Interview with Lev A.C. Rosen for Camp

Camp

by Lev A.C. Rosen
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 26th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Queer

Synopsis:

From the author of the acclaimed Jack of Hearts (and other parts) comes a sweet and sharp screwball comedy that critiques the culture of toxic masculinity within the queer community.

Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It's where he met his best friends. It's where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it's where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim - who's only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.

This year, though, it's going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as 'Del' - buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he's determined to get Hudson to fall for him.

But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn't know who he truly is?

Can you briefly describe CAMP and its characters?

Sure! Camp is about sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff, who, for the past 4 summers, has attended Camp Outland, an LGBTQIA+ summer camp… and for all four of those summers has had a wild crush on Hudson Aaronson-Lim, who barely knows Randy exists. Randy is a nail-polish wearing, unicorn loving femme theatre kid, and Hudson a butch jock who every summer finds another butch jock to have a brief relationship with. Randy is determined to win Hudson’s heart, though, so this summer, he returns as butch jock ‘Del’ – the ultimate bit of acting. He’s determined not just to be a fling, but to make Hudson fall in love with him. He’s helped out in his plan by his two best friends, George, another actor who is sad Randy can’t be in the show this year, and Ashleigh, a techie who thinks this is probably all a terrible idea. There are a lot of other characters, including drag queen counsellors, exhausted camp directors, and a slew of campers, all queer in various ways. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Obviously, Randy is the point of view character and I love him to death, but I think my favourite outside Randy is Mark, the theatre counsellor, who is also one of the counsellors who oversees the cabin Randy and his friends stay in. Mark is neurotic, overly invested in his campers, and needs to call his shrink regularly. He doesn’t understand all of the plan, but what he sees is Randy changing himself for a guy, and he hates that – he hates the butch thing, the masc4masc thing, and he expresses it… in almost colourful language, before stopping himself. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

So the original inspiration comes from the old Doris Day/Rock Hudson 60s sex comedies. I love a screwball rom-com, and I really wanted to write something in that vein, but make it queer, and contemporary and YA. Those old movies are about the “battle of the sexes” which doesn’t really apply to an m/m relationship. So I made it battle of the butch/femme. People playing at the sort of person they think a butch wants, or a femme wants, but also kind of falling in love with them while pretending to be someone else! It’s delightful and screwball and sexy. 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Well, over the course of the book, the theatre kids are putting on Bye Bye Birdie, which I chose because it’s 60s and deals with ideas of gender and relationships. There’s one scene where Randy is trying to re-do his wardrobe to be appropriately “masc” and he’s putting on a fashion show for his fellow campers. Mark turns on “How Lovely to Be a Woman,” which is all about the various 60s stereotypes of femininity, and how they’re performative more than intrinsic. So I think that would be the one I’d like… although if it existed, the truly ideal version would be Troye Sivan singing it or something. 

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Camp food is, in my experience, never good. And I made it a point to emphasize that. But I think in an ideal world, Camp is to be read outside, in nature, like a summer camp, and it’s a burger, fries and strawberry milkshake kind of book. These days, outside is harder, but I think reading Camp will remind us all of the summer we seem to be losing. At least I hope it will. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish CAMP?

This is an excellent question, and I have two answers, depending on how you want to pair it. Camp is a sweet and sexy summer camp romance, and if you’re looking for more of that, then Running with Lions, by Julian Winters is an ideal partner. It’s a summer soccer camp queer romance, and like Camp, it deals with trying to be everything to all people, and found families and acceptance. But if after Camp you want something that contrasts it more, I’d suggest Surrender Your Sons, by Adam Sass, which is about a queer summer camp of a much darker nature, but which has a lot of similar themes to Camp – expectations, performance, the way queer love needs to be memorialized, and the way internalized homophobia can make us into bullies. I think Running with Lions and Camp is like a dessert pairing, but Surrender your Sons and Camp is more of a wine pairing. So really, the best thing to do is read all three. 

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

It really varies book to book. I always say every book writes itself differently, so you can’t expect to go in to each book with the expectation it’ll be like last time. Sometimes it’s about getting a handle on the character, sometimes the place, sometimes one scene is going to make you want to slam your head into a wall over and over, but sometimes its technical plot timing stuff. The difficult part shifts every time. 

What’s next for you?

