Author Interview: Alechia Dow and Until the Clock Strikes Midnight Giveaway and IWSG Post

 Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Alechia Dow here to share about her new YA cozy fantasy, Until the Clock Strikes Midnight. I interviewed Alechia in 2020, when she was a debut author, for her first book, The Sound of Stars. She and her co-author, Tracy Badua, shared a guest post in September 2025 to celebrate the release of Their Just Desserts. I’ve been reading more cozy fantasies these days, and I’m super excited to read Alechia’s. 

Here's a blurb from Alechia’s website:

 

The Good Place meets the Brandy version of Cinderella in Until the Clock Strikes Midnight, a cozy, romantic fantasy from award-winning author Alechia Dow.

Darling is the most talented—and unusual—Guardian to get a chance at winning the coveted once-in-a-generation Mortal Outcome Council mentorship. Getting the spot would mean having the opportunity to shape the future happiness of all mortal realms—if she succeeds at her first assignment, Lucy Addlesberg. Darling thinks it’ll be an easy razzle-dazzle job… until she actually meets Lucy. Her life is a complete mess, from her failing bookshop in her downtrodden village to her doomed flirtation with the princess of Lumina. But if there’s one thing Darling’s good at, it’s a makeover.

Calamity is the most talented—and arrogant—Misfortune of his class. It’s his job to save mortals from their own terrible decisions made in the pursuit of the mythical "Happily Ever After." When Calam is granted a shot at the Mortal Outcome Council mentorship, he thinks his dreams are finally coming true. But first, he must pass the test. It should be easy—Lucy Addlesberg has been unfortunate for years. All he has to do is continue her string of bad luck so she can finally come to terms with reality and settle for a safer, more logical path in life. Yet when he arrives, he finds that Lucy has a Guardian assigned to her too—a chipper overachiever who is as colorful as the magic pouring from her glittery wand.

To thwart each other, Darling and Calam insert themselves into Lucy’s life posing as a betrothed couple. As they try to guide her down what they each see as the best path for her, they start questioning their roles and ultimately what they truly want for themselves... and if those feelings of loathing they have for each other might actually be something more like love. 

Before I get to Katie’s interview, I have my IWSG post.  

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day. 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

The awesome co-hosts this month are: J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox! 

Optional Question: Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you? 

No, I've only written two manuscripts, which I’ve been revising. I worked on each for about ten years. Once I started working on the second one, I stopped revising the first story. I haven’t gone back to it. 

Interview With Alechia Dow 

Hi Alechia! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Where did you get the idea for Until the Clock Strikes Midnight? 

Hi! Thanks for having me, it’s always a pleasure chatting with you! So, the concept for Until the Clock Strikes Midnight came from two places: Whitney Houston’s version of Fairy godmother in Cinderella––I wanted to write a fairy with incredible power and a gold, glittery wand––and the idea of a devil and an angel sitting on your shoulders, goading you to take their advice. I’ve always loved the visualization of that, especially in Emperor’s New Groove, and it illustrates our impulses and the way our brain makes choices based on them. 

2. Your story is a cozy fantasy. What makes a story a cozy fantasy, and what made you decide to write yours in this genre? 

Cozy fantasy is defined by a low stakes, gentle approach to storytelling. It’s more slice of life, character-focused, and quiet. While I’d read Legends & Lattes and The Spellshop––two books that are standouts in the genre, I wasn’t sure I had the skills to write it until my editor gave me the confidence to try. Honestly, if I’d sat down to consider it fully, as a former librarian, pastry chef, food writer and author, I’m a cozy person. This should’ve felt natural. Once my editor helped me find my voice, writing Until the Clock Strikes Midnight became shifted the way I thought about my career. Cozy wasn’t something I’d read much of in young adult fantasy that’s known for being epic, twisty, and high stakes. With it gaining traction for younger audiences, I think it’ll find audiences that crave an escape from the overwhelming weight of the world. I’d love to think that Black youth particularly deserve books where it’s not life and death, it’s hopeful, joyful, and magical. 

