Ismée Williams

Ismée Williams's new YA novel is This Train Is Being Held.

From her Q&A with The Nerd Daily:

In the author’s note, you shared a quick story about the inspiration behind This Train is Being Held. But can you tell us about which aspect of the book that you started with when you first wrote it?

I’ve been taking the subway for over twenty years, so I’ve had a lot of rides where I saw cool interactions between strangers. A balding man passing a packet of tissues to a young woman who got on with a mascara-streaked face and begins crying into her hands. A mom removing an apple, a juice box, and a box of animal crackers from her toddler’s stroller to give to a homeless vet. Three teens with nose rings and black leather jackets holding open the door for a grandma with a walker struggling on the stairs who’s shouting out to please hold the train because she’s late to her doctor’s appointment. When you see connections like this happen, it’s quite heart-warming. It makes you feel good about people in general and living in New York specifically. For THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD, I started with that idea, the connection between strangers. I wanted to put two very different young people together in the same subway car–a couple you wouldn’t expect to cross paths–and watch them fall for each other. I’m a sucker for romance, especially ill-fated romance, so then I had to create background stories and scenarios that tortured Alex and Isa and forced them apart: demanding schedules, demanding parents, mega misunderstandings, families detonating due to the stress of job loss and mental illness. That is never easy to do to your characters, because as an author, you often end up loving them. At least I do! But it’s necessary to...[read on]

Visit Ismée Williams's website.

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My Book, The Movie: Water in May.

My Book, The Movie: This Train Is Being Held.

Writers Read: Ismée Williams.

The Page 69 Test: This Train Is Being Held.

--Marshal Zeringue