In this interview, Nancy discusses turning the vampire story inside out with her debut novel, The Uninvited, the joy of incorporating her love of Paris into the novel, and more.

Name: Nancy Banks
Literary agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House
Book title: The Uninvited
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release date: December 16, 2025
Genre/category: YA/vampire
Elevator pitch: Dracula meets stabby teenage girls in Paris.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I was reading vampire novels, and I realized that often the only role in them for women was victim. I wondered what an inside-out vampire story would look like, if the vampire’s victims refused to accept victim status and instead wrested control back from the vampire. I was also missing Paris, where I used to live. And this image lodged in my head: a girl, covered in vampire blood, crouching in a crypt under an abandoned Paris church. I wanted to know how she got there and what she did next.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I wrote the first 44 pages in April 2010. The idea never changed, but one of my minor characters—a street artist named Noor—kept stepping forward, brandishing her spray can and demanding to be seen. When I let her take her proper place in the foreground of the story, everything clicked together.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I didn’t realize how helpful social media would be for giving potential readers a fuller sense of the book. I put everything I loved about living in Paris into The Uninvited, and being able to show images of my favorite city on my feeds gives potential readers a glimpse into the book that they wouldn’t otherwise get.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

It was a little surprising how reliable editing is. Writing is unreliable. Yet when I edit, I’m always able to burnish the beautiful passages brighter and bring order and comprehensibility to any chaos. It’s magical.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

• Strong girls solve problems and support each other.
• Predators are a fact of life, but we can refuse them power.
• Victim is not the only role available to girls.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

I spent two years in drafting hell, and the Pomodoro Technique saved me. I would not have finished The Uninvited if I hadn’t been able to set my timer and know that after just 25 minutes of writing, I’d get five minutes of freedom from writing. That five minutes of freedom refreshed my perspective and made it possible to sit back down and write for another 25 minutes. And another, and another, until the book was done.

The post Nancy Banks: On the Reliability of Editing appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Hien discusses the teen hijinks and supernatural mystery at the heart of her new speculative YA thriller, Twin Tides, her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Hien Nguyen
Literary agent: Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management
Book title: Twin Tides
Publisher: Delacorte Press, Random House Children’s Books
Release date: December 9, 2025
Genre/category: Speculative thriller/Young Adult
Elevator pitch: A haunted Vietnamese Parent Trap following two long-lost twins investigating their mother’s murder in a small town haunted by a vengeful ghost.

Bookshop | Amazon
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What prompted you to write this book?

Back in 2022, I remember reading articles about climate change-fueled drought causing rivers and lakes to dry to historic lows and sometimes revealing long-dead bodies of missing people. This was shortly after I lost my own mother in 2021, and I was struck by the immense grief those communities must have felt, especially grief suspended for years before the bodies of their loved ones were discovered.

After jotting down an idea of these discoveries leading to the survivors unraveling a decades-long mystery, a story about Vietnamese American twins and a vengeful water ghost started to form. I enjoy engaging with Vietnamese mythology when I write, and the ghost stories of Ma Da, or drowned ghosts stuck with me. Ma Da are drowned victims, often experiencing violent deaths that trap them as ghosts. Part of writing Twin Tides was exploring that idea of violence, and what type of violence might cause a soul to become vengeful in the first place.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I drafted the first act of this project shortly after conceiving the idea in 2022, but it was on the back burner as I focused on revising my adult dystopian project for submission that year (this project unfortunately died on submission).

I listed this project on my author website with a short pitch and mood board and did not think much of it until my now-editor, Bria Ragin, reached out to my agent inquiring about the project in late 2023. Originally conceived of as an adult manuscript, I worked with my agent, Katelyn Detweiler, to create a YA proposal. My first act was revamped, and I wrote a detailed synopsis for the submission package. There was some back and forth with my editor before the project sold in early 2024.

I ended up submitting my first draft in May of 2024 with my final draft due that fall. In addition to the manuscript getting aged down to YA, the plot was simplified during my writing process. I’d originally conceived the twins getting separated at birth, which entailed a much more complex plot that was streamlined with them becoming separated as children.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Twin Tides is my debut and was also sold on proposal. This meant the process of writing an entire book on deadline was a brand-new experience for me and it certainly was trial by fire. My editor has such a confident vision, and I really learned to trust both my instincts and her insight. I found myself much less precious about decisions, and I was much more willing during this process to cut or heavily revise versus when I was left to my own devices. There simply wasn’t time for me to obsess or hem and haw about my manuscript, and I do think I’m a better writer for it.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

In Twin Tides, Aria and Caliste discover they are identical twins because their long-missing mother’s dead body is discovered. Inevitably, their grief takes center stage, and I also found myself writing through grief during the writing process. I was initially a little apprehensive about it and thought a lot about the possibility of accidentally opening unhealed wounds.

While the writing process wasn’t easy, it also was less fraught than I anticipated. Writing Aria and Caliste’s story allowed me the space to engage with memories of my own mother in ways that were energizing and restorative. As I wove parts of her memory and quirks into the narrative, it was as if I was rediscovering parts of her the grief had buried.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

As a genre blend writer, speculative, horror, and thriller end up being amazing lenses to magnify what makes us afraid. I do hope readers enjoy the ride of teen hijinks, untangling the supernatural mystery at hand in Twin Tides, and feel as haunted in the small town of Les Eaux as the twins do.