3. I agree with you that there’s a YA audience for cozy fantasies. When I interviewed you in 2020, you were a pantser, a half-plotter, who wrote the first 30 pages without an outline to get a feel for the plot and your characters. Has your process changed at all since then? If so, how, and why does it work for you? 

My process has not changed at all, ha! The more I outline, the less I enjoy the discovery of the characters and plot. Drafting out the first thirty pages by excitement and a sprinkle of an idea lets me have fun and feel free to fail. There’s no pressure; I just get to explore the story and see if it could be a book. I write my best when I’m not stressed about making it perfect. 

4. I’ve read some reviews that praise your story for the humor and banter between your characters. How did you create such good dialogue between Darling and Calam and slip in humor, which is hard for many of us to write? 

Oh, that’s lovely! I hoped readers would enjoy the humor and that the banter would land well. Darling and Calam were so easy to write and creating conversations between them was a blast. They’re incredibly different, approach their work from opposite ends, are ambitious, driven, and for the most part, confident. But neither are villainous, they believe they’re doing the best by Lucy and that they deserve that mentorship, which means they’re not going to sabotage each other in unforgivable ways. With that, it’ll shake their confidence and it’ll cause them to reconfigure their desires––a perfect opportunity for comedy, and love. 

5. Your story deals with difficult issues, like bipolar disorder, self-harm, parental abandonment, death, and grief, that you experienced in your own life. Share about how you drew on your own experiences in writing your story. 

After I participated in the anthology, Ab(Solutely) Normal, where I wrote a young adult short story about a fallen star with bipolar disorder, I decided I wanted to write bipolar in my characters going forward. Its underrepresentation only adds to its stigmatization, and when it is there, it has the tendency to be detrimental rather than helpful. For the longest time in media, characters with bipolar are unstable, chaotic, prone to violence or evil. Imagine seeing that as a teen and thinking that’s all you can be? Yes, there are difficulties; it can include spirals of doom, negative, intrusive thoughts, self-harm, and those things can be compounded by death, grief and abandonment…but that’s only one side of this illness. We can also be creative, bubbly, in tune with our emotions and the emotions of our friends and family. We contain multitudes. I wrote my experiences into this book because I want readers with similar experiences to feel seen and give the chance for those who haven’t to understand us. Destigmatize, show that we’re love interests, magical, and we’re more than a diagnosis. 

Your Journey to Publication 

6. This is your seventh published book since 2020. How has your career progressed over the years, and how have you been able to sell so many books when many debut authors aren’t nearly as successful as you? What tips do you have on growing a career as an author? 

This is an interesting question. I used to say that it’s all luck, and while I still believe luck plays a big part in publishing, it’s also having a great agent, writing the right book at the right time, finding your editor match, talent, and not giving up when it’s tough. Your question reminds me that people might consider me successful while I struggle with feeling like an imposter and a flop. Isn’t that weird? My advice is to keep writing what makes you happy. Don’t try to cater to the market; it’s always changing and what’s big now was written two years ago. Read more, watch more media, take breaks, and don’t be afraid to try something new. I mean, here I am chatting with you about cozy fantasy when I didn’t think I could pull it off two years ago. You don’t know what you’re capable of unless you try. 

7. I think feeling like an imposter is common, even if you’re successful. I used to feel like one as a lawyer when I went to court. What’s your writing schedule like? How do you complete so many books with different publication deadlines, plus keep up your social media platforms, and market your books? 

