curious about themselves and simply ask thoughtful questions. We’re not necessarily here to give answers.

Then, my equally genius editor Caitlyn Dlouhy identified that in the book, Ramin has questions upon questions upon questions, his biggest one being: why does living your truth but losing everything—or living a lie and losing yourself—even have to be a choice?!

As for the process of arriving at this title, that’s a novella on its own. The book was initially called The Little Mosque in my Heart, a title to which part of me is still wedded to, but after prolonged discussions (and brainstorming well over 50 titles!) I decided to defer to the experience and wisdom of my publishing house. In the end, there was complete consensus over the official title, which we felt was more spunky and YA-appropriate with the widest potential readership. For fun and insight, here are some other frontrunners that didn’t make the final cut: Ramin Abbas is Full of Questions, Ramin Abbas is NOT Going to Heaven, Ramin Abbas Won’t Play Along.

What's in a name?

When naming Ramin Abbas, the titular protagonist, I simply wanted a relatively uncommon name used in Pakistan. Ramin is most commonly used in Iran as it’s a Persian name. In Pakistan, it is also used as a girl's name. While Ramin in the book identifies as cisgendered male, I still liked the unisex nature of his name to encapsulate his desired internal harmony with both his masculine and feminine sides. I would say it’s a strong name, even though I didn’t pick it initially because of this: Ramin can mean “someone who brings joy.” My great hope is that this fictional character can bring a lot of joy to his readers! As for simple or complicated, I think you can decide that for yourself after reading the above.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Oh, my teenage self would be majorly surprised! This is a book that comes from a deeply personal space and lived experience, so it is definitely a book my teenage self needed. If teenage Ahmad had found this book when he needed it most, I think his suffering would’ve felt at least 50% less lonely. But even though that Ahmad has now grown up (and is going pretty well emotionally btw!), my hope is that others like him, whether they are currently teens or adults, will find the book and see themselves in Ramin’s story.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

It’s definitely the beginnings! I usually know the endings first, it’s just a mammoth task to then find my way to that ending. I always knew that Ramin Abbas would find his way in the end, but in order for that to have meaning and resonance, I needed to capture on the page exactly how painful his struggle of having to choose between his faith and his sexuality was.

I have definitely changed the beginnings more. To give you an idea, initially the core concept of this book started off as a gay horror story set in the remote Northern mountainous villages of Pakistan. Yeah.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I think I have inadvertently answered this question above, but yes, Ramin’s story comes from a very personal experience, though he is also quite different from me in many ways. Certainly a lot braver than teenage Ahmad ever was!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

TV series like Love, Victor and Heartstopper (though I realize it was literary to begin with) have inspired my style of storytelling but I also didn’t want an unrealistic representation of the deeply scary challenge of coming out as gay in a religious Muslim household. Other than TV, I had an “inspiration playlist” of music that included Harry Styles, Banners, and Public. Songs like “Someone to You” and “Make You Mine” truly lit the spark of inspiration during my worst writer’s blocks.

Visit Ahmad Saber's website.

The Page 69 Test: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

My Book, The Movie: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

Writers Read: Ahmad Saber.

--Marshal Zeringue

James Cahill

James Cahill has worked in the art world and academia for the past fifteen years. His debut novel, Tiepolo Blue, was shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, and his writing has been published in Artforum, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The London Review of Books, The Spectator, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Daily Telegraph. Cahill divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Cahill's new novel is The Violet Hour.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?  

The title threads into the story in all kinds of ways. Colour plays an important role – the main character, Thomas Haller, is a famous painter who is celebrated for his abstract canvases. At the beginning of the novel, he has just created a new series of pictures in violet. The phrase itself comes from T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘The Waste Land’ (“At the violet hour, the evening hour that strives / Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea …”). That timeless image of an evening sky is ironic, because what follows in Eliot’s poem is a bleakly realist episode: a young female typist comes home from work, bored and tired, before her boyfriend forces himself on her.