I also hope that as the story progresses through the three POVs (including a ghost POV) and epistolary elements, readers interrogate what we consider to be monstrous in the first place and what legacies we inherit through our families and history.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Write weirdly, write wildly, and write what excites you. Of course, the market and its expectations will always be a consideration, but the writing process is joyful because your creativity is boundless. In the same vein of “don’t self-reject,” please don’t “self-limit.” Everything else is already trying to do that to you.

The post Hien Nguyen: On Writing Through Grief appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Lockhart discusses the difference between a companion novel and a sequel with her new novel, We Fell Apart, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: E. Lockhart
Literary agent: Elizabeth Kaplan Literary Agency
Book title: We Fell Apart
Publisher: Delacorte Press/Random House
Release date: November 4, 2025
Genre/category: Young adult
Previous titles: We Were Liars, Family of Liars, Genuine Fraud, etc.
Elevator pitch: A companion novel to the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon We Were Liars. We Fell Apart follows Matilda to an immense beachside property, looking for the father she’s never met. There, she finds herself pulled into the strange, secret-filled world of its inhabitants. It’s a bad place to fall in love and everyone is lying.

Bookshop | Amazon
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What prompted you to write this book?

I visited the decaying island property of famed brutalist architect Araldo Cossutta. It was incredibly modern and beautiful, but it was also falling apart. I knew it would fit perfectly into the world of my We Were Liars series, but it would need its own story.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I knew Random House would be excited for a new book in the same universe as We Were Liars, because the TV show was soon to launch on Prime Video—but I didn’t want to deliver a straight-up sequel. I wanted to build a story that was compelling in its own right. It took a bit more than a year to write.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

In June 2025, the “We Were Liars” TV show hit #1 globally, which was a huge surprise—and the book on which it’s based became a #1 bestseller. Since We Fell Apart is connected to We Were Liars in some key ways, the TV show’s success created a whole new readership and a whole new set of expectations, long after We Fell Apart was completely finished.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I wanted We Fell Apart to feel fresh—not a rehashing of the same themes in We Were Lairs and Family of Liars. How could I deliver fairy tales elements, intense romance, and big plot twists in a new way? I ended up cutting an entire subplot that I couldn’t make work, and that helped the book enormously.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

A thrill ride that makes them think and touches them emotionally.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

I don’t think I have much in-born talent. Certainly, none of my teachers in college thought I did. Instead, I have a disposition to work at my craft and develop my skills. Writing fiction is a craft you can learn. I mostly learned it from unpacking scenes in novels I love—what did those authors do to move me? To spark my curiosity? To make me turn the page?

The post E. Lockhart: Writing Fiction Is a Craft You Can Learn appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Kim discusses the inspiration for her most recent novel, the importance of howling, the constant surprise of the writing process, and more.

Name: Kim DeRose
Literary agent: Kathy Green
Book title: Hear Her Howl
Publisher: Union Square & Co (Hachette)
Release date: November 4, 2025
Genre/category: YA / Speculative fiction / LGBTQ+ Romance
Previous titles: For Girls Who Walk Through Fire
Elevator pitch for the book: When Rue’s mom sends her away to Sacred Heart, an all-girls Catholic boarding school, for kissing another girl, she thinks her life is over. But when Rue meets ferocious outcast, Charlotte Savage, and learns that Charlotte is, against all logic, a werewolf—and that Rue can become one too (any girl can) if she heeds the wild within—she realizes her life isn’t over…it’s just beginning.

Bookshop | Amazon

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What prompted you to write this book?

After writing For Girls Who Walk Through Fire, I actually had two other stories that I was simultaneously working on. But then one day I wrote down the following germ of an idea:

A group of teenage girls at an all-girls Catholic school (or girls finishing school) discover they are turning into wolves.

Almost immediately I could feel how much I wanted to write this book. As someone who’s struggled with my Catholic upbringing and shedding the role of the “Good Girl,” I knew I would have a lot to say and explore. I’m always looking for story ideas that combine a speculative element I love (witches, werewolves, ghosts, etc.), with a thematic issue I’m deeply interested in (and am, often, personally wrestling with), and this combination resonated.  

There are also several works of art that also influenced this book. I absolutely adored Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch and felt so utterly inspired after reading it. And I loved the animated film Wolf Walkers, which has a lot of thematic similarities. I’ve also thought many times that if you took the thematic core of Glennon Doyle’s Untamed and combined it with the thematic core of Abby Wambach’s Wolf Pack (both of which I loved), and then set said book in the 90s and made it a sapphic YA romance, it would be Hear Her Howl.

But the primary work that very consciously inspired me was Women Who Run With Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archtype, by psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Her book is absolutely brilliant, and gave me so much food for thought.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

From conception to final publication was a little over two years. I started brainstorming the story in August of 2023, right before the publication of my debut, For Girls Who Walk Through Fire. I wrote the first act that fall, my agent shared the first act and a synopsis with my publisher in early 2024 (I had a one-book deal with an option) and they made an offer that spring. Once I turned in the first draft, there were a few rounds of editorial feedback and then revisions, followed by sensitivity reads (the sensitivity readers gave such thoughtful and amazing notes), and finally copyedits.

As far as how the idea changed, even though I had an outline and a good sense of where the story was headed, it definitely evolved along the way. One of the biggest changes early on, even before we sold the book, was that I’d originally thought the wolf pack might already exist at Sacred Heart, and that Rue discovered them upon her arrival. But pretty quickly, I realized this was a story about forming community, and that the wolf pack needed to come into existence within the book.

