Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Sarah J. Mendonca here to share about her MG fantasy An Encantadora's Guide to Monstros & Magic. It sounds like an action-packed story, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
Here’s
a blurb from Goodreads:
Encanto meets Oceans
8 in this middle-grade fantasy-adventure, set in a Portuguese-inspired
world, following a tween girl who joins a notorious band of thieves to steal a
priceless jewel and discovers corruption that must be stopped.
Rosa Coelho has spent her whole life hunting
monstros, wandering the city streets with her best friend Tiago, and dreaming
of a better life for herself and her grandmother. And in a society that favors
the rich and educated, every piece of knowledge comes with a hefty price, even
the most basic books Rosa’s family needs to trap monstros.
So when the powerful Ministério dos Monstros
threatens her family’s struggling Encantadora shop, Rosa only has two weeks to
scrape together the money for their debts. It seems like an impossible task…
until Rosa tricks her way onto an infamous thief crew as their magical
safecracker.
Thrust into the world of high class luxury and
betrayal, Rosa is pulled into a scheme with the highest possible stakes:
stealing from the Ministry itself. She must learn to trust her magical
abilities and her crew—for if the heist goes wrong, everything she loves is
forfeit.
Hi
Sarah! Thanks so much for joining us.
1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
My journey was much longer than the average author. I started writing when I was in high school. I’d never written a short story before, and for better or worse dove right into a novel. I made so many mistakes along the way, such as re-writing the first chapter over and over instead of finishing the whole book in its entirety, so it took me four years until I finished. But through that experience I learned that I can finish anything I set my mind to, including becoming a published author. And though it ended up taking fifteen years, I made it happen by not giving up.
2. Where did you get the idea for An Encantadora's Guide to Monstros & Magic?
When I first started this book, I’d just moved to a new city and missed my family. At the same time, I was also in between writing projects, so I began hunting for my next big idea and ended up with a copy of Six of Crows. Somehow, I used my excitement for a fantastical heist and the longing to see my family as an opportunity to reconnect with my Portuguese heritage – Rosa Coelho was born. A story about a misfit who struggles to make friends and more than anything strives to break out of poverty. I hope this book finds all the misfits in the world who’ve ever felt like they don’t belong.
Your
Writing Process
3. That’s
a cool way to get a story idea. What was your worldbuilding process like, and
what tips do you have for other writers about creating a rich fantasy world
like yours?
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Monstros and Magic is my seventh novel. Even though I knew I’d never stop writing, I made the tough decision that this would be my last attempt at traditional publishing. With nothing left to lose, I decided to add everything that I loved into the story. I’ve run for nearly twenty years, so I built one of the book’s festival days around an epic race running away from monstros. My tea collection is out of control, so I made the heist crew tea themed. Even though it was very scary and vulnerable, I think people are connecting with the authenticity.
As for tips, one of the things that helps me with worldbuilding is figuring out where they go to the bathroom and bury their dead. Through that information I learn a lot about the culture, geography, and the values of the world I’m creating. Water quality isn’t the coolest thing to think about, but has deep implications on the world. You don’t have to necessarily show this information on the page, but it’s good as the writer to know. Secondly, figure out the economy. What does your society have a lot of, and needs from others? The movement of money and trade in the world makes more of a difference than you’d expect. I decided early on that the main city in my book was a center of knowledge, and that was foundational to the rest of the worldbuilding.
4. I never thought about bathrooms and burials, but you’re right it’s good to know about your world. Reviewers have said this is an action-packed story where Rosa deals with constant problems in every chapter. How did you plot this out and keep throwing problems at Rosa?
With each book I wrote, I tried working on one of my weaknesses. When I started on Monstros and Magic, I’d recently come out of a book where the plot was a complete mess, so I decided that I’d write something with a strict plot structure. A heist ended up being the perfect choice. Through studying other heists, I discovered that each section of a heist story is driven by a different challenge.
The first part of a heist is gathering the crew. Often, the mastermind character gathers experts they know, like in Ocean’s 11. Since my main character is the lockpick, that wouldn’t work. Instead, I made joining the heist crew a competition, which drives a lot of the action and tension in the beginning.
