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Interview with Dr. Seema Yasmin

1/15/2026

We are thrilled to interview Dr. Seema Yasmin today about her first book in her upcoming nonfiction chapter book series, Maysoon Zayid The Girl Who Can Can.

Kidlit in Color: What was your inspiration for Muslim Mavericks, Volume 1, Maysoon Zayid, the Girl Who Can Can?

Seema Yasmin: The inspiration for this series was the exciting breadth of talent, personalities and experiences that exists within the Muslim community! I’m thrilled to tell the stories of comedians, athletes, and scientists through this series which is one of the first, if not the first, middle grade biographical series about Muslims. There are more than two billion of us on the planet, so there are a lot of amazing people to write about. I grew up wishing these books were on my bookshelf so that I could see myself reflected in literature.

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book?

SY: My agent, Lilly Ghahremani, and I co-conspired on this series back in the summer of 2022 when we were lamenting the lack of books about Muslims. Lilly and I went back and forth on a proposal for the Muslim Mavericks series over the course of a few months and signed a deal with Simon and Schuster the following fall. Lilly is one of those rare agents who is as proficient in offering conceptual refinements and detailed line edits as she is in contract negotiations. The writing sample initially included in the proposal was about a different person, not Maysoon Zayid. But once the deal was in place, I had deeper discussions with my editor about who the first book in the series would be about and we landed on the legendary, incomparable Maysoon Zayid.

KLiC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

SY: I adore the pictures of Maysoon and her father. It was her father who would say “Yes, you can can,” to encourage young Maysoon to walk and dance and do her physical therapy exercises. Through my interviews with Maysoon, I learned about the warmth, kindness and dedication of this man and these elements were rendered beautifully by the illustrator, Noha Habaieb.

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

SY: That Muslims are not a monolith! There are 2 billion of us on the planet and we practice many versions of Islam—or no version at all (for those who consider themselves to be culturally Muslim). I hope the books empower and embolden young Muslim readers, and inspire all readers to understand how faith can play a role in shaping a person’s character and life story.

KLiC: What’s next for you?

SY: I am adapting my first YA novel, Unbecoming, into a movie; working on my second picture book, Inshallah [God-Willing], which will be published by Simon and Schuster in the next year or so; and I’m nervously awaiting edits on my second YA novel.

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SEEMA YASMIN is an Emmy Award–winning journalist who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, medical doctor, professor, and poet. She attended medical school at Cambridge University and worked as a disease detective for the USfederal government’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. She currently teaches storytelling at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a regular contributor to CNN, Self, and Scientific American, among others. She is also the author of What the Fact? Finding the Truth in All the Noise and Unbecoming.

Learn more and order this book here.

Cover of the book Maysoon Zayid The Girl Who Can Can. Maysoon is shown in a traditional Palestinian dress and she appears to be shaking and smiling.

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Prayer Is - Tameka Fryer Brown

1/8/2026

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KLiC: What was your inspiration for PRAYER IS?

TFB: In 2022, I received a tip from Agent Kelly Dyksterhouse—who I’ve known for nearly two decades—that Joy Peskin at FSG was looking for a picture book about prayer from a Christian perspective. Since the project hadn’t been a fit for any of her clients, and she knew Joy and I had worked together previously, she asked if this was a project I’d be interested in. It absolutely was. I reached out to Joy and said something like, “A little birdie told me you were interested in a pb manuscript about prayer. Is that still the case?” She said yes and we were off and running.

KLiC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

TFB: I’m glad you asked this question in the plural. I have many, but I’ll just point out two.
I’m kind of obsessed with the illustration where our main character is sprawled on the bed, fuming. Alleanna did such a great job infusing both humor and relatability in this picture. Anger and frustration are common impediments to one’s desire and ability to pray. But as I say in the book, trying is what counts most with God. Sometimes trying is the best we can do. That’s true about prayer, and it’s true about other aspects of life as well.