I also originally had a different magic system in mind for how one became a werewolf, which involved consuming werewolf blood mixed with wine. This was intended to be a twist on Catholic communion, and simultaneously a twist on 16th century Livonian folklore that I’d read, which suggested that a werewolf’s transformation came about after drinking a cup of special beer. But ultimately, I realized that I wanted the girls’ ability to transform to reside within them and not outside of them.

Another thing that changed along the way was the title. The book’s working title was The Secret Society of Sacred Heart, which was fine, but we all agreed that it sounded a bit middle grade, and I wasn’t particularly attached to it. My amazing editor, Stefanie Chin, is the one who came up with Hear Her Howl, and the second she suggested it I was sold.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

The one thing that was new this time around, and therefore a learning experience (and also a lot of fun) was that I got to see the full cover art process from start to finish. Early on, my editor and I discussed some comps she had in mind, and we were very much on the same page. When she told me they wanted to go with artist Tim McDonagh, I was thrilled. It was so much fun to see his early sketches and watch how the art developed—and I really appreciated that I was able to share feedback along the way. Also, the final cover is truly the cover of my dreams. I can’t overstate how much I love it.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I think writing a book is always a process of discovery and surprise. Even if I think I know where I’m headed with a story and have it all fully outlined, when I actually sit down to draft, things always have a way of going a bit differently than planned. Which, you know, rude!

With every book I end up learning so much about the story and the characters as I go. In some ways I find that maddening (I had a PLAN! What do you mean these characters won’t adhere to it?), and yet I’ve come to realize that it’s also, ironically, the very thing I love about the writing process. Not knowing everything up front and having to discover it along the way is delightful.

It’s also incredibly gratifying to see the story deepen and grow richer with every draft. That’s especially true when it comes to my secondary characters. I tend to focus more on the main characters in my early drafts—but I always know that I’ll then focus in on the secondary characters in subsequent drafts. It’s important to me that they feel just as rich, and that I’ve really thought of them as full characters.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Well, first of all, I hope readers find the book engaging. That’s what I’m looking for whenever I pick up a book: to be sucked in and transported. I also hope readers feel connected to the characters and find themselves reflected somewhere within the book.

But perhaps most important to me are two key things that I hope stick with readers. The first is the idea of staying wild. I hope readers finish this book and think about the ways in which they may have been caged, and whether they’ve been told they are too much or not enough. And I hope they take a step back to question that messaging and ask themselves what it means for them to stay wild. There’s a lot of counter-messaging out there, a lot of noise telling us how we should be, what is and is not acceptable. Messaging that comes from religious organizations, and patriarchal societies, and our own families. I hope this book inspires readers to, instead, turn within and listen to the small voice that resides inside them. That’s the only voice that can truly tell them who they are, and what is for them. To me, that’s what staying wild is: turning within and owning who you truly are.

And then secondly, I hope readers hold onto the notion that we need to keep howling. That concept is central to the book, the idea that we not only need to own our wild, but that we need to keep howling so we can find and inspire one another. There are so many wild souls out there who have influenced me just by virtue of taking up space and showing up exactly as they are. Their howls have encouraged me to do the same. Sometimes we howl and find one another, literally coming together in community, a pack if you will; but sometimes our howls are heard from afar, and they inspire someone else in ways we may never even know. All of it is necessary, the community and the inspiration. And so, I hope this book gives readers the courage to use their voices, to stay wild and keep howling so that they can find their pack and inspire others to do the same.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Ooo, so many things come to mind, including you’re never too old and its never too late. But the main piece of advice I’d give (and the one I most need to hear again and again) is: Focus less on the destination and more on the journey.

For a lot of years, I was so focused on the destination of publishing a book that I overlooked the fact that the act of writing was the real reward. It took me 15 years of writing, two agents, and three completed manuscripts before I published my first book. And along the way there were a million times that I thought about giving up. I kept thinking, wow if I just stopped writing I’d get all this time back. I could just go to my job and come home to my family and not try to squeeze in this other thing; I could just be normal. But this thought was always devastating. Not simply because I would be giving up on my goal of becoming an author, but because I would be losing out on the act of writing.

Beth Pickens’ book Make Your Art No Matter What was really instrumental in helping me think about why creating art mattered so much to me. She put into words something that I’d felt but hadn’t consciously understood. Artists need to create to feel happy and whole. It’s how I process the world and understand myself. And it dawned on me that I was just plain happier when I was writing, published book or no published book.

Now that I am a published author, I can say that while sharing my art with others does feel wonderful (and Beth Pickens talks about this too, the importance of sharing our art), it’s still the act of writing that’s the magical part. I try to remind myself of this fact when I’m working on a new story and don’t have it all figured out yet. The type A perfectionist part of me can get frustrated, and be like, come on! Just create an outline and make a plan and stick to it and get this thing done! (As if writing is as simple as that!). But when that voice rears its head (and it always does) I remind myself that it’s the writing journey and all the unexpected discoveries along the way that’s where the magic lives.

The post Kim DeRose: Focus Less on the Destination and More on the Journey appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Amber discusses starting a dialogue about death and grief with her new YA novel-in-verse, The Leaving Room, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Amber McBride
Book title: The Leaving Room
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan
Release date: October 14, 2025
Genre/category: Young Adult
Previous titles: Me (Moth); We Are All So Good at Smiling; Gone Wolf; Onyx & Beyond; Thick with Trouble
Elevator pitch: Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel’s seriousness melts and Melodee’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love.

Bookshop | Amazon
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What prompted you to write this book?