Nothing I can talk about publicly at the time of writing this, but stay tuned…

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Lev Rosen is the author of books for all ages. Two for adults: All Men of Genius (Amazon Best of the Month, Audie Award Finalist) and Depth (Amazon Best of the Year, Shamus Award Finalist, Kirkus Best Science Fiction for April). Two middle-grade books: Woundabout (illustrated by his brother, Ellis Rosen), and The Memory Wall. His first Young Adult Novel, Jack of Hearts (and other parts) was an American Library Association Rainbow List Top 10 of 2018. His books have been sold around the world and translated into different languages as well as being featured on many best of the year lists, and nominated for awards. 

Lev is originally from lower Manhattan and now lives in even lower Manhattan, right at the edge, with his husband and very small cat. You can find him online at LevACRosen.com and @LevACRosen

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Interview with Don Zolidis for War and Speech

War and Speech

by Don Zolidis
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: May 5th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis:

Not everyone can be a winner...

Sydney Williams knows this better than anyone. After her white-collar- criminal dad is sent to prison, Sydney fails almost all of her classes and moves into a dingy apartment with her mom, who can barely support them with her minimum-wage job at the mall. 

A new school promises a fresh start. Except Eaganville isn’t exactly like other high schools. It's ruled with an iron fist by a speech team that embodies the most extreme winner-takes-all philosophy.

Sydney is befriended by a group of fellow misfits, each of whom has been personally victimized by the speech team. It turns out Sydney is the perfect plant to take down the speech team from within. 

With the help of her co-conspirators, Sydney throws herself into making Nationals in speech, where she will be poised to topple the corrupt regime. But what happens when Sydney realizes she actually has a shot at . . . winning? Sydney lost everything because of her dad’s obsession with being on top. Winning at speech might just be her ticket out of a life of loserdom. Can she really walk away from that?

Can you briefly describe WAR AND SPEECH and its characters?

WAR AND SPEECH is the story of Sydney, who decides to join the top-rated Speech and Debate team in the country in order to destroy it from the inside out. 

Sydney is funny, brutally honest, and has a mouth that gets her in a lot of trouble. She has a strong bullshit detector and a keen sense of fairness. Her father is in prison for tax evasion, and her life has cratered big time – she now lives in a tiny apartment with her mom and her new boyfriend, and just about everything she counted on has disappeared. She can be a bit bitter. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Lakshmi is probably my favorite character in the book. She’s a basketball star, and in any other school would be popular. Unfortunately, she attends a school for the arts where no one cares about sports, and her teammates recite spoken word poetry during the games. 

Lakshmi is fierce and strong and values her time. She doesn’t have time for nonsense and moves through the world like she owns the place. Sydney says she wants to be Lakshmi when she grows up. Me too. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

I wanted to write a book about Speech and Debate, since it’s a really fun activity that hasn’t been seen a lot in YA books. I also wanted to do a plucky underdog story where the underdog’s goal is destruction, rather than winning. 

I actually took a lot of inspiration from the Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Eight movies. It’s a motley group of conspirators trying to do the impossible and managing to pull it off. 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

This question is so hard! When I’m writing, I usually try to only listen to music that seems like it’s in my character’s voice. And then I listen to that artist continuously for the writing process. For this book, I listened to Sharon Van Etten and Courtney Barnett. I think Courtney really gets at Sydney’s irascible, raw voice. Her song “Help Your Self” is a great encapsulation of Sydney’s personal philosophy. 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Is it cliché to say Beanie Feldstein? I think Beanie Feldstein would make a brilliant Sydney. She’s smart, she’s funny, and she’s ready to do something outrageous. I might also cast Tom Holland (although he’s maybe a little too good-looking) as Elijah, who becomes Sydney’s love interest. 

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Um… this is a YA book, so I probably can’t say a shot of whiskey or something. I mean I could, but I might be sending the wrong signal to my readers. 

I think, ultimately, this is a really fun caper-style book. So it would go really well with some carefully plotted crimes and/or shenanigans. I’m gonna go with a smoothie and light crime. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish WAR AND SPEECH?

My first novel, THE SEVEN TORMENTS OF AMY AND CRAIG (A LOVE STORY) is a bit more of a rom-com than a caper, but it’s also hilarious and heart-wrenching. Another kindred writing soul would be Katie Henry, who writes viciously funny and thoughtful books. Check out LET’S CALL IT A DOOMSDAY and HERETICS ANONYMOUS. 