Like ‘The Waste Land’, this novel is about the fragmentary, cacophonous nature of experience. It is set in the high-end world of contemporary art, but its themes are universal – loss, longing, beauty and desire. Thomas, the painter, is caught between romantic ideals and the inescapable, haunting facts of his experience. More generally, the phrase captures the novel’s interest in endings. Another character, Leo Goffman, is a real-estate tycoon in his eighties – the twilight of his existence. He spends his days surrounded by his art treasures, looking back at his life with a mixture of regret and defiance. Lorna, the third main character, is a British art dealer in her forties who has arrived at a personal impasse. Her girlfriend is about to leave her, and she’s wondering what her life will now be like. Many scenes in the story take place at the interval between day and night. There’s a pervasive mood of transition: lives entering new phases, relationships ending or reforming.

What's in a name?

Thomas Haller, the renowned abstract painter, was born in Switzerland. Haller is a common Swiss name; it’s also the surname of Herman Hesse’s antihero, Harry Haller, in his novel Steppenwolf (1927). Thomas, like Harry, is an enigma. At the beginning of The Violet Hour, he has retreated from the art world to live an outsider’s existence in the mountains above Lake Geneva. And like Harry Haller, he is conflicted – shifting between a refined version of himself and a more unruly, instinctual self. But not all of my characters’ names carry a symbolic meaning (much as I love allegorical, allusive names). Lorna Bedford, Thomas’s former art dealer and oldest friend, represents the ‘conscience’ of the story – she is the character with whom readers will perhaps identify most closely – and her name just came to me, early in the writing. It felt strong and elegant. I might have been thinking of the British literary critic Lorna Sage, but there’s no great meaning behind it.  

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

  It’s almost impossible to say. Sometimes, even now, I read my own work after an interval and find elements that surprise me. I think – I hope – that the younger James would have admired the writing style, and that he would have enjoyed the mystery and humour of the story. My younger self might have been startled by the detail and regularity of the sex scenes – startled but not put off, I suspect. The setting of the novel, in the international contemporary art world, would probably have felt strange and unfathomable. I began working in that world in my early twenties (in many ways I still do), and it has formed the backdrop to my adult life.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?  

The Violet Hour begins and ends at the same time and place – a summer’s evening in London, on a quiet residential street. At the opening of the story, we see a young man emerging onto the balcony of a tower block, and then suddenly – inexplicably – falling to his death. Over the course of the story, we will learn how this random, tragic event is connected with the lives of each of the main characters. The scene, which was loosely inspired by the ancient myth of the fall of Icarus, went through a number of revisions. I wanted to create the sense of the opening shot of a film, or maybe a painting. I wrote the final scene of the novel before I’d written many of the earlier episodes – I always knew, more or less, how the story would end.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

  None of my characters is ‘me’, but on the other hand, as a novelist, you have to inhabit the minds and personalities of the people you portray. So in a sense, you become those characters in the process of writing them. Leo Goffman, the octogenarian billionaire in The Violet Hour, lives a life that is entirely unlike mine. And in terms of his personality, there isn’t much connection (at least, I hope there isn’t) – Leo is egocentric, grasping and unrepentant. Even so, there are things that redeem him. I tend to find that even the most unpleasant characters in fiction, unless they’re cardboard cutouts, have traits with which a reader can identify.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?  

All sorts of things influence my writing, from every region of my life. One important reference is cinema, in particular film noir and melodrama. In fact, the title of the novel could be seen as an allusion to Sunset Boulevard (sunset being synonymous with the ‘violet hour’) – Billy Wilder’s classic movie about a fading Hollywood star, Norma Desmond. That film was a touchstone for the plotline and themes of my novel. Thomas Haller, the artist, is a version of Norma – imprisoned by a certain image of himself, living inside an elaborate illusion. The Technicolor films of Douglas Sirk were another important reference. Thomas is a Sirk fan, and spends hours watching those films in his home cinema. I like the way Sirk’s films combine

Follow James Cahill on Instagram.