Another one of my favorite illustrations is the church scene near the end of the book, where congregants are praying in various ways that feel authentic to them. My favorite part about this scene is the teenager in the back giving that bit of side-eye. Is it because of the crying baby, or is she one of the “doubters” that the text refers to? It could be either…or both.

It was important for me to state that prayer is for believers and doubters because my study of the Bible has shown me that God wants to hear whatever it is we are thinking or feeling—including our doubts. Even if they are about Him. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have prayed “Lord help my unbelief” on more than one occasion. Alleanna captured the spirit of inclusion through this character in a subtle but powerful way.

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

TFB: That prayer is less about memorization and recitation, and more about talking honestly to God. That it’s about more than just asking for stuff. That no one is ever too young (or too anything else) to pray.

That’s three things, but I think they’re all equally important.

KLIC: What’s next for you?

TFB: I have a book coming out in 2027 with Candlewick called MORE THAN ENOUGH. It’s my most personal picture book to date. Not only is it a lyrical celebration of all the everyday people, places, and experiences that shape us, it’s also a reminder that each of us is worthy of the same respect, honor, and dignity afforded to everyone else in the room—no matter who we are or where we come from. This ode to Miami, my childhood home, is being illustrated by Jenin Mohammed, who was also born and raised in South Florida.

MORE THAN ENOUGH will mark my first time publishing with Candlewick. They have an amazing reputation in the industry so I’m excited to be on this publication journey with them!

To learn more about Tameka Fryer Brown, please visit:
tamekafryerbrown.com

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Interview with author Raidah Shah Idil

1/5/2026

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The author wearing a light blue hijab and the background Is orange.

We are so excited to interview Raidah Shah Idil on our blog today about her latest book, How to Free a Jinn. Read more below.

KLiC: What was your inspiration for How To Free A Jinn?

RSI: Insyirah - my book's protagonist - came to me, fully-formed in a dream. I wanted to write a fantasy novel that my younger self could have related to, and found comfort in. I've always loved the fantasy genre, but it was so rare to read fantasy novels featuring characters that looked like me. This book is a love letter to complex Muslim families and living proof that neurodivergent Muslim kids can have exciting adventures too!

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book?

RSI: Writing my book was the easy part! I drafted my book while I was pregnant with my third baby and I had so much fun writing it at my favourite restaurants. I completed it right before I gave birth to my baby boy, then I worked on my submission package and started querying when he was about 2 months old - while also caring for my 4 year old and 1.5 year old daughters. I look back and honestly do not know how I pulled that off! Working on my book was my way of refuelling my creative well amidst the exhaustion of caring for little children.

It took ten months of querying before I signed with my US literary agent, Allison Hellegers of Stimola Literary in 2020. I revised it with her help, then we went out to US editors in 2021. This was for the original YA version of my book. We had lots of complimentary rejections. An American beta reader pointed out that Insyirah sounded more like a twelve year old instead of a sixteen year old (thank you Allison!) so I decided to age her down. I realized that the voice of my novel was much more middle grade, anyway. My agent agreed with my decision, so 2022 was the year of ruthlessly cutting out subplots and secondary characters.

Finally, in 2023, I put my foot down and told my agent that I couldn't bear to look at my book anymore, and that it was time to send it back out on submission with editors. She made the brilliant decision of sending my book out to Australian publishers first in the hopes that an Australian book deal would pave the way for a US book deal. Jodie Webster, the acquiring editor at Allen & Unwin, absolutely loved my book, and during our first Zoom call, she described it as a 'gift to readers'. My publication date was roughly a year later, in September 2024. Shortly after we announced my Australian book deal, Deeba Zargapur, the editor of Salaam Reads (an imprint of S&S) asked my agent if North American rights were still available - and that's how I got my US book deal!

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

RSI: I want children to know that they are enough as they are in this very moment, and so worthy of love and belonging - especially if they don't often read characters like themselves in fantasy novels.

KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?