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Coming up with the spine of the story is always the most challenging part for me. I’m naturally a playwright, so writing dialogue is always breezy and fun. But finding and honing the right skeleton to hang the story on is a struggle. 

Also, what people are wearing. I have no idea what people wear. Ever. 

What’s next for you?

I just finished a new novel, I HEARD YOU WERE DEAD, which is about a boy who’s recovered from leukemia. He returns to his old high school and manages to fall in love with a girl and her brother.

Don Zolidis grew up in Wisconsin, went to college in Minnesota, and is mostly known for being a really funny playwright. For the past five years, he’s been the most-produced playwright in American schools. His more than one hundred published plays have been performed tens of thousands of times, and have appeared in sixty-four different countries. He currently splits his time between New York and Texas, and has two adorable boys who will someday read this book and have a lot of questions. He aspires to owning a dog. His first novel was The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig.

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Interview with Kate Pentecost for Elysium Girls

Elysium Girls

by Kate Pentecost
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: April 14th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.

When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she's a liar, she knows she's a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn't shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa's exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium's favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.

Can you briefly describe ELYSIUM GIRLS and its characters?

Elysium Girls is a loose retelling of Seven Samurai, featuring a girl gang of witches who are fighting against the goddesses of Life and Death to save their walled city, Elysium, in a Weird West version of Dust Bowl Era Oklahoma. It features, among others, Sal, a young witch coming into her own as the successor of the mysterious old witch who runs Elysium, Asa, a human obsessed daemon given human form in order to affect the Game, Lucy, a cosmetics creator turned nurse who figures out what’s lurking beneath the surface of Elysium, Susanah, an inventor who escaped from a Native American boarding school and who has built a cavalry of mechanical horses to literally fight the apocalypse. :) It’s super strange, but I like it.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

I really like Susanah, Lucy, and Mr. Jameson. Susanah because she is very driven and creative, and is able to sort of reclaim some of what has been lost to her through her inventions. Lucy because she undergoes so much change throughout the book, going from a girl who sells illegal cosmetics to one of the key players inside Elysium. And Mr. Jameson because he’s loosely based on my dad. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

Honestly, it kind of sprang into my mind fully formed (strange for such a weird story.) I’d heard a song that had sirens in it—probably a Sleigh Bells song—and for some reason imagined Weird Western witches, a walled city, and a divine battle. I’d also been watching a lot of Japanese cinema at the time, so I’d recently seen Seven Samurai and was amazed by it. I suppose it all added up to Elysium Girls.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Probably “Kids” by Sleigh Bells.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Oh, I don’t have any idea. I’d actually prefer any actors in a film version of my books to be new or unknown rather than big names. And I’d have to somehow make sure that the cultures of my characters were well-respected. For example, it’s very important that Susanah is Comanche. I’d hate for her to be whitewashed. I’d be totally fine with any of the characters being represented by trans actors, though.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

As far as drinks go, I’d recommend whiskey or mezcal with this book. As far as places, a night in the desert or the mountains. Somewhere rugged. But if that’s unreachable, reading on a rooftop is always perfect, no matter where you are.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish ELYSIUM GIRLS?

Oh, there are a lot! I think the main two I would recommend would be The Good Luck Girls and Walk on Earth a Stranger. Both are really great in very different ways and feature badass, strong girls standing up to authority and the elements in a historical setting.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Just keeping with it, really. It’s very easy to let the drama of everyday life get in the way of any goal. But just as it is with getting in shape, learning a language, or finishing any other the of project, you have to keep passionate about it, and just keep going. Even if it’s just writing one sentence or just gathering a little bit of inspiration, you have to keep working. 

What’s next for you?

Working on the next book! Always working on the next book. :)

Kate Pentecost was born and raised on the Texas/Louisiana border, where ghosts and rural legends lurk in the pines and nothing is completely as it seems.

She holds an MFA in Writing for Children &Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was recently nominated for a Rhysling award for her poem "Small Town Witches."

Her debut novel, Elysium Girls, is forthcoming from Disney Hyperion in 2020 in print and audio formats.

She is obsessed with the Romantic Poets and can be identified by the enormous tattoo of Percy Bysshe Shelley on her arm. She lives in Houston (H-Town, Space City, etc.)

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