--Marshal Zeringue

Caitlin Rother

Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 16 books, ranging from true crime to thrillers and memoir. A New York Times-bestselling author and investigative journalist, Rother worked nearly 20 years for daily newspapers. Writing books full-time since 2006, she draws from decades of watchdog reporting on topics from addiction to suicide, mental illness, murder, government, political corruption and the criminal justice system. A popular speaker, she has appeared more than 250 times on TV, radio, and podcasts as a crime expert. After teaching writing workshops for more than 10 years, she now coaches a limited number of authors. In her spare time, she enjoys ocean swimming, and sings and plays keyboards with In the Lounge, a jazzy, bluesy trio.

Rother's new novel is Hooked.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think titles are important and I take great care with them, but I would say that about half the time, the publisher will want to come up with something else, for whatever reason, and so I try to offer alternatives until they accept one, because otherwise, they will often come up with something I don't like that makes no sense to me. For example, one of my true crime books was retitled Body Parts by my publisher despite my strong objections. I felt like it was insensitive to victims' families, but I was told that the marketing people knew better. The title stayed and it is my second bestselling book to date (out of 16), so even though I didn't like it, it apparently did help sell the book. Go figure.

What's in a name?

When I pick names for my protagonists, I don't do it randomly. Take the ones from my newest thriller, Hooked, which features investigative reporter Katrina Chopin and surfing homicide detective Ken Goode. I came up with these names many years ago, when I first started writing the book (which took 19 years to get published). It was shortly after Hurricane Katrina, which some people thought should make me throw it out, but I used that association to add context to the character's personality. She was like a storm. Katrina was also the name I was going to give to my daughter if I ever had a child, which I never did, so there was no way I was going to give that up. In the end, no one has said anything about the hurricane association being a distraction. So I think I made the right choice. I am a pianist, and Chopin is one of my favorite composers, so that's where her last name came from. I named her fraternal twin brother Franny, short for Francis, a distant relative of the composer, Frederic Francois Chopin. So, even more personal meaning for me. Ken Goode is a handsome surfer, so I kind of named him after Ken as in Ken and Barbie, and Goode because he is a good man.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I think she would be impressed that I was so persistent, stubborn and determined to rewrite the book so many damn times until I finally got it published. As a teenager I was always a good writer, but had no idea I would ever be able to write a book (or 16 of them!), let alone jump through the hoops of the publishing industry.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I think beginnings are harder, because if they aren't good enough you'll lose the reader right away, so I rewrite them a lot. Sometimes I even add new beginnings before what was originally my opening chapter. I also find that even though I have an ending in mind, it may not be the final ending, because I often add more twists and turns to make it even more exciting.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Yes, I put quite a bit of myself into my characters, because I know myself and that makes the characters relatable and believable. But they aren't me, because that would be boring. I have had a pretty eventful life so I have a lot of stories to tell and I prefer giving the traumas and adventures to my characters rather than trying to write a memoir.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I watch a lot of movies and limited series, which often serve as a brainstorming aid, inspiration and prompts to make the plot in my current novel in progress even better. I also play music and sing in a jazzy bluesy trio, which I find is symbiotic with my writing because it fuels my creativity in a different way.

Visit Caitlin Rother's website.

My Book, The Movie: Hooked.

--Marshal Zeringue

Marina Evans

Marina Evans is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who graduated from Southern Methodist University with degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing. During her time with the Cowboys, she cheered under her maiden name/nickname, Rena Morelli. She lives in Arizona now but thinks about her days in short-shorts often. Death of a Cheerleader (UK title) and The Cheerleader (U.S. title) is her debut thriller.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I believe the title of my book pulls readers directly into the story. The simplicity of it cuts to the chase, and frankly, my publisher anticipated that it would do well with keyword and internet searches. Originally, I named the book Final Score, but apparently there are many books with that same title. The Cheerleader is simple, effective, and I hope…intriguing!

What's in a name?

I always give a great deal of thought to my characters’ names before selecting them. As an author, names have to feel right, capture a character’s essence, and embody a story’s theme. The Cheerleader is set in Texas, so while I was world-building that bold, football-obsessed culture, it was really fun to mull over names that fit that universe. For instance, the gorgeous cheer captain who falls victim to a murderer is Jentry Rae Randall. Doesn’t that just tell you everything you need to know about her?