RSI: Read widely, build a community of fellow creatives, keep improving your craft, and try not to take rejection personally. Publishing is absolutely not a meritocracy, and often, it's just a matter of timing before you land that coveted debut book deal.

The amount of stubbornness you’ll need in publishing is incredible. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and the only way to not get published is giving up. Definitely take lots of breaks though.

KLiC: What’s next for you?

RSI: I'm working on my next middle grade fantasy novel starring boy protagonists and sibling relationships - stay tuned!

Raidah Shah Idil was born in Singapore, grew up in Sydney, Australia, worked in Amman, Jordan and now lives in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia with her husband, three children and mother-in-law. Raidah earned her BA in English and BSc in Psychology from the University of New South Wales and her Diploma of Counselling from the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. Her writing has been published in local Malaysian anthologies, SBS Voices, Muslim Matters, SISTERS magazine, The Feminist Wire, Daily Life, Lip Mag, The Elephant Journal, Venture Beat and MuslimVillage. Raidah loves ginger tea, noodle soup and dreams of uninterrupted sleep.

Raidah’s debut Middle Grade fantasy novel, HOW TO FREE A JINN, was published on September 3rd (in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Oceania). Raidah is represented by Allison Hellegers of Stimola Literary Studio.

Cover of How to Free a Jinn with a brown-skinned hijab girl on the cover

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The Stories We Tell Ourselves by Brandi-Ann Uyemura

12/8/2025

The Stories We Tell Ourselves
By: Brandi-Ann Uyemura

I am one of the slowest writers. My debut picture book comes out on March 17, 2026. Yet, I wrote this manuscript when my 12-year-old was barely a year old. Yes, the publishing industry is slow, but I hear of authors all the time who finished their manuscripts with lightning speed. I hold a BA in English and Ethnic Studies, and a master’s in counseling psychology. Why did writing my story take so long?

I am a Japanese American writer born and raised on the island of Oahu. My mom grew up on a Kauai sugar plantation. She lived in a plantation camp, a type of ethnic enclave insulated from the rest of the world. I was fascinated by her upbringing, which is why I minored in Ethnic Studies. The desire to tell these stories was strong, but so was the voice that questioned their desirability and worthiness in the well of mainstream stories.

When I was also told that my story was, “too niche,” and that there were already a lot of diverse stories, it was enough to make me want to give up. Winning a PBChat mentorship on Twitter, where I had the opportunity to work with award-winning author Andrea Wang, however, gave me the motivation and confidence to keep revising. The mentorship also helped me get eyes on my work, which was how I eventually sold my picture book.

My initial pub date was this summer, and waiting has been hard, but I’m also continually haunted by the fear of exposing my family’s stories and culture. There is a part of me afraid of not getting it right. There is the ancestral fear of being scapegoated and discriminated against as a Japanese American, especially in the current time we are living in. But there is another part of me that has always wanted to share my family’s story of strength, courage and resilience, which is what my debut picture book, I Am a Bon Dancer, is about.

I recently heard a podcast about the power of storytellers and how our stories are sacred. It got me thinking about what would happen if we were all too afraid to write. If we tell ourselves that our stories are not interesting or too bold or not mainstream enough, no one will ever know them. If we stay silent and allow fear to stop us, what chance do any of us have in knowing where we came from, fighting inequality, or standing up to what’s wrong in the world? Courage doesn’t come from writing without fear. It comes from creating with fear on your back and being led by the voice that says, “It matters. We matter. Our stories matter.”

Brandi-Ann Uyemura is a freelance writer mom, born and raised on the island of Oahu where she currently lives. Her debut picture book, I Am a Bon Dancer, illustrated by Amy Matsushita-Beal will be published by Holiday House on March 17, 2026. You can find her on Instagram and her website at Brandi-AnnUyemura.com.

