Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Interview With Claire Swinarski, author of What Happens Next!



Today on the blog I'm happy to present an interview with Claire Swinarski, author of What Happens Next, which releases May 19th!

Here's the interview!

The bold font are the questions I asked, the regular font are her answers, and the bold italic font are my comments about her answers.

Would you please describe your book, What Happens Next, in seven words?
Sisters, secrets, scientist, stars, summer, + sky-high hopes :)

Abby, the main character in your book, loves astronomy. Do you like astronomy, too?
Actually, no! I'm horrible at science and always barely scraped by in that department in school. The stars have always fascinated me and I've always found them beautiful, but I had no actual knowledge of our universe or the sky. I had to do a ton of research--watching documentaries, reading articles from science magazines, and trying to pull together enough information to make Abby an expert. 

Random Question! What’s your favorite time of year? 
Summer, 100%. There's something magical about having wide open days when you're a kid. You just have no idea what could happen over three months. Plus, my family has a cabin in the same town Abby lives in, and there's nothing better than paddle boarding on a clear lake before devouring smores around a fire. 

I love Summer, too! :)

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? 
Learn how to set deadlines + keep them for yourself. When nobody's holding you accountable, it's easy to say you'll finish something "one day". Treat your work like work even before you're paid for it, and you'll see incredible results. 

That's really good advice! :)

What are some books you’re looking forward to reading in 2020? And if you’ve already read some ‘20 books, would you like to mention them? 
I'm really looking forward to a few different books! Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett sounds incredibly spooky, and as a spiritual person, I'm always fascinated by how groups transform from community to cult. For middle grade, I'm absolutely psyched to get my hands on From the Desk of Zoe Washington by my agent sibling Janae Marks, as well as Three Keys, the sequel to Front Desk by Kelly Yang!

2020 is going to be a great year for books! :)

Thank you to Claire Swinarski for letting me interview her, and for participating in this event! :)



Author bio: Claire Swinarski is the author of multiple books, including What Happens Next (coming in 2020 from HarperCollins) and Girl, Arise: A Catholic Feminist’s Invitation to Live Boldly, Love Your Faith, and Change the World. She’s also the founder of the Catholic Feminist Podcast, a top-ranked spirituality podcast with half a million downloads that discusses the intersection between faith and women’s issues. She has degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Seventeen, Milwaukee Magazine, and many other publications. She lives just outside of Milwaukee, WI with her husband and two kids. 

Here are a few links:

1 comment:

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