Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Kate O’Shaughnessy here to share about her MG magical realism, Brittle Magic. Shiloh sounds like a kid I’d like to know, and I enjoy stories with magical realism. Plus, the blurb makes the book sound so good, so I’m excited to read it.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
Everyone
in the Brittle family has a magical talent -- except Shiloh. But she's
determined to unlock her own greatness in this charmingly quirky novel about
family and forgiveness from Newbery Honor winner Kate O'Shaughnessy.
Nearly every member of the Brittle family has an
extraordinary talent—except Shiloh.
Her aunt makes pickles that tell your fortune.
Her great-aunt brews tea that gives you good dreams. Her sister can grow
pumpkins the size of a small house. And her older brother—who died before
Shiloh was born—had a gift no one will talk about. Her mom says Shiloh doesn’t
need a talent to be special. But Shiloh knows she’s destined
for greatness. And with the Brittle family reunion coming up, she’s determined
to prove it to all her relatives.
When Auntie Dee’s fortune-telling pickles reveal
that Shiloh does have a talent—and that it’s somehow connected
to her late brother—Shiloh feels more confused than vindicated. Why would her
mom have kept this from her?
The pickles’ prophesy offers cryptic clues for
finding her talent—something involving an oven? and a new friend?—and Shiloh
throws herself into the search. But discovering the truth about herself means
digging up secrets her mom would rather keep buried.
This year’s family reunion may well be the most
dramatic one yet…
Newbery Honor winner Kate O’Shaughnessy gives us
a moving, magic-tinged story about family, friendship, forgiveness . . . and
fortune-telling pickles!
Hi
Kate! Thanks so much for joining us.
Thanks
for having me! I’m thrilled to be here.
1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
I came into writing as a reader. I grew up in a family that loved—and continues to love—to read. The family room in my childhood home had one soaring wall that was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, completely filled up with books. My mom read to my brother and me every night, so the soundtrack of my childhood is her voice as I fell asleep. Even so, I struggled from a developmental perspective with reading, and was behind my peers for a chunk of time. I think that really burrowed into my psyche, because I used to think you had to be, like, preordained as gifted with words from birth in order to become an author. Which wasn’t me. But my love of reading remained, and often, even in college, I would ignore assigned class reading in favor of a novel. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I started writing creatively after work as a hobby, and that’s when I really fell in love.
2. Where did you get the idea for Brittle Magic?
I knew I wanted to do a cozy story set in autumn in New England—think apple orchards, creaky farmhouse, blazing foliage—with a hint of magic. That was the original seed of the idea for Brittle Magic, but it took quite a while for me to find its emotional heart. Once I had that, it was off to the races.
3. What was your writing process like for Brittle Magic and your other middle grade books? How much time do you spend writing the first draft vs. revising it?
It followed a typical pattern to the rest of my published novels, which is: I have an idea that I mull over for a long period of time. Usually months to years. Then I have a Word document where I dump in all of my thoughts, bits of dialogue, ideas for scenes or characters, maybe even the beginning of a rough outline. For me, the key is that it’s not organized or chronological; I have to feel free to throw anything and everything I want into it, at any moment. The formatting is often all over the place, too, because I’ll paste from my Notes app or little lines I email to myself when I’m on a walk, etc. After I spend some time with this, I usually translate it into a slightly more organized document that is roughly chronological. Then I begin on the first draft! Typically, during a first draft, I try to write between 500 to 1,000 words a day. I don’t work on the weekends because I have young kids. But, and here’s the annoying kicker: at some point in the first draft, typically around 60-75%, I lose all faith in the vision and stop writing, thinking the flaws are fatal. Then I set it aside for a period of months to years. When I come back to it, I re-read it and see what the specific flaws are, realize they are not fatal, and finish the rest of the first draft in a burst of inspiration. If you remove the fallow period, where I set the manuscript aside, the first draft takes me about 3-4 months. Then I’ll do a revision over the course of a month or two, share it with beta readers, my agent, and then my editor. After that, rounds usually take about two months or so.
4. You have a very interesting writing process. I’m glad it works for you. How did you decide on the magical realism aspects of your story? What tips do you have for other writers who want to write a story with magical realism?
I
knew I wanted magic to be a side dish in this novel, not the main course. The
way I decided to do this was to thread it through the Brittle family tree, and
keep all the magical “talents” grounded and rooted in nature. I wanted it to be
somewhat believable that most of these gifts could slip through the world,
unnoticed. I would say that my biggest piece of advice for writers who want
their stories to bend more toward magical realism or fabulism would be to really
think about what your story is about, at its most basic level. Is it about
love, grief, friendship? Try to find a way to apply your magic to that central
building block. Brittle Magic is about family. It only made sense to me,
then, that the magic would be family-based, too.
5. That’s great advice. One of the reasons I’m excited to read your book is that Shiloh sounds like a very sympathetic character whom I’d like to know more about. Share about how she developed as a character as you wrote her story.
