Discover the joy of reading with Book Clubs and Book Fairs
Discover the joy of reading with Book Clubs and Book Fairs
What inspired you to write your book? Where did the idea for your book come from?
Jael Richardson: Scholastic approached me about the idea and what made me really excited about taking on the project was the prospect of working with authors I’ve admired for so long. How often do you get to be in the same book as friends and colleagues you’ve admired?
Mahtab Narsimhan: I wrote the story, The Tomb, in the anthology Today I Am. It was inspired by the theme of home and what it means to me. I was playing with the idea of how important our home is to us and how humans have been abusing it for years, and taking it for granted. The setting of the story, Runit Island in the Enewetak Atoll of the Marshall Islands is real. It was ground zero for nuclear tests by the US during the 1940s and 50s. The toxic waste was buried under a concrete dome called the tomb. The inhabitants were evacuated, and they still can’t go back home.
Chad Lucas: My story, The Secret Cousin, is about two cousins who haven’t seen each other in years and end up bonding at an awkward family reunion. It was originally an idea I had for a chapter in a book I was writing a few years ago, but it ended up not fitting that project, so I had to cut it. But I liked the general premise so much that I jumped at the chance to turn it into a standalone short story. Sometimes good ideas just need the right time and place.
What did you enjoy most about writing? What were some challenges that you faced while writing?
Jael Richardson: I love creating new ideas and fixing each word until the story is just right. I think the hardest part about writing is that the very thing you love (the fixing of words) takes twice as long – or more – than you’d like. It’s such a long process for me that multiple times in any project I consider giving up. I suppose that’s what I like about it too – each book and each story becomes something I’m so proud of because it’s something I finished. I pushed through that hard thing, and now there’s a book in the world because of it.
Mahtab Narsimhan: I loved the research, and creating the characters of Zoya, Sid, and Sefina. I enjoyed writing about their interactions as the conflicts, and stakes, rose.
Writing a short story is always more challenging, for me, compared to a novel. You have fewer words to explore plot and character. Nevertheless, it was a fun story to write!
Chad Lucas: The most fun and the challenging part of a short story are the same: you have to create memorable characters and a satisfying plot arc in just a few pages, which requires knowing which details to include and which to leave out.
What do you hope your readers will take away from your book?
Jael Richardson: I hope people read the collection and find a story that they love. I remember reading “Borders” by Thomas King and thinking, what a story, what a brilliant read. I hope some kid (and maybe some librarian or teacher) reads any one of the stories and remembers it.
Mahtab Narsimhan: That our planet is fragile, and we must look after it, if not for us, for future generations.
Also, that home is important to every living being on the planet and those who have been displaced by nature, or forced out due to circumstances beyond their control, need our help to get back, and our empathy.
Lastly, kindness and teamwork toward family and friends is the key to survival, in every sense of the word.
Chad Lucas: I hope they enjoy it, first of all. And I hope in my story, and all the stories in Today I Am, remind readers that it’s good and wonderful to be who you are, even if it feels like the people around you aren’t ready to see you yet.
How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Jael Richardson: I’ve named two kids in my life, and honestly, naming book characters is very similar. You hear a name that you like and it just feels right. For me, the main character is usually really clear, and then the rest of the names fall in place around it. I try not to have characters whose name sounds the same or starts with the same letter so that it’s easier for the reader.
Mahtab Narsimhan: I keep an ear out for interesting names and use them as they fit the story and character.
Chad Lucas: I just try out different names until I find the one that feels right. “This character feels like a Lonnie.” It’s definitely more of an art than a science!
What books have had the biggest impact on your life? What books were your favourite to read growing up?
Jael Richardson: It’s going to sound weird, and a bit controversial, but I read the Bible a lot as a kid and it’s certainly had the biggest impact. And what’s not talked about a lot – from a literary standpoint – is the different types of stories it holds. We hear a lot about the negative and overused one-livers, but as a collective it’s got mystery, romance, songs, poems, letters, biography, and history, and I enjoyed the different stories and the variety. I think that’s probably shaped how I write across genres and certainly my interest in a project like this where the goal for me was assembling as many different voices as possible.
Mahtab Narsimhan: I’ve always loved portal fantasies and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe still tops my list. I also love Jonathan Livingston Seagull. An allegory about pushing past your limitations to soar!
Chad Lucas: I was a huge Gordon Korman fan growing up. His books were (and still are) so funny, and he was a Canadian writer who started young, so he inspired me to start writing too when I was a kid.
What’s your writing process look like?
Jael Richardson: It’s messy. It’s obsessive. It’s draft after draft of revisions. I try and move start to finish through each draft so that I’m constantly reworking the story’s beginning, middle and end so that it flows well.
Mahtab Narsimhan: Each book is a completely different process so it’s hard to pin down. The common thread is jotting down ideas, writing the first draft, and then rewriting until it shines.
Chad Lucas: I have a day job and a family, so I write when I can. Often in the mornings or evenings, with longer stretches on weekends. I’ve learned to write just about anywhere, including on the bus on my way to work.
What’s next for you?
Jael Richardson: I am in the middle of a draft of a sequel to my first novel, Gutter Child. I also have a bit of a thriller in the works. But I work so slowly that working on two at the same time is a really bad idea.
Mahtab Narsimhan: I’m at the early stages of plotting a middle grade fantasy trilogy. I just finished a YA historical fantasy which is about to go on submission.
Chad Lucas: I have a new book coming out in January 2025 called The Vanished Ones. It’s about a boy growing up on an isolated island, where children disappear under mysterious circumstances. When one of his friends vanishes, he goes looking for answers and discovers there’s a lot more to the island’s secrets than he knows.
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Jael Richardson Headshot Image Credit: Simon Remark
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