Interview with Liselle Sambury

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.