Short answer, grief. The long answer, I wanted to write about death in a way that did not have the weight of religion and a perceived afterlife attached to it; in a way that felt more universal, comforting, and speculative. After all, there are two things that are certain—you will be born and you will die; but death, especially for young adults, is a conversation that is often avoided. I understand the instinct to shield young people from death and grief, but the truth is, it is something we will all experience. So, the idea is a girl name Gospel (meaning good-telling) is the Keeper of something called The Leaving Room; a room all young people phase through right after they pass. This room is cozy and warm; Gospel cooks and cares for her Leavers and helps them pass into whatever is next. That is, until The Leaving Room starts glitching.

I chose to write the novel in verse because the sparseness of the language and brevity of the story really seemed to lend itself to the form. The entire narrative takes place over four minutes, and using verse helped to highlight that immediacy.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

From idea to publication, it took three years; but I had a few other books lined up to write before The Leaving Room. So, from pen to paper, it took two years. The fundamental ideas for the novel stayed the same; Gospel was its Keeper, and it was told in verse. The aspects that changed were more about the details included in the novel.

I was trying to create a warm and welcoming feeling in this space between life and death, but I was not sure exactly how to do that. I tried several tactics, but in the end the ideas of memory and cooking as an act of love helped to craft a space that felt lush and loving for each Leaver. I included family recipes in the book as well.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

For the most part, everything went smoothly. I usually sell my books with the manuscript completed, so I’m really just working with my editor to perfect the novel. The Leaving Room was sold on pitch, which means this was the first time I was really sitting down and writing from scratch a book that had already been purchased. This was a slightly more stressful process for me.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Writing in verse is always filled with small surprises when it comes to what you can pull from language and blank space on the page, but I was fairly surprised when my instincts told me that I should include recipes. That was never the original plan, but I love that recipes from so many of my family members, living and ancestors, are included in the book.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope readers have more open conversations about death and grief. I hope they feel safe and seen, but most of all, I hope they think about what their most perfect memory is. 

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Read vastly from everywhere and be curious because there are thousands of stories around you.

The post Amber McBride: Read Vastly and Be Curious appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(See the winning entry list here.)

[See the complete winner’s list]

The Order of Ordinaries

Chapter 1

After weeks of covert sleuthing and surveillance, I, Birch Barton, have come to an improbable but inescapable conclusion: My new next-door neighbor is a shapeshifter. Yes, the seemingly ordinary Dusty French—who might be dusty, but definitely isn’t French—has the unique ability to turn himself into a furry feline.

“Let me get this straight.” My best friend, Gabby, holds her half-eaten breakfast bar in mid-air as she pedals down the tree-lined street, quiet as usual in the already-warm morning hours. “You think Mr. French shapeshifts into a cat?”

Dang, it does sound a little out there. “I’m one hundred percent positively almost sure,” I say, repping confidence. “A bobtail to be exact.”

“And you’re basing this all on the fact that you’ve never seen him and his cat together?”

“That’s not all I’m basing it on, but don’t you find it odd?”

She shakes her head. “This is one of your better ones, Birchie.” The fact that she isn’t buying it doesn’t surprise me. Gabby’s been the more sensible one for as long as I’ve known her, which is basically my whole life.

“Dude, you can’t make this stuff up,” I say.

“You’re right.” She nods and takes a second to swallow. “I can’t make this stuff up, but you sure can. Sounds a little like the talking tree, am I right?”

“I never said the tree actually talks.” Okay, so being able to feel and sense the life in a tree is a tough one to prove. But I’ve got hard evidence of Mr. French the shapeshifter. “Here, pull over.” I angle my tire to the shoulder of the road and fish my phone out of my school backpack which is weighing me down like I’m the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

“You really should get one of these.” Gabby pats the basket attached to her handlebars. It sits, silently mocking me, holding her stuff like a personal assistant. For the record, Mom actually bought me one, but let’s face it, a guy with a basket? Might as well walk around with a “kick me” sign taped to my back.

“Don’t change the subject. Check this out.” I scroll to the pic and hand her my phone.

She squints at the screen. “What am I looking at?”

“Right there. The cat on the limb.” I point to a fuzzy orange blob.

“Cats are known to climb trees, you know.”

“I know but”—I swipe left—“check it out…literally two minutes later. I went to the bathroom and came back to this.”

She leans in closer.

“It’s Mr. French.” I hear the excitement in my voice. “In the same spot where the cat was.”

Gabby squiggles her face in consideration. “Okay, so a grown man sitting in a tree is odd. But maybe he just likes to climb trees like you do.”

It’s true, I love a good climb.

She hands me the phone. “I don’t think it proves he can turn into a cat. Or maybe it’s the cat who can turn into a man?”

Interesting. I hadn’t thought of that.

“Come on, I’m not going to be late on the first day of school.” She pushes her pedals and takes off.

I shove my phone back into the side pocket, stealing a glance around. The sunlight is reflecting off the dewy grass and, for these few minutes, the otherwise dull town of Everdale, Texas, sparkles and shines.

“Gabs, you’re not taking me seriously.” I double pump to catch up. “Did I mention, they have the same Dreamsicle-colored hair? And—get this—the cat wears shoes. Shoes! I mean come on.” I feel my eyes widen. “What’s that about?”

“Oh my god.” She flashes me a warm grin. “I’ve missed my Birch.”

And I’ve missed everything about Gabby. Two weeks at summer camp and two weeks at her grandmother’s equals ten years in feels-like time. But now she’s home and—despite her going on and on about some guy she met at camp—things can get back to normal, the way they’ve always been. Me and Gabby against the world.