Interview with Newbery Award Winner & NYT Bestselling Author, Jasmine Warga

11/18/2025

Photo of author Jasmine Warga. She has olive-tone skin color, wavy short hair and wears a black and red sweater

Photo by Lillian Warga

We are thrilled to interview Jasmine Warga on our blog today! Read more about her writing process and upcoming middle grade book.

What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

I want kids to know that they deserve to be loved exactly as they are. One of the threads that runs through all my books is the power of self-acceptance, and learning how to embrace the parts of yourself that might make you feel different. I always share with kids that the things I was most insecure about myself as a kid are now some of my favorite things about adult me. I also hope that The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan specifically makes kids understand that if they are struggling with anxiety, they aren't alone. And, of course, I hope it makes them curious about the beauty of the natural world and feel inspired to want to take good care of the Earth and all of its creatures.

Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?

Stay curious! Stay wondrous! Don't worry so much about trends. What excites you? That is what is going to excite your future readers. Writing is a magic trick. You have to believe in it to get anyone else to, and the best way to do that is to be fully in love and obsessed with the stories you are telling. Write like you won't ever be published. And strangely enough, I feel like that's the kind of writing that gets published. For anyone who is reading this that is pre-published, I can't wait to read your story!

Is there anything you want readers to know about you or your book(s)?

I'm interested in expanding our definition of what a "diverse" book is. I want to uplift books and stories told by creators of all backgrounds, and understand that their backgrounds inform their writing even if they aren't directly writing about their identity. I always say that all of my books, at their core, are about home and finding belonging. This is because of my own family's history. And this is true whether I'm writing about a refugee girl from Syria, a Mars rover, or a cheetah. And lastly, I'd just like to say I'm so grateful to anyone who reads my books. I always think of stories as a shared dream between a writer and reader, and I'm beyond grateful when people decide to share in that dream with me.

Jasmine Warga is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan, A Rover’s Story, The Shape of Thunder, and A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. Her book Other Words for Home received a Newbery Honor and Walter Honor, among numerous other awards. Here We Are Now and My Heart and Other Black Holes, her novels for teens, have been translated into over twenty-five languages. She lives in the Chicago area with her family.

So You Want to Write Children’s Books? - Key Takeaways

11/17/2025

So You Want to Write Children's Books slide

If you missed the webinar, So You Want to Write Children's Books: The 4-Essential Steps to Getting Started, we have the key takeaways below. To view the slides and webinar, please fill out this form.

(4)- Essential Steps to Writing Children's Books
1. Read 100+ children's books
2. Invest in classes and books on craft
3. Join or build YOUR own kidlit community
4. Keep Writing

Special thanks to our presenters, Tonya Abari and Kirstie Myvett.
You can connect with them on Instagram at @iamtabari and @kirstiemyauthor.

KidLit in Color will host several FREE writing webinars in 2026. You'll find more information and how to sign up in our newsletters.

Thank you and keep writing!

The Kidlit in Color Team

Interview with NYT Bestselling Author Neal Shusterman

11/12/2025

Photo of the book cover, Mindworks which has a face on it with different shapes of items like an eyeball, bear, turkey

We are thrilled to have NYT bestselling author Neal Shusterman on our blog again! Read the interview below about his new book, Mindworks.

KLiC: What was your inspiration for Mindworks?

NS: MindWorks itself is more a collection of past, polished works (with some new polish and additions) that went out of print but feel more relevant than ever. MindWorks is a collection of (almost) all my short fiction. Originally many of these stories came out in smaller collections: MindBenders, MindTwisters, MindQuakes, and MindStorms–as well as individual stories that appeared in other multi-author anthologies. But many of those came out near the beginning of my career and much has changed since then. Technology has grown, culture has shifted–and I’ve changed, both personally and as a writer! When my publisher approached me about making a full compendium of all those short stories as well as adding new ones, I was excited. Writers often look back on their older work and wish they could make changes, polish it one last time. It’s usually a fantasy, but this time, I actually get to live that fantasy!

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book?