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenaged self would be astounded at my new novel. Sorry, that might sound egotistical, but I have been writing for a long, long time! In addition, I tried out for my high school cheer squad but didn’t make it. (I should have known; acrobatics were required.) Then, because I had a dance background, I auditioned for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and was chosen! Cheering on the DCC squad in the ‘80s was the best experience of my life. All throughout my life, however, I’ve wanted to become a published author, so dreams absolutely come true if you try hard enough and if you wait long enough.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Because a suspenseful thriller hinges on its twists and turns, the first thing I do is plot out the big final twist. I typically have the beginning in mind, too. So really, it’s a matter of filling in the middle of the story. Sometimes minor twists or side characters change as I begin to write, but usually the bones of the story remain the same. I always ask, “Who doesn’t love a good twist?” Only, it’s difficult coming up with one no author has done before.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

It’s been said that a writer’s first book is their most autobiographical. I think there is some truth to that. Therefore, if any characters are close to myself and my personality it’s the ones I created during my first set of books in the romance genre. Now, I feel free to create characters who operate a world apart from me…who are often braver than I…who do unprecedented things. Sometimes evil things, even. (Written with a smile.)

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I would say everything around me is a potential inspiration. News stories. Movies. Politics… everything. Sometimes I’m even inspired by conversations overheard in coffee shops. Also, just the other night, I had a mini-reunion with some of my high school friends. Hearing snippets of their recent dramas made me want to include those stories in a novel. But of course, all the names will be changed to protect the innocent.

Visit Marina Evans's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Cheerleader.

--Marshal Zeringue

Verlin Darrow

Verlin Darrow is a psychotherapist who lives with his psychotherapist wife in the woods near the Monterey Bay in northern California. They diagnose each other as necessary. Darrow is a former professional volleyball player (in Italy), unsuccessful country-western singer/songwriter, import store owner, and assistant guru in a small, benign spiritual organization.

His new novel is The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

First of all, I need to confess that I stole my title—The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow—from Carl Jung. I paraphrased the actual quote (not on purpose) because I remembered it incorrectly. Then I realized my version was more appropriate for the book.

In psychological terms, it means that the more rational we are in our conscious minds, the stronger the activity of our subconscious. In literary terms, I hope it implies the two sides of a character that might pertain to a murder mystery. Which part of us drives criminal behavior? I’m guessing that the title will only fully make sense to the reader at the resolution stage of the twisty plot.

Also, I just thought my title sounded cool.

What's in a name?

I “chose” Kade Tobin as my protagonist’s name à la the above answer—from my subconscious. It bubbled up when I first had to come up with a name. Often, I choose names that are easy to type, which is kind of dumb since all I need to do is use the “find” function to replace any name later. I finally stepped away from that method here.

I don’t know of anyone named Kade, which fits the character since he is a rare breed. My only association with Tobin was a bully who lived near us when I was a kid. This makes some sense again—in hindsight—because at at some point the reader wonders whether Kade is a good guy or a bad guy. Of course, I’m probably the only one who associates the name Tobin with villainy, but tell that to my subconscious.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I always find it easy to get rolling and write the first few chapters, based on a concept that intrigues me and a main character. I almost always have to invert the first and second chapter to begin with action, or at least something that isn’t the exposition that falls out of me first.

As the plot and character development proceed, these early sections become inconsistent with what follows, and always require significant revision. Maybe I made my protagonist tall when later he needs to be short to make a plot point work. Perhaps the setting doesn’t support his motivation—do monks really carry assault rifles in order to subdue murderers?

The endings are always challenging since I’m not a planner. I usually don’t know “who done it” until late in my mysteries, and by then I’ve often painted myself in a corner with the plot, necessitating a major twist to work my characters out of it. Surprisingly, this has worked out every time.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

The reason I picked Kade to be the leader of a small spiritual community is actually the write-about-what-you-know principle. Many years ago, I co-founded and co-led a similar group, replete with the sort of Eastern philosophy my protagonist sometimes shares. (Don’t worry—it’s not heavy- handed).

At any rate, Kade is committed to teaching, kindness, and helping others—features that, ironically, don’t always serve him in the book. I like to think of myself as trying to operate by those same priorities, and like my character, it doesn’t always work out for me in the real world, either.