I do a double-take at her as we ride along, noticing she’s taller than before she left. I check to see if her seat is raised, but it’s not. “I think you’ve grown a foot.”

She kicks out a leg and wiggles her Converse. “Really? Last I checked, I only have two.”

“Ha ha.” Not bad for Gabby humor. “But seriously, what’d your abuela feed you?”

She makes a swoony face. “Gallo pinto, empanadas, mangos, papayas, avocados, patacones—” She rubs her stomach.

“Okay, okay.” I hold up a hand in surrender. “What I’m hearing is Costa Rica’s got nothing on Taco Bell.”

She tilts her head sideways. “Well, it is hard to beat the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

She finishes her bar and tucks the wrapper into a pocket of her weightless backpack as she pedals. “Can you believe Nik has never had the Bell? As in ever!”

Ugh. The camp guy again. Thankfully, he was only visiting Texas for the summer and is back where he belongs, on the other side of the planet. “There’s something wrong with that guy.”

“Birch! Watch out!” A black cat darts between our bikes and crosses in front of mine before disappearing into a hedge. Gabby screeches to a stop, so I do too.

“Oh no.” She’s out of breath. “You have to circle back to where the cat crossed and count to thirteen.”

“Gabs. It’s just a cat.” I give her a calming smile. On rare occasions, I get to play the role of the sensible one. For the record, I don’t consider myself superstitious, only sorta-stitious. I mean, I don’t go around walking under ladders or opening umbrellas inside—duh, that would be asking for it. Gabby, on the other hand, happens to be megastitious.

“Just. A. Black. Cat?” Her eyes grow bigger with each word.

“Well if I have to, you do too,” I say.

“Nope, it came from behind me and went in front of you. It’s all yours.”

“No time,” I say. “This backpack’s killing me.” Truth.

“Okay, but don’t blame me. It’s your bad luck. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

Then—oh no, not again—as we resume our trek, I feel it. The eyes-on-me sensation I’ve had way too often lately. Like someone’s got me in the center of their crystal ball, watching my every move. My skin prickles as I swing my head side to side, trying to find any sign of the watcher. But like all the other times, there’s no one. Just a squirrel or two and a bird or three.

I haven’t mentioned this to Gabby yet. And given the black cat drama, now’s not the time. I shake my head as if it will loosen the weirdness gripping me.

“You okay?” Gabby’s eyebrows practically touch her hairline.

“What? Oh…um…yeah, I’m good,” I say, but my voice says otherwise.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. But when it comes to black cats, you can’t play around.”

I nod and force a flat grin as we enter the bike lane on the main road that leads to school. If only I were playing with black cats instead of a pair of invisible eyes.

Chapter 2

Gabby’s outside, waiting for me at lunch like always. She makes it to our table first because she brown bags it. I, on the other hand, get the great displeasure of waiting in the smelly cafeteria line for the unidentifiable entrée du jour.

As I near our table, I notice three birds perched in the mesquite tree that sits in the middle of the patio. One large crow shares a branch with two small doves. The doves are close, but facing in opposite directions. Kinda odd, but it makes me smile.

I set my tray down and hold my arms out wide as I take my seat across from Gabby. “Look at me. Still in one piece.”

She scoffs. “The day is long, Birchie. The day is long.” She bites a carrot stick and flashes serious chestnut-colored eyes my way.

I kick off my shoes like I always do and pull my socks off. Aw, yeah. I rub my feet into the grass as a warm sensation floods me. Weird I know, but I’ve always been like this.

“Gettin’ that good ground feeling?” she asks.

“You know it,” I say, opening my milk carton.

Gabby leans to look around me and cocks her head sideways. “What the heck?” Her face flashes in confusion before it fills with an awed grin.. She drops her carrot and pops up like a jack-in-the-box. “Nik?”

I turn to see a tall kid with wild black hair, holding a cafeteria tray and sauntering toward us.

“Nik!” Gabby squeals and runs to him, hugging him like he’s a soldier home from war.

Nik? The guy who’s supposed to be in Greece?

“What are you doing here?” She squeals again so loud I want to cover my ears. He says something inaudible.

She links her arm through his and escorts him to our table. My and Gabby’s table. Her face is lit like the sun. I squint to prevent blindness.

“Birch, this is Nik,” she says with too much excitement. “The one I told you about?”

I fake an “I dunno” face.

“The one from camp?” she prods.

How could I forget? His name seems to have taken over her word bank. She clicks an impatient tongue at me and turns to Mister Tall-Dark-and-Not-Supposed-To-Be-Here towering over her.

“Nik, this is Birch.” She waves toward me.

“Hey Birch, nice to meet you.” He sets his tray on the table and holds out his hand like I should shake it. What are we, thirty-year-old businessmen?

I take a bite of a chicken nugget, aware of Gabby’s eyes sending me don’t-be-a-jerk signals.

Nik drops his hand and takes a seat next to her. “You’re all she could talk about at camp.”

I could say the same thing about him, but why risk coming across as welcoming? “I thought you were from Portugal or Spain or something.”

“So you do remember me telling you about him,” Gabby says.

My cheeks burn.

“Greece.” Nik doesn’t skip a beat. “My dad had business here for the summer. That’s why I was at camp. And he liked it, so”—he shrugs—“we bought a house and here I am.”

Oof. It feels like I took a medicine ball to the stomach.

Gabby goes in for a side hug, pulling Nik close. “That’s amazing. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought it’d be fun to surprise you,” Nik says.