NS: My “writing” process for this was really different since most of the stories were already written. It was nostalgic combing back through the stories from my past–some things are so different and yet others are exactly the same. Culture shifts, people change, advancements are made, but the cautionary tales often scream the same warnings about humanity. In fact, the hardest part of revising the stories was including technological changes that are present today but didn’t exist when the stories were first written: the commonality of cellphones, the wider use of a larger, more immediate internet, etc. Those changes often made real plot points moot or inconceivable, or I’d have to make up an in-world rules or character limitations to negate the effects those changes might have on the plot. I wanted to tell the same stories, but through the lens of present day.

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

NS: Ask questions. You won’t always find the answers. But keep asking questions, keep probing deeper. If something is off or uncanny, dissect it. Find out what it’s made of, what makes it tick, how and why it’s taken the shape that it has. How does it affect you, others, and the world around you? How has the world made it come to be? Just because something is uncomfortable doesn’t mean it isn’t worth exploring.

KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?

NS: Write the next story. Not just the next “big” story, but every story you can conceive. Don’t get bogged down with rejections, with changes in the industry, with self doubt. Just keep going. Keep learning. Keep reading. And always, always keep writing! Even if it’s on napkins, in the margins of your notes, or in the drafts folder of your inbox.

KLiC: What’s next for you?

NS: The Scythe prequel! Revisiting the Scythedom has come with its own set of challenges–I’ve written myself into a few corners when it comes to the lore. But I see it like a puzzle box, and I enjoy building characters, complexities, and new concepts around those immovable obstacles that have been set in stone by the publication process of the past.

KLiC: Is there anything you want readers to know about you or your book(s)?

NS: As I said, I like readers to ask questions. It goes both ways–it’s what I try to do as well. That’s what my favorite books I’ve written have been inspired by: asking a question. It’s what I do as an author: I ask questions. It doesn’t mean I have the answers. But the questions are still worth asking.

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Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com and Facebook.com/NealShusterman.

Photo of author Neal Shusterman, wearing a black shirt and has curly hair

Photo by Gaby Gerster

Interview with picture book author Yasmin Hanif

10/21/2025

KLiC: What was your inspiration for Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name?

YH: The inspiration for the book title came from the story behind the book. During the pandemic, I started working with a primary school in the west of Scotland. About 90% of the school’s pupils at that time were from an ethnic minority background but the pupils didn’t see themselves as the main character in books and didn’t use their own names in creating stories in class. Names, which were from their own culture, community, religion, or heritage.

I remember one of the teachers telling me that the children had been putting together a list of teddy bear names for a raffle and had chosen predominantly European names like Jack, Alan and Sarah. Not one of those children had picked a name like their own such as Anum, Omar or Fauzia. This anecdote became crucial to the school developing a project called ‘We Can Be Heroes’ where myself and two other writers worked with the pupils to help create stories where those children saw themselves in the books they read and were the heroes of those stories.

My time at the school was also the inspiration for both the story and title of my book, Abdullah’s Bear Needs A Name!, about a boy called Abdullah who gets gifted a teddy bear passed down through generations, but he can’t find the right name for the bear until one day he hears an old story about his Dadaji (granddad).

KLIC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

YH: I can’t praise Sophie Benmouyal, who is the illustrator of the book enough! She’s done such a terrific job and really brought the story to life more than I could have imagined. There are so many favourite illustrations to pick from! I think every spread where Abdullah is holding the bear you can see the love on his face.

I really valued the collaborative process with my publishers in terms of the illustrations where I was asked for my opinion and feedback which was then given to Sophie who would then go ahead and do the illustrations based on that. I think this makes the book more authentic and richer in cultural experience and really goes that extra mile. For example, the detail on the shalwar kameez (clothes that the characters are wearing), the Pakistani food, the shops on the street, etc. But one of my favourite illustrations is where Abdullah asks his Abba to tell him a bedtime story. The details are wonderfully done and this was based on my own experience visiting Pakistan.