Thank you! I wanted Shiloh to feel real. I wanted her to have very real flaws. She’s fearless and so determined, but she’s also messy and clumsy and jealous and selfish sometimes, too. It feels kind of woo-woo to say, but I try to let the characters develop themselves. Sometimes, in that big messy document I wrote about earlier, I’ll list a bunch of traits or quirks or likes and dislikes I think the character should have. Often, once I’m done with the first draft, many of those line items have been struck off or cast away. So much of the magic for me in writing is discovering things about the characters and the story that I didn’t know before. Letting them unfurl themselves as the drafts progress. That’s how it happened with Shiloh. She has this big goal of finding out what her magical talent is, so her single-minded determination was always there. But much of Shiloh’s character came out during the drafting process.
6. The blurb for Brittle Magic and your other books are really good and make me want to read them. How do you draft such compelling blurbs? How can we learn to write good ones like you?
Wow, thank you so much! This is music to my ears, because I find the process of writing the blurb or the jacket copy or the “pitch” to be a pain level 8 on a scale of 1-10. It’s so incredibly hard to distill a book down to so few words. The best advice I have is lots and lots and lots of drafts. I always aim to include the inciting incident, the main character’s goal, the stakes, and the biggest obstacle that the character will face on their journey. My agent, Pete, helps with this part a lot, and so does my editor, Nancy. Nancy is the queen of these blurbs. I can’t remember exactly, but I know at least a few of them have come straight out of her wise brain with minimal input from me. But I think sharp eyes and many drafts is the best recipe for success. And it doesn’t hurt to have an incredible editor with many years of experience. (Thanks, Nancy!)
7. Your agent is Peter Knapp, whom I admire as an agent. How did he become your agent, and what was your road to getting a publishing contract for The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane, your debut book that was published in 2020?
8. It’s
awesome you work with the same editor. Since your debut book was published,
you’ve had three other middle grade and one young adult book published. From
your bio, which is very impressive: “Her books have won
numerous distinctions and awards, including a Newbery Honor, the Northern
California Book Award, and the Vermont State Book Award. Her work has been
nominated for over thirty state award reading lists and recognized on best-of
lists by places and publications such as the New York Public Library, Bank
Street College of Education, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.”
8. Tell us how your career has grown since you were a debut author. What tips do you have for other writers about growing their careers?
Wow, thank you so much. All of your questions are so framed with such kindness. I wish I could say I had a strategic vision for my career, but I haven’t. Most of it has been following the ideas that I’m most interested in and going from there. But it’s worth saying that I’ve had LOTS of book ideas and pitches (and occasionally full manuscripts!) that have been rejected or haven’t worked out along the way. I also think so much of how things pan out in this industry is due to luck, having the right in-house support for a title.
9. How are you planning to celebrate the release of Brittle Magic and promote it? How are you juggling the release of your debut YA, A Season for Falling, on September 22, 2026, with the release of Brittle Magic on October 20, 2026?
10. I’d love to go, but I live in Michigan. I noticed on your website that you offer a free 10-15-minute Q&A for teachers who can’t afford a more formal visit. It sounds like a cool idea. Why did you decide to offer them? Do many teachers take advantage of them, and do they help you connect with middle graders?
I always want to make sure that teachers and/or librarians who might not have the budget or wherewithal to bring me to their school for a more official visit have an opportunity to bring me in to chat with their students. A Q&A also requires zero prep on my end. I can be writing at my desk, take a break and chat with students for 15 minutes, and then get right back to writing. What’s funny is that fewer people take advantage of it than you’d think! When I’ve spoken to other writers who offer the same sort of visit, they’ve agreed on this. That it’s their least popular visit option. I’m not sure why. At most I do it once a month, but typically it’s more like once every other month. Teachers and librarians, if you’re reading this, we mean it! We’re always happy to drop in to chat with your students!
11. What are you working on now?
My next YA romance! And I’m also very, very slowly working on a new MG that I’ve passed back and forth with my agent.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Kate. You can find Kate at:
www.instagram.com/kloshaughnessy
🎉 ENTER THE LITERARY RAMBLES BRITTLE MAGIC BOOK GIVEAWAY! 🎉
Want to win Brittle
Magic? Thanks to Kate for supplying a book for this book giveaway contest.
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Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
- Wednesday, October 21st: Agent spotlight interview with Cate Hart and a query
critique giveaway
- Monday, October 25th: Interview with Jackie Garcia Morales and a giveaway of
her MG Pesky Rules
- Monday, October 25th: Interview
with Jackie Garcia Morales
and a giveaway of her MG Pesky
Rules
- Monday, November 1st: Participating
in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
- Wednesday, November 3rd: Interview
with Angela Cheng and a giveaway of her YA The Fast Track
- Monday, November 9th: Interview
with Karen Foxlee and a giveaway of The Wonderous Tale of Lavender
Wolfe
- Wednesday, November 11th: Agent spotlight interview with Riley Jay Davis and a query critique giveaway
I hope to see you on
Wednesday!