Fun? “Gabby hates surprises.” I lift another nugget to my mouth but set it down, suddenly full. “Ouch!” I say in response to an under-the-table blow to my shin.

“Ignore him. Birch is just in a bad mood.” She’s talking to Nik but glaring at me. “So where’d you move?”

He hikes a thumb over his shoulder. “It’s a new build near Stieber Ranch.”

There’s only one new house near the ranch. “Wait. You live in the glass castle?” I say.

“The what?” Nik asks.

“That house is sorta famous,” Gabby says through a mouthful of PB&J.

“Oh.” Nik nods. “The whole sustainable, LEED-certified thing.”

The what now? “I think it’s because of the takes-up-a-whole-block thing,” I say.

“Yeah. It’s not really my taste, but nobody asked me.” Nik sounds annoyingly apologetic.

“I think it’s awesome,” Gabby says. “I saw on the news it has a green roof, all kinds of solar stuff, and a spring-fed pool with a waterfall.”

Nik nods and runs his hand through his thick hair. It lifts and falls in slow motion like he’s in a shampoo commercial. I feel my puffy blonde curls frizz and shrink in envy.

“The waterfall is pretty cool,” he says. “You guys’ll have to come for a swim.”

I’d rather swim with sharks.

Get recognized for your writing. Find out more about the Writer’s Digest family of writing competitions.

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In this interview, Julie discusses her hopes for readers with her new YA fantasy, If Looks Could Kill, her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Julie Berry
Book title: If Looks Could Kill
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release date: September 16, 2025
Genre/category: Young adult fantasy
Previous titles: Lovely War; The Passion of Dolssa; All the Truth That’s in Me; and more.
Elevator pitch: If Looks Could Kill sends Medusa stalking Jack the Ripper (and vice versa) on the murky streets of East London and then in the vice-ridden Gilded Age Bowery. It’s a clash of the titans pitting mythology’s most notorious monster against history’s most notorious murderer. 

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What prompted you to write this book?

I experimented with many concepts and abortive beginnings to try to decide what my next YA/crossover novel should be after Lovely War. In the end it was the call of myth (or the Cry for Myth, to quote Rollo May’s title) that steered me in the direction of a story centering around Medusa. When I chose the setting of the Gilded Age Bowery, it didn’t take long to stumble upon the fact that a credible suspect in the Jack the Ripper investigations passed through the Bowery. The story opportunity this afforded was too rich to pass up. 

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

In the middle of writing If Looks Could Kill, I bought, renovated, and reopened an independent bookstore in my hometown (now called Author’s Note), so my work on this project met with unavoidable starts and stops. Throw a cross-country move and the COVID pandemic into the mix, and you have most of my excuse for why it took me about five years to take this project from concept to completion. Oof. The idea evolved many times—or rather, it coalesced iteratively. At the start, all I knew was that I wanted to write a Medusa novel. I began with all sorts of scenes and chapters set in ancient Greece, exploring Medusa’s origin story, which has many intriguing facets, but in the end, I moved away from all that, to a Medusa showing up in a (relatively) recent setting–1888. 

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I wrote If Looks Could Kill under the expert guidance of my longtime YA editor, Kendra Levin, with whom I share a deep well of history and trust. This helps me feel creatively safe and able to take risks, start over, and persevere until together, we feel ready to present the story to the world. I hope our history also helps her give needed feedback frankly and without fear. I rely on her judgment and her integrity. We churn through a lot of drafts together, so I’m also indebted to her work ethic and stamina. I was certainly surprised when I saw the gorgeous cover Lizzy Bromley at Simon & Schuster put together with an original illustration by Tim McDonagh, and there have been dozens of happy surprises in the process of working with the entire team at S&S who have shown such enthusiasm for this project.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I write books for the same reason we read them—to find out what happens next. I never know, going into a story, how it will end, nor even what the plot will likely entail. This makes the entire process an exploration of uncharted territory, and a string of surprises. To me, writing is participatory reading. Writing asks me to do more responding, feeling, analyzing, and predicting than reading someone else’s novel would, but these are nevertheless the jobs of any alert reader. Writing a novel, in other words, is just me reading that book a bit harder. 

This philosophy informs how I read. When I finish a book, I critique it as I would my own manuscript. I consider what I enjoyed or appreciated, and what didn’t work for me, and then I ask myself, how would I fix its problems? What dials would I twiddle; what would I change? Revision is a writer’s most potent weapon. I find it both instructive and liberating to realize I can mentally revise anything, which means I can transform most of the books I read into satisfying experiences. 

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope readers will get a book hangover in the morning because they stayed up way past bedtime, unable to put this book down. That’s always the bar I’m aiming for. 

If ideas in the story speak to readers in other ways, great, but I’ve never understood why we look down our noses at a work of fiction’s entertainment value. In any case, theme has its weight in direct proportion to a story’s engrossing appeal.

Many of the deepest happinesses I’ve found in life have come through the transportive pages of someone else’s books. So, I find it an extraordinary privilege to be an entertainer. If I can take you out of yourself for a few hours, I’m honored. Life is a lifetime sentence; my job is to supply you with a temporary escape and be the driver of your getaway car. 

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Write the book you’d really like to read, and write it as you, in your words, with your voice. We have one unique thing to offer the world, and only one. That’s us–our specific, individual brains which have been observing the world through our specific, individual experiences, and have developed their own specific, individual ways of describing what they witnessed and how it made them feel. That’s it. That’s all we’ve got. Us. It’s more than enough to write a lifetime of literature. And that’s what the world craves most in a narrative: authenticity. So, why ever waste time trying to write like a carbon copy of someone else? 

