Hello, everyone!!!!! Spring has sprung, and I am back here again with another author interview!!! Hurrah! 🙂 So, if you guys have been up to date on my blog, you will know that I will sometimes interview middle-grade authors!!!! And it’s all incredibly fantastic and fun! I still can’t believe that they actually respond… And I also can’t believe that some actually reached out to me!!!
Anyway, that’s enough of my rambling. Today I am back here with another fun author interview! And the wonderful author I shall be interviewing today is Sarah Allen, the author of four middle-grade books including What Stars are Made Of!!! (it’s a fantastic book, go read it!!!!) We were originally going to do a video call interview, but due to complicated time zones (curse you, time zones!!!!), we had to settle for a written interview instead. But it’s still a fantastic interview and certainly better than a video call interview with a half-asleep Isabelle at 4 AM!!!!
But now, I present to thee, the wonderful Sarah Allen!!!
1. What was the hardest part about writing What Stars are Made Of? What was the funnest/most amazing part? Do you have a favorite character from your book?
I loved writing this book so much! I loved writing Libby. She was absolutely delightful to write about, and I also really enjoyed researching Cecilia Payne, who really did discover what stars are made of. The hardest part was the plot, which is usually the hardest part of writing for me!
2. I love how determined and hopeful Libby is and how she really grows through the book! How did her character first come to you? Did you base her off of anyone you know in real life?
That’s so great to hear! Libby’s experiences with Turner Syndrome were based a lot on my own, although she’s braver than I am! I knew from the beginning that she would be a hopeful and determined person.
3. And of course, I also really love Nonny, and I really love her Silent Questions. How did you come up with those? Did they just pop up or did you always know that they would be in the book? I also really love how Libby makes deals with the universe! How did that come to you?
It’s interesting, because the silent questions were just a sudden thing that popped into my head that I added to the book, but they’ve stuck out to a lot of people! You aren’t the first person to mention them! I also knew I wanted to give Libby a concrete, specific goal in her efforts to help her sister, but what can a twelve year old really do in that situation, ya know? So I had her make a deal with the universe.
4. What did the first draft of What Stars are Made Of look like and how many drafts did it take to get to the final, completed version?
In the first draft, Libby and Nonny had a brother named Max! Sadly he wasn’t adding to the plot and had to go. There were probably about 5 versions before we got to the final, complete one!
5. I’m also curious on what the publishing process was like for this book. How long did it take to really get this book published and what was the process like?
What Stars Are Made of was the fourth book I wrote. So, I had been writing books and sending them to agents for many years. That’s the first part of getting a book published–getting an agent. I had many, many rejections from agents by the time I wrote this book! So once I finished Stars, I knew the next steps were querying agents. I started that process, and about a year later, an agent said yes! Remember, this was after 7 or 8 years before of querying agents and getting rejection after rejection. Then after I signed with an agent, we sent the book to publishers and after about a year of that we got a yes!
6. What is something you hope readers will take away from your books?
Libby’s hopeful determination that you mentioned is the feeling I hope readers take away from this book, and my others.
7. Do you have a secret pen name that nobody knows about? (a sneaky question I ask nearly all writers hehe)
Ha! No, sadly I don’t! I always wanted to see my own name on my writing 🙂
8. When you were younger did you always want to be a writer? Why or why not?
I did! I’ve known I wanted to be a writer from a young age. It started because I loved reading, and always felt like characters in books were my friends. I wanted to do that for other readers.
9. And finally, what’s your advice for young writers who are just starting out and really want their books to be a success?
My advice is not to get too caught up in the anxiety of publishing. Be patient with the process–keep going, and just let things happen as they’re meant to. What you should focus on is writing the books that feel like the kinds of stories only you can write. Write what matters the very most to you!
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And hello!!! Tis me, Isabelle, back here again!! Sarah Allen, thank you so much for reaching out to do the interview and thank you ever so much for all of your fantastic answers!!! I really love your advice for young writers, and I think it’s especially true – you shouldn’t get too caught up in the anxiety of publishing. Which is honestly, something that happens to me a LOT…
But yeah!!! I am so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to interview Sarah Allen and to have read her fantastic books!!! 🙂 What Stars are Made Of is truly a wonderful middle-grade read!!! And also, thank you, dear reader, for reading this interview!!!! I hope you guys enjoyed hearing from Sarah, and I also hope that you will read her books!!!! She also has a wonderful newsletter/Substack over here! Lots of fun, exciting stuff going on there!!
Thank you guys so much for coming, I hope you enjoyed reading, and I shall see thee again in the next post!!!!! And happy spring!!!!
Isabelle
Another wonderful interview! I always love hearing other author’s unique stories.