A fun fact, Sophie started to research into her own Moroccan heritage for the book’s illustrations, so the book really is a piece of so many people’s heart – their experiences, stories, culture and histories.

KLIC: What's the one thing you want children to take away from your book?

YH: I want children to believe that they are worthy of being the central character in books. I want them to develop confidence and believe in themselves.

For a long time growing up, I believed that only those who looked a certain way were worth reading about. I hope Abdullah’s Bear Needs A Name! will help change that perception and encourage all children to believe that they are important and worth reading and writing about, no matter who they are.

Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name! releases in February 2026, but you can learn more or pre-order here.

Yasmin Hanif is a British-Pakistani author, poet and educator from a Muslim background. She worked on the 'We Can Be Heroes' project, which tackled the lack of diversity in children's literature and won several UK awards. Yasmin's debut picture book Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name! is inspired by this project. She lives in the west of Scotland, UK.

Interview with debut PB author Moniza Hossain

10/6/2025

We are so excited to host debut picture book author Moniza Hossain! Her picture book, Street Puppy, Masjid Cat releases on October 7th. It is illustrated by Wastana Haikal. Read more below:

What was your inspiration for Street Puppy, Masjid Cat?

I was looking after my sister’s dog when I wrote this book. Every evening, we would go for a walk past our neighborhood mosque, and the dog was absolutely obsessed with the cat that lived in the mosque. He would sit at the gate and cry while the cat glared out at him. Needless to say, his love was not reciprocated. I decided to write him a happier ending in my book, where a dog and a cat find common ground in an unlikely friendship.

I love the fact that cats often live in mosques and I’ve always thought that a picture book about this unique cultural phenomenon would be cute and sweet. Serendipitously, the universe threw a mosque cat story in my lap. I think this was a story that was always meant to be written. There are so many misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, and this story gave me the perfect opportunity to shed some light on the importance of kindness in my religion.

Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book?

I tend to write my picture books very quickly. Once inspiration strikes, I can usually have the story drafted in about three days. The first few lines of this book (which have not changed since I wrote them) came to me while I was walking the dog. I took my phone out and dashed the lines out in the notes app. I built on those lines once I got back home and then shared the draft with my critique partners. I did a few more rounds of edits and then sent the manuscript off to my agent. I don’t remember how long it took for the book to sell, but my editor came back with a R&R fairly quickly. She wanted me to flesh out the friendship arc within the story a little bit more. Once I did that, she took the manuscript to acquisition, and the book sold.

What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I love every page of this book. I had the honor of working on this story with Wastana Haikal, who is a brilliant Indonesian artist, and he brought the story to such vivid life with his exuberant, colorful art that it took my breath away when I first saw it. My favorite page is probably the page that introduces the two main characters, because their distinct personalities leap off the page so charmingly. The dog is sweet, the cat a little naughty. You get a peek at the setting of the story; the Southeast Asian city the stray dog roams about in and the beautiful mosque the cat lives in. The book is rife with cultural details that add to the beauty of the tale.

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Moniza Hossain is a Singaporean author of Bengali descent who writes children’s books inspired by her heritage. Her debut picture book, Street Puppy Masjid Cat, is coming out in October of 2025 with Little Bee Books, and her sophomore picture book, Ritu In The Sun, will be published by Random House Children’s Books in 2026. She also writes books for middle-grade readers. Her middle-grade debut, The Fear Factory, will be published by Holiday House Books in 2026. She has a short story in the award winning anthology Being Ace, and another in an anthology entitled The Beasts Beneath the Winds, that will be published in the fall of 2025 with Abrams.

When she’s not busy writing, she teaches English literature and paints dragons.

Follow her at:
Twitter: @moniza_hossain Instagram: @monizahossain

Interview with Liselle Sambury

7/28/2025

We are thrilled to interview YA author, Liselle Sambury today! Her book, A Mastery of Monsters releases on July 29th. Read more about her and her book below.

Kidlit in Color: What was your inspiration for A Mastery of Monsters?

