Interview with YA author Brittney Morris

Photo by: Kariba Jack Photography

​We are ecstatic to have YA author Brittney Morris on our blog today! Read more about her upcoming young adult book, THIS BOOK MIGHT BE ABOUT ZINNIA.
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KLiC: What was your inspiration for THIS BOOK MIGHT BE ABOUT ZINNIA? 

Brittney Morris: As a gentle parent breaking cycles of trauma in my own family, I’ve done a lot of unlearning what I’ve was taught as a daughter—that parents should get their way because they’re bigger and stronger (and in my case, louder) than you, that unconditional love means abandoning your own boundaries no matter the cost, and that biological family is the only family you need. I’ve been teaching my son that he owes me nothing, that no one is entitled to a breach of his boundaries (family or not), and that found family is sometimes the strongest bond one can find in the known universe. Any of these things could’ve inspired a book in me, but somehow they all came together to inspire just one.
 
KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? 

BM: I like to keep my writing process simple and straightforward: Swift drafting, slow editing. I take about 24 hours to outline the entire book on one page, using a bullet point for each chapter. Then I write the first draft faster than my inner editor can keep up. I can’t hit the backspace button if I don’t give myself time to. Once I get notes back on my first draft, that’s when the slow, methodical, increasingly precise dissection happens. That’s the hardest part for me. I sold this book on option, so it sold in a matter of weeks.
 
KLiC: What kind of research did you do for THIS BOOK MIGHT BE ABOUT ZINNIA? What’s the one thing you want teens to take away from your book?

BM: Well for one, I watched both Mamma Mia and The Godfather 1, 2, and 3, none of which I’d seen before. For Tuesday’s POV, I listened to a lot of early 2000s pop-punk and top 40 music and really tried to immerse myself in my own childhood—remembering how driving directions were printed, how we would rush home from school to catch our favorite shows before streaming existed, and how we didn’t have the language to articulate or even recognize gaslighting, stonewalling, or narcissistic behavior in general, especially in our own parents. Zinnia’s POV is much more enlightened about such behaviors, thanks to the prolificness of search engines, social media, and widespread access to and endorsement of therapy and self-care. But they also cause her distress. I think with so many overwhelming reminders that we could be improving our lives with therapy, self-care, emotional maturity, and striving to be a better human, there’s pressure on teens today like never before. If there’s one thing to take away, it’s that it’s okay to pursue quiet. Ease. Simplicity. The average life. It’s okay to be just okay at something—at everything, really. No matter how much social media would have you believe you’re being graded on this stuff, the grading system is mostly made up, and your happiness is what matters most.
 
KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?
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BM: “Write what you love” is a cliche for a reason. Don’t worry about writing what sells. Worry about what lights you up. When your passion shows up on the page, the market will meet you.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY, The Cost of Knowing, and The Jump, and has written video game narrative for Insomniac Games’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 5, Unknown Worlds’s Subnautica: Below Zero, and Soma Games’s The Lost Legends of Redwall. She is the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club. She holds a BA in economics. You can find her online at AuthorBrittneyMorris.com and on X or Instagram.
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Find out more about This Book Might be About Zinnia here.