Without deadlines, I’m privileged to treat writing like a regular job; I’m a full-time author living in Germany where the cost of living is substantially cheaper than in the US. I start my day around 8am by doing admin stuff like emails or making graphics. By 10-11am, I’ll open my manuscript and begin reading/editing the last three chapters of whatever I wrote the day before until 1pm. This helps me stay on track, clean up little things, and makes it easier for me to jump into drafting. At 2pm, I do a virtual sprint with my friend (and fellow author) Rocky Callen until about 4-5pm. Without deadlines, that’s when I’ll finish up for the day. On deadline, I’ll dive back in around 8pm and go until 11pm. My last deadline had me up until 1am because I can be annoying. I’m in the weeds of every word, every line, every chapter, trying to make it perfect. All that said, you can understand why promoting on social media, marketing, only happens when I know it has to be done. I’m not keen on it, I’m not talented at it, and I find it really challenging. In my ideal world, I’d hire someone to do that for me so I could focus on writing, but I can’t afford that. And thus, you get me bumbling online with little interaction, hoping for the best. On the plus side though, I have gotten exponentially better at making graphics over the years! 

Promoting Your Book 

8. Wow! You have a long day. I saw on your website that you’ve planned an eight-city blog tour where you’ll be discussing your book with other authors. How did your book tour get scheduled? 

The tour will be a wild ride! I planned the first half myself; I reached out to bookstores and friends, scheduled the best I could. The second week of tour was completely done by Fierce Reads and Macmillan to celebrate four of us authors with recent releases. I finish up at Love Y’all Bookfest––where I’m beyond excited to meet so many folks I’ve admired from afar, and then I’ll head back to Germany. I’m nervous but ecstatic too. 

9. What other plans do you have to market your book? How have your plans for promoting your books changed over the years? 

I’ll be doing interviews, podcasts, writing articles and sending out books to influencers. We’ve always had booktubers, bloggers, booktokers, but influencers blew up in a big way over the years. It shows how the book community has expanded and how we reach people has changed. We’re lucky there are people blossoming on social media, who want to shout enthusiastically about our work––especially those of us who can’t be out there in person doing such. From afar, even with new methods of promoting on social media, the best way to get kidlit books into readers’ hands still is chatting with teachers, librarians, and booksellers. They’re the ones who are with the public the most and who genuinely want people to find the books they’ll enjoy reading. 

10. What are you working on now? 

So at the end of the year, I turned in A Taste of Memories; my next young adult cozy fantasy coming out in Spring 2027. It’s about a witch at a magical tearoom who lets patrons relive their memories associated with a recipe from their past and a warlock whose future is threatened by a spirit that’s slowly being forgotten. It’s very foodtastic and powerful. I’m also working on an adult fantasy about a romance bookstore, it’s a HOOT! 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Alechia.

––Thanks for having me!!

You can find Alechia at alechiadow.com, on threads and Instagram as @alechiadow. 

Giveaway Details

Alechia is generously offering a hardback of Until the Clock Strikes Midnight 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 February 14th. 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 Alechia 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 US, EU, and the United Kingdom. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, February 9, I have an interview with Seema Yasmin and a giveaway of her MG Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can

Wednesday, February 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tamara Kawar and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, February 15, I’m participating in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop

Monday, February 16, I have a guest post by Michael P. Spraudlin and a giveaway of his MG The Spider Strikes

Monday, February 23, I have an interview with Christyne Morrell and a giveaway of her MG The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite

Wednesday, February 25, I have an agent spotlight with Renee Runge and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

 

How I Drew from My Childhood Experiences to Write A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania and A Year Without Home Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I have V.T. Bidania here with a guest post on how she drew on her own childhood experiences to write her MG novel in verse A Year Without Home. It sounds like a powerful story about a time in history that I don’t know much about, and I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

A poignant middle grade novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani.

For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees.

But home becomes impossible to hold onto when U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Royal Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed.

As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again.

On foot, by taxi and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.

Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without a Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War. 

Now here’s V.T.! 

            I wish I could say I am a very organized writer with a clear and structured process, but the truth is, when I started writing this novel, I only had a vague idea of what it would be about. I knew it would be the story of my family’s escape from Laos after the Vietnam War. I knew it would be a verse novel. And I knew my sister Gao Sheng, who was around eleven at the time it takes place, would be the protagonist. 

            Without a solid plot in hand, I put together a loose outline based on the chronological events of the days leading up to my family’s escape, our actual escape, and our time in the refugee camps afterwards. I used this outline to begin drafting, and quickly discovered that I also needed to plan my protagonist’s growth. 