Next, we have the planning phase. This part is about putting all the pieces in place to pull off an epic heist. Since my character struggles at making friends, I designed it so she would be kicked off the crew if the other members didn’t trust her enough. This leads to many one-on-one scenes with different crew members, driven by her contradictory desires to protect her secrets and open up to others.
The third and fourth part are the heist and escape. Fortunately, during a heist, you have lots of options for plot. There is always a constant threat of being caught, and having to deal with issues as they come up. All together by selecting a plot driven story I got a crash course into plotting, and I’d say this is now one of my strengths instead of weaknesses.
5. How has working with your editor strengthened your story and your craft of writing?
My editor is Jennifer Ung at Quill Tree Books. By the time I started working with her I was about three years into this novel, and actually thought it didn’t need that much more work. I was definitely wrong. Emotional arcs have always been challenging for me, and Jen helped me dig in deeper into every page and bring out the best story possible.
Before I sold a book I had thought I needed to strengthen every single one of my weaknesses, instead of leaning into my strengths. But once I found the right editor, she helped me realize that I was much stronger at plotting and worldbuilding than I ever realized. And with a partner who could help with what I lacked, then I could improve the book to level that I’d never have been able to on my own.
Your
Road to Publication
6. Emotional arcs are hard for me too. Your agent is Emily Forney. How did she become your agent?
I was in the last class of Pitch Wars, a very intense mentorship program where you’d edit your entire book in a few short months and then have the opportunity to pitch agents at the end. Shout out to my mentor Tracy Badua for all her incredible feedback. In the end I had over thirty agents reach out asking for either partial or full requests, but none of them ended up offering. Disappointed, I started sending my book out more widely, and ended up catching the eye of Emily Forney.
7. It’s awesome that you got over 30 requests. Your hard work paid off. Tell us about what it was like going on submission and how you got your publishing contract.
Submission is tough. While getting an agent took me many years and many books, there is nothing quite like sending it out to editors. In the end I was offered a two-book deal, and felt like the luckiest person in the world. Unfortunately, shortly after the imprint closed its doors, and after some re-shuffling I ended up with my current editor. All this to say every person’s publishing journey is totally unique to them, and I wanted to acknowledge that there are lots of ups and downs with the process. In the end I ended up with an awesome editor, but only after some bumps along the way.
Promoting
Your Book
8. How are you planning to celebrate the release of your book and market it after that?
I’m incredibly lucky there are so many kidlit writers in my city. To celebrate we are all heading to a local outdoor music night, and will dance the night away. As for long term marketing, I’m working on setting up author visits to inspire the next generation of readers.
9. What a fun way to celebrate your book release! You’re a member of Middle Grade Escapades. What have you learned from other debut authors in your group that is helping you as you navigate becoming a debut author and promoting your book?
One thing I didn’t really expect is how many non-writing related things you need to do before your debut. From planning out your cover release and designing your website, all the way to applying to book festivals. Being a part of an author group debuting at the same time, means I’ve had people I can rely on for advice and who are all going through a similar experience. Writing is inherently a solo adventure, but I’ve found the more I’ve leaned into the writing community and celebrated everyone else's wins, the more I’ve enjoyed the experience myself.
10. What are you working on now?
I’m excitedly working on book 2 of the Encantadora series! I don’t want to spoil too much, but we might be getting a smaller and furrier new member of the crew…
Thanks
for sharing all your advice, Sarah. You can find Sarah at:
https://www.sarahjmendonca.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahjmendonca
https://www.instagram.com/sarahjmendoncawriter/
https://bsky.app/profile/sarahjmendonca.bsky.social
Giveaway Details
Sarah’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of An Encantadora's Guide to Monstros & Magic for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by July 26th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Sarah on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S. and Canada.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg
Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts,
and Blog Hops
Wednesday, July 16th I’m participating in the Hip Hip Hooray Giveaway Hop
Monday, July 28th I have a guest post by author Marzieh Abbas and a giveaway of her MG Aarzu All Around
Friday, August 1st I’m participating in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
Monday, August 4th I have a guest post by debut author Isabel Knight and a giveaway of the first book in her Enchantria series
Wednesday, August 6th I have an interview with author Lillie Vale and a giveaway of her YA Hit Me With Your Best Charm
Monday,
August 11th I have an agent spotlight interview with Krista Van Dolzer and a
query critique giveaway
I hope to see you on
Wednesday!
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