The quirky members of the community are drawn from the ones who were in our spiritual group, as well as some of the more eccentric patients I’ve worked with.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

The latter part of The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow is an extended murder trial. My middle name is Clarence and my last name is Darrow. Propelled by my family’s adoration of Clarence Darrow (to each his own) I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. I watched Perry Mason (I’m dating myself here) and any other courtroom drama I could find. Since my family’s main hobby was arguing, I thought I’d found my niche.

Once I realized what lawyers actually do, I moved on to other aspirations—pro athlete, singer-songwriter, traditionally published author, etc. I find it odd that I actually achieved all of these. (This is irrelevant to the question, but my ego likes to work it in).

My background as a psychotherapist—my understanding of how and why people change—has guided me, as well. Characters need to go through adversity and be changed by it. Otherwise, there’s an unsatisfying static quality to a book. I think my years of helping people get unstuck have proven to be invaluable in my writing career.

Visit Verlin Darrow's website.

Writers Read: Verlin Darrow (May 2023).

My Book, The Movie: Murder for Liar.

The Page 69 Test: Murder for Liar.

The Page 69 Test: The Not Quite Enlightened Sleuth.

Writers Read: Verlin Darrow (April 2024).

My Book, The Movie: The Not Quite Enlightened Sleuth.

My Book, The Movie: The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow.

--Marshal Zeringue

N. West Moss

N. West Moss is the author of the memoir Flesh & Blood and the short story collection The Subway Stops at Bryant Park. Her essays and short stories have appeared in McSweeney's, The Saturday Evening Post, and The New York Times, among other publications. She lives in New Jersey.

Birdy is her first book for young readers.

My Q&A with the author:

What's in a name?

Birdy and Mouse are brother and sister. These are their secret nicknames that their mother gave them, but their mother has died after a long illness and now Birdy and Mouse are the only two who know these secret names.

There is great power, I think, in naming ourselves rather than taking the names that others give us. Birdy and Mouse are in control of very little in their lives, but they can define themselves through their chosen names. These nicknames remind them of their mother, and also provide a language that only the two of them know. One of the questions of the book is, who will they invite into their chosen family? We can tell who they are coming to trust because they allow those few people to call them Birdy and Mouse.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage self wouldn’t be surprised at all. I think she would have said to me, “What took you so long?” It’s almost as though I have found my way back to the girl I once was in writing Birdy.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Writing is hard, period. With Birdy, I found that I had to start somewhere, so those original opening pages were more of a way for me to overcome inertia than to tell the actual story. Eventually I cut those pages, but I needed to write them, if only to get started.

It became clear that I needed to get Birdy and Mouse to their new home more quickly, so that we could watch them as they struggle to start their lives over.

The ending was the opposite. My first version of it was fairly short, and as the book developed, I needed to expand the ending to tie up some of the loose ends. My wonderful editor, Christy Ottaviano, asked me a few questions while I was working on the ending, and those questions galvanized me. With her questions in mind, I felt the ending became much more moving and ‘finished.’ I always say, “Thank goodness for librarians, teachers, and editors.” I don’t know where I’d be without them.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

When I first saw the cover of Birdy, created by the wonderful Carrie Shryock, I fell in love. I showed it to my sister and she said, “How did Carrie know what you looked like as a kid?” She was right. Somehow, the artist had channeled my childhood self into her drawings of Birdy, and that girl on the cover looks a whole lot like 11-year old me, right down to the freckles on her nose.

Birdy reads and writes in her journal. She also worries and hopes that people will see what is special about her. I admit that those are all aspects of my character as well. Birdy’s circumstances, though, are very different from mine. I am the youngest of 4 children, and both of my parents lived full, happy, long lives.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I love being out in the woods. In fact, I love being outside, period. In spring and summer, when I’m reading I’ll take my books out to the porch, just so that I can watch the hummingbirds at the feeder and listen to the spring peepers and the cicadas. I could be happy forever watching the robins hop in the grass, and the bees and butterflies in my flowers, and I often walk for hours in the woods.