This is not to say that writers can’t improve with time and practice, with study and even deliberate imitation as an exercise, but that improvement should ultimately make you write more like yourself—more like what’s irreducibly you about you, not more like other people.

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In this interview, Scarlett discusses how her love of horror films helped inspire her YA horror novel, How to Survive a Horror Movie, the joy of finding a supportive book community, and more.

Name: Scarlett Dunmore
Literary agent: Silvia Molteni, PFD, London
Book title: How to Survive a Horror Movie
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Release date: September 9, 2025
Genre/category: Young adult
Elevator pitch: With a plot twist sure to make you SCREAM, this is a love letter to slasher films that will keep you guessing until the last page.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I have always loved horror films; the thrill of a jump scare, the shocking plot twist, the unfolding of exposition as we piece the clues together to solve the mystery of who the killer is. This book is a homage to all the great horror films and horror movie directors, from Romero to Craven and Carpenter, and to all the film fans too.  

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I started writing this novel during a COVID lockdown in the U.K., when the world became very quiet. As a former film student, I plotted the story using a three-act film structure, where I considered location, backdrop for key scenes, then scene order, etc., until I had my first full draft of the novel. Then came the tough part—editing! That took the longest time. Ideas didn’t really change but they did evolve and become more fleshed out, as did the characters. I originally had more murders but the cast became too big and overwhelmed the story, so I decided to pare back to maintain a tighter plot.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Finding a supportive book community was a wonderful learning moment for me. I have met so many readers and writers along the way. And, I was surprised at how many horror film fans there are; in fact, there are a lot of us out there! And I loved getting to engage with these movie fans and readers at book events, and talk about our favorite horror movies or our favorite horror writers, or sometimes, even our favorite movie theater snacks! (It’s popcorn for me, by the way, with extra butter and Skittles mixed in.)

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

The plot twist at the end was very surprising for me. I hadn’t intended for that reveal but with every draft the story kept leading me back to that same moment, that same character, so I had to just go with it. Now I can’t imagine the ending going in a different direction. It’s funny when the story takes over like that.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope fellow film fans and horror readers like me get a fresh twist on a much-loved premise. I hope they get immersed in a story and in a character’s journey like I do when I pick up a book.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t get caught up in the small details when it comes to your first draft. Let the story flow, follow your instincts and worry about editing later. Your first draft will be your messiest, but it will also be the truest and bravest version of your story.

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In this interview, Skyla discusses how she was able to navigate her personal grief while writing her new YA horror romance, House of Hearts, how she completed revisions on a 12-hour flight, and more.

Name: Skyla Arndt
Literary agent: Claire Friedman
Book title: House of Hearts
Publisher: Viking BFYR / Penguin Random House
Release date: Sept 2, 2025
Genre/category: YA Horror Romance
Previous titles: Together We Rot
Elevator pitch: A scholarship student infiltrates the secret society at her new boarding school to find clues about her friend’s death—only to fall down a rabbit hole of ghosts, curses, and deadly romance.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I wanted an escape and House of Hearts was the perfect rabbit hole to fall into. Every time I sat down at the computer, reality would bleed away, and I’d be swept into a gothic, lush fairytale. I wanted a world I could get lost in—and that desire to escape only grew tenfold when grief struck in my personal life. At one point, if I wasn’t writing, the real world would close in and bury me alive. My own heart became entangled with my main character’s grief—we were both grieving and, with time, healing, too.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

“Second Book Syndrome” hit me like a truck (and then put the vehicle in reverse to finish the job). Fellow authors weren’t kidding when they said the second book is typically the hardest to write. I was recovering from the worst burnout of my life and suddenly struck with an insurmountable uphill battle: Write another book.

I wrote 20,000 words of one idea, scrapped it, wrote 20,000 words of that idea, scrapped it. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam. For a horrifying moment, I considered the possibility that I’d never write another book again. Perhaps Together We Rot was it for me! This, of course, was the burnout talking, but at the time it felt awfully real. Part of this fear came from the sudden shift in attention: writing for myself versus writing for an audience. I had to come up with an idea that would not only fit my “author brand,” but also the demands of the current market. So much (entirely self-inflicted) pressure!

House of Hearts was born as a “secret project” I cradled close to my chest. The first draft was an utter mess—it was silly and self-indulgent and for my eyes only. I wrote purely for the joy of writing and crafted a world that I had fun diving into each day. (The first version even had vampires if you can believe it). It took two years of revision and research to finetune it into the book it is today! Despite all of its many changes, HoH has kept its heart from the very beginning … pun intended!

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

House of Hearts taught me how much I love the “research” portion of drafting. Together We Rot was set in a world so familiar to my own, so this was the first project where I genuinely had to research to do this story justice. I Googled rich boarding schools, explored local New England flora and fauna, and genuinely had an absolute blast the whole time.

Beyond learning how much I love Google deep dives, HoH also taught me what I’m personally capable of. Not only did I prove to myself that I can write a second book, but I also learned how to work under pressure. My deadline ended up colliding headfirst with an international trip—it would’ve been easy to push my book out another year, but I was determined to see it through! I completed a round of revision on a 12-hour flight and lived to tell the tale. (Thank you airplane wifi!)

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I definitely wasn’t expecting to be hit with grief halfway into revision. My cat, Pyro, was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of lymphoma shortly after I finished my first draft. It was very difficult to transition from writing with him on my lap to feeling his loss resonate through my home. I had no idea how I was going to write about love and loss when I was experiencing such fresh grief of my own. Despite having a writing extension for Pyro’s grief, I found myself inexplicably drawn back to the keyboard. What previously seemed impossible became therapeutic. I channeled so many feelings of loss and anger into this book that previously weren’t there.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

With a world that’s more terrifying and volatile than ever, I want to give readers a safe escape to retreat into. House of Hearts was my world for the last two years and I hope readers find the same comfort in its pages as I did.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

It’s easy to be your own worst critic. Try being your own cheerleader instead! You’ll hear one thousand nos in publishing, but you only need a couple yesses—and the first one should be from yourself. It’s so easy to be disheartened in this field; publishing is flooded with setbacks and rejections, but to keep pushing, you need to believe in yourself above all else. You can and you will.

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(Why I’ve Returned to YA Fiction Nearly 40 Years After Publishing My Second Young Adult Novel.)

I’d be remiss to not also highlight Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume—another one of my childhood favorites, which gave me something entirely different. This book made me hug my mother and grandmother tighter, feeling even more grateful for their strong presence in my life. Later on, I discovered Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld, which offered a more complicated portrait of adolescence that stuck with me long after I first read it in high school. 

I’ve always loved reading stories about teenagers, and my enthusiasm for young adult literature has not waned during my 20s. If anything, I appreciate YA stories even more now! Coming-of-age narratives resonate with people far beyond their teenage years because we’re constantly evolving as human beings. You can “come of age” at any age—it’s not simply something that just happens once. It’s a continuous process. With every new stage of life, we’re invited to figure out who we are and who we want to be at that particular moment in time. 

When I began writing By Invitation Only, I knew it would be a young adult narrative, not just because it focuses on an ensemble of teenagers navigating the glittering, high-stakes world of a Parisian debutante ball, but because the core themes (romance, friendship, identity, and self-expression) felt the most powerful in that space. Piper, the fish-out-of-water underdog, and Chapin, the seasoned insider, are both 18 years old—an exhilarating yet anxiety-inducing age—when the future feels wide open. The possibilities are endless, which is both thrilling and terrifying. Piper and Chapin’s evolving friendship, their respective romantic arcs, and their quests for self-discovery felt like a natural fit for YA. Although these ideas are certainly hallmarks of this genre, they are also incredibly universal.

YA literature largely shaped my taste as a reader, and writing a story in this space brought me so much joy. It gave me a chance to tap into that sense of “firsts”: first love, first heartbreak, the first time you question whether the person you thought you were is who you truly are. YA allows writers and readers alike to feel that rush of possibility—that exciting sense of standing on the edge of something entirely new. As I was writing, I found myself completely swept up in Piper and Chapin’s journeys, right alongside them, and I hope other readers feel the same! There’s something uniquely powerful about stepping back into that liminal space between childhood and adulthood, where everything feels heightened and uncertain, yet full of potential.

That’s why we keep returning to the YA classics: the ones that shaped us, that we passed between friends, that we still think about years later. Every generation has its story. For some, it’s Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. For others, it’s The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. On screen, we revisit films like Stand by Me, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Clueless, and The Graduate. More recently, we fall in love with movies like Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, and The Holdovers. These stories endure because the heart of them never changes. They capture that moment when you realize you’re no longer a child, but not quite an adult either—and in that middle ground, you ask the most important question: Who do I want to be?

Despite its emotional depth and cultural resonance, YA has often been underestimated. For decades, the genre (and its predominantly young, female readership) was deemed frivolous or unserious. But now, that’s changing. We’re living in a moment where YA is not just celebrated but respected. The TV adaptation of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty is a perfect example: It’s become a global phenomenon, appealing to multiple generations. Nearly every woman I know is watching it, whether she’s my 15-year-old sister or my 55-year-old aunt. Stories of self-discovery and first love never lose their appeal, because they’re not just for teenagers. They speak to anyone who has ever grown, changed, or wanted to start over again.

And of course, no teenage experience is complete without music! Songs can instantly bring us back to who we were at a certain age, like emotional time capsules. The right song can make you feel 18 all over again. For me, it’s any track from Taylor Swift’s Reputation album. Whenever I hear “Delicate,” I feel transported back to 2018, reliving the emotions of that time.

The connection between music and adolescence felt so essential that I built it into By Invitation Only. At the start of the book, I included a playlist of songs that represent each character’s emotional arc. Naturally, it opens with Taylor Swift’s “Paris” to set the scene. Piper’s songs chart her evolving hopes and fears, while Chapin’s reflect her inner conflict between expectation and authenticity. I even listened to many of the songs while drafting By Invitation Only. More than anything, though, I wanted the playlist to serve as a personal soundtrack to Piper and Chapin’s coming-of-age during one dazzling, glamorous, whirlwind week in Paris.

Ultimately, YA stories are so much more than teen drama or love triangles. They’re vessels that allow us to revisit who we were, reconnect with who we still are, and imagine who we might become. Judy Blume, my forever literary hero, said it best: “I am not sure that the inner world of teenage girls has changed. What’s most important to kids today is still the same stuff.”

YA literature is timeless, because the emotions of our teenage selves never fade; they just grow and mature with us. In a world that often hurries us toward adulthood, YA stories remind us that the joy, fear, longing, and angst of adolescence still live within us—not as emotions to be outgrown, but as the foundation of who we are and who we are still becoming.

Check out Alexandra Brown Chang’s By Invitation Only here:

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