Liselle Sambury: I actually came up with the titles for all the books in the trilogy at the same time. Though we’ve yet to confirm whether we’ll use the one for the third title officially. I do wish that I had a better origin story, but A Mastery of Monsters just came to me in the moment. I like alliterative titles in general and given that the novel is focused on academia and monsters, it felt like something that fit well. As you read the book, you come to see the different layers in the titles and the way it also speaks to the power dynamics in the secret society. It also appealed to me that it followed some of the conventions around fantasy book titles while feeling still like something fresh and different.

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book?

LS: I finished writing the first draft of the novel in November of 2022 after two months of writing and about a month and a half of plotting the book. After I completed it, I thought it was so bad that I ended up moving onto another project. I didn’t go back to read over it until May of 2023, and when I did, I was shocked because it was so good. I admit that I am often my harshest critic and realized just how much in that moment because I couldn’t believe that this was the same book that I thought was so terrible a few months ago.

I had originally pitched a YA horror project to my publisher as a proposal which they wanted to buy, but I wondered if I would get more enthusiasm for a fantasy project instead. So, in a week, I went back to my first draft, polished the first six chapters, wrote a synopsis and pitch, and we sent that into my publisher instead, which sold in June of 2023. It was honestly an ideal outcome because this was the project that I had originally wanted to publish next, and I had only pitched the other project first because I felt insecure about my first draft. I’m truly so happy that this is the book series that we’re publishing.

KLiC: What are your favorite moments in the book?

LS: I have so many moments in the novel that I love, but I’m a big fan of the first two chapters. The opening chapter is from a character in the novel who isn’t the main POV character, but an important one, and it helps set the scene and tone. It’s action packed, a little scary, a little gruesome, but there’s also a lot of heart and personality in the voice. Then that second chapter from the main character, August, mirrors a lot of what happens in the initial chapter which creates an innate tension. I love it because it’s a great showcase of who August is as a character: funny, flawed, and badass. She goes from dancing in a club, to throwing a knife at a guy, to mocking the love interest, and it’s just the best.

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children or teens to take away from your book?

LS: A lot of A Mastery of Monsters is about external pressure put on teens around both personal and academic excellence, and the ways in which this can be detrimental. I even wrote a dedication about how overachievers should allow themselves more grace when it comes to knowing what they want for their futures or encountering failure. I hope that readers can come away from the novel understanding that it’s okay if something doesn’t work out. That, I think, was the toughest lesson for me to learn during my time in university. I felt that everything that happened within those four years would define the rest of my life, and that just isn’t true.

KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?

LS: Write what you’re passionate about regardless of if it aligns with trends or seems “sellable,” and focus on completing your projects to the best of your ability before getting caught up in pursuits of publication. I sometimes find that writers striving to be published let the pressure of that dream overshadow the craft of writing itself, when that’s the thing that gets you to that publication milestone. There’s no time limit on publishing a book. But you can absolutely come to regret putting out something you aren’t passionate about or that you rushed.

KLiC: What’s next for you?

LS: There are two more books in the Mastery series to be published, and so I’m hard at work on those. The second novel has been exciting for me to work on as it increases the stakes of the first, adds a new POV character, has an even bigger and deadlier competition, and sets up for the final book in the series. I’m also in the process of pursuing the publication of an adult project, and hope that I’ll have a novel in that age category to share one day.

KLiC: Is there anything you want readers to know about you or your book(s)?

LS: A Mastery of Monsters will be my sixth published novel, and so I hope that readers will take a look at the other books I’ve put out which include fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, and horror novels for young adults. They can also find me online at YouTube and Instagram under @lisellesambury. My YouTube channel is especially great for writers as I share a lot of behind-the-scenes of my life as a full-time author, writing and publishing advice, and offer a transparent look at my writing process.

Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian Canadian author and Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist. She has a love for stories with dark themes, complicated families, and edges of hope. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes-complicated business of being an author.

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