All of that love of nature ended up in Birdy. My love for insects, which is a real and deep love, will be showing up in my next book.

I also find that art make me a better writer. I make sure to listen to music every day, and I often have impromptu, solo dance parties when I need a short break from my writing. Going to a museum, any museum, works magic on my creativity. I am lucky to live near New York City and I take in as much incredible art as I can.

Visit N. West Moss's website.

Writers Read: N. West Moss.

--Marshal Zeringue

Rahul Bhattacharya

Rahul Bhattacharya is a writer, journalist, and editor. His first novel, The Sly Company of People Who Care, won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. Pundits from Pakistan, his first book, was a Wisden Cricketer top ten cricket book of all time.

Bhattacharya's new novel is Railsong.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Railsong. The word is, of course, a neologism. Isn’t it a beautiful one? I feel unabashed in praising it because I didn’t coin it. My literary agent did. I had the phrase “song of the rails” in the novel, and she turned that into this title. It is not exactly an “about” title, yet to my mind, it evokes so much of the novel’s spirit. The railroads that run like a song through the soul of India, braiding the staggering diversity of its people and landscapes. The song that runs through the life of Charulata Chitol, my railway worker protagonist, whose tragedies and triumphs we follow over three decades. I did, in fact, consider naming the novel after her, but the poetry of the word railsong won out.

What's in a name?

I’m not at all averse to alliterations, so naturally I enjoy the rhythm of the name Charulata Chitol. Surnames in India tend to carry all kinds of markers: of religion, region, caste. So what exactly is a Chitol? Well, the Chitol is a species of fish, a delicacy in eastern India. Charu’s parents marry out of caste – an act that carries consequences in Hindu society – and her father decides to adopt his quirky pen name (he is a railway employee and an amateur writer) as the family surname. Railsong is a heavily peopled book, and wherever I have a name I have thought about its implications. And there are particular instances, such as with the men in Charu’s life, where I have deliberately reduced them to a single initial, in order for readers to draw their own inferences.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

He would be startled to find his name on the cover of a book. It hadn’t occurred to me as a teenager to become a writer. I studied pure mathematics in college, and then wondered how to extricate myself from whatever future that entailed. I started working as a journalist immediately after my math graduation exams. I understood at once that writing was the greatest, deepest nourishment I’d ever find.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said “the first sentence can be the laboratory for testing the style, the structure and even the length of the book.” I love this quote. To his list I could add “theme”. Railsong begins with the three-year-old Charu declaring, “I want to count people.” This idea is explored throughout the book. It took me a while to alight on this beginning for Railsong, but I had to work harder still on the ending. The finishing note of a novel colours everything that has gone before. It needn’t necessarily be a distillation, yet nowhere are the authors’ intentions, their vision, as clear as in the closing lines. The ending of Railsong circles back towards that first line, that first idea, but we have a travelled a great distance in between. There’s a phrase towards the finish that describes Charu as feeling “sensationally alive”. It is how I’d like to leave readers feeling.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

They certainly do have a connection since even the act of imagining characters entirely distinct from the writer emerges from the writer’s mind. Indeed, the moral beauty of fiction, for writers and more so for readers, is to be able to extend ourselves in exactly this way.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Music. Gives me energy bumps, settles me into mood, emotion, location, period. Alerts me to the rhythm and power of language in a different way from reading. (As this blog is called the American Reader, I should mention that American musicians and genres have left deep marks on me at different phases of my life. Two of my earliest musical crushes were Bruce Springsteen and the Doors, afterwards Bob Dylan, obviously, and The Grateful Dead. Rock n’ roll, the blues, jazz, they’ve seen me through so many days and nights of writing and escaping.) That said, I wrote Railsong to greater silence than I did my two previous books. Silence, too, can be an inspiration. I love the beauty of sport, the exquisite command elite athletes have over their craft. I am inspired by their dedication and their will. I shouldn’t leave out the movies. More than one reader has detected the great filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s fingerprints on Railsong. Finally, travelling by public transport, the railways especially, where life offers itself so generously.

Visit Rahul Bhattacharya's website.

--Marshal Zeringue