            Besides being forced to flee from her home country, what internal conflicts would Gao Sheng face and overcome? What could serve as her motivation to do whatever she does in the story? Most of all, how would we see her grow by the end of the book? 

            I needed to flesh out this character. As a reader, what I love most about novels in verse is the emotional connection we can make with characters. So, I asked my sister to tell me anything and everything she could remember about how she felt during this time. I wanted all the details, from the smiles and giggles to every pang of hurt and each teardrop. Then I noted all the emotions she described and went back to writing, determined to create an authentic representation of her experience. 

            As I wrote, I found myself thinking back to my own childhood too. I didn’t have to dig deep to recall how I spent much of my time as a kid. Three things came to my mind and along with notes from my sister’s interviews, I chose to focus on these for my main character: homesickness, daydreaming, and not speaking up. 

Homesickness

             First, I remembered my own homesickness as a child. Although I have no concrete memories of Laos because we left when I was less than a year old, I always felt homesick for it. It was a place I longed to return to every day, a place that was so beautiful and perfect to me, it was practically magical. (I finally traveled back to Laos in 2024, my first time there since we left, and it was even more beautiful than I ever imagined.) 

            I wanted Gao Sheng to miss and think of Laos often in the book, because she did in real life—and so did I. I made sure readers would see this in her thoughts to herself, understand it in her not-so-positive comments and descriptions about camp life, and feel it in her expressions of sadness and heartbreak. Her ache and yearning weren’t difficult to articulate because this was exactly how I remembered my childhood days, constantly missing the home I’d left behind and wishing with every fiber of my being that I could return to it. 

Daydreaming 

                     I spent much of my childhood reading books and hardly playing outside or even inside with other kids the way a child usually does. When I wasn’t reading, I was daydreaming. I lived in the worlds I read about and inside the stories I made up in my mind. It may have been my fascination with books or my lively imagination, but I was completely consumed with the idea of traveling to and visiting places anywhere away from where I was. 

            Since my sister told me she often thought about our house on the hill, I made sure to show her daydreaming about dizzily rolling down the perfect grass of that hill and smelling the sweet peaches in the afternoon breezes. In the hot city surrounded by traffic and noisy, store-lined streets, I wrote of how she missed the sunny days and peaceful, green mountains of home. On her way to the refugee camp, she wondered what her new house would look like and vividly imagined a fantastical place with gardens and peach trees that in actuality, resembled her house. In the crowded camp, she dreamed—literally and figuratively—of the rain in the mountains and the misty morning air on her cheeks. 

Not Speaking Up 

            As a kid, I was painfully shy. I was the fifth in a family of seven and was never quiet or shy at home but remember feeling regularly embarrassed and awkward at school. Days and weeks would go by when I wouldn’t open my mouth even once in class, or at lunchtime or recess. I had become so self-conscious at first because I wasn’t fluent in English and then because teachers and classmates couldn’t say my name. Looking back, it wasn’t that difficult. Vong is only one syllable and is pronounced phonetically, so I’m not sure what all the fuss was about, but anyway, the repeated frustration from others about my name caused me to want to shrink and hide. 

            There were countless times when I wanted to say something, when I knew the answers to questions teachers were asking, when I overheard classmates talking about something I had an opinion about or suggestions or solutions to contribute, or even in gym class when we were taught square dancing and I was the kid leading the dance—even though I was mortified to do it!—because I couldn’t speak up and like everyone else, say no, I didn’t want to. 

            My sister never communicated her disappointment or disagreement with what was happening around her, even if she was upset or felt desperate to. I used this and my uncomfortable childhood memories to write her as someone who wished to speak up for herself, share her ideas, or simply speak louder and be heard, but found it impossible to. 

            I wanted to show her gradual progression to finally becoming more assertive, finding her voice, and expressing herself, so I gave her small, steady wins as the story moved forward. I was most excited when at the end, she helped her father, displayed her strength to her family at last and gained recