INTRO

in this newsletter you’ll find:
-how has it been over a month since AOUV released??
-but seriously, thank you
-as it turns out i do not know how to write a book
-but i do love reading them!

This fall has contained some of the busiest, most exciting, most exhausting months of my life, filled with massive highs and lows. But one high I’ll always remember is ALL OF US VILLAINS becoming a New York Times and indie bestseller. I’ve mentally drafted these words over and over again, struggling to find the right ones for how I feel. I’m not sure they exist. But I want to thank everyone who made this achievement possible—every reader, every reviewer, every bookseller and librarian, every author who was gracious enough to blurb us, and every wonderful member of our Tor Teen team.

In some more secret news, Amanda and I have received several fun authorly updates that we’re not yet allowed to share…but rest assured that as soon as we can publicly talk about them, we will! I just couldn’t resist a sliiiight teaser >:).

You may recall in a previous newsletter that I talked about throwing a draft of a book in the garbage. I did not fish it out of the garbage. But since I’m in a brief lull between VILLAINS 2 deadlines, I’ve been doing a lot of reconfiguring and backtracking to figure out where I went wrong and how I can fix it when I return to drafting again.

Honestly…it’s been brutal. My usual first step when I’m stuck is a brainstorming session with a critique partner, but I found myself struggling to articulate my problems to other people. My critique partners asked me extremely reasonable questions along the lines of “what is your vision for this book?” and “why do you feel stuck?” and “so…what’s the plot?” and I didn’t know how to answer any of them.

When I initially sat down to draft this book, it felt so *right* to me, but since I’d gotten it all wrong I felt like I couldn’t trust myself anymore. What was the right direction for the plot? What was missing from certain world-building elements? Who deserved a POV? For a while, I had absolutely no idea. Losing confidence in a project (…or rather, in my own ability to execute said project) had hurt me more than I’d realized. I dreamed about the book. I glared at the Pinterest board. I deleted all the songs off the book playlist and searched for new ones in hopes that this would magically fix all my problems (it didn’t).

I’ve made some real progress since I hit peak wallowing over this project, mostly thanks to my aforementioned critique partners refusing to let me wallow too hard. But I’m still struggling to regain my confidence. I know this book is worth fighting for, and I’m determined to give it everything I’ve got. I just hope it’s enough to do this project justice.

I wish I had a more inspiring ending for this. I definitely do know that I’ve felt this way at some point in every book I’ve ever written, so I figure if I found my way through before, I can find my way again.

CURRENTLY READING: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation…

This book is sleek, smart, deadly, and really difficult to put down. I’m having a total blast reading it so far (…stopping to work on this newsletter was a struggle).

COMING SOON: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

In this epic YA fantasy debut, magic, a prized resource, is the only thing between peace and war. When magic runs out, four estranged royal siblings must find a new source before their country is swallowed by invading forces. The first in an Indian-inspired duology that’s perfect for fans of There Will Come a Darkness, The Gilded Wolves, and We Hunt the Flame.

I’ve 100% plugged this book in my newsletter before, but it deserves a second mention because it’s coming out very soon! Raman’s debut releases on 1.4.22, and it promises to be the start of a duology (and a career!) to watch.

BACKLIST READ: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go…

This book is one of my childhood favorites. So when I sat down to revisit it, I had high hopes that it would be just as good as I remembered.

It was better.

I’m pretty sure that the older I get, the scarier Coraline becomes. The care woven into every word and phrase makes it impossible to ignore just how unsettling every aspect of this story is. And the tenth-anniversary edition included some of Gaiman’s handwritten notes/behind the scenes on the process of writing this book, which were very interesting to reflect on as a writer.

OUTRO

Thanks for reading! This will most likely be my final newsletter of 2021, so wishing you all well as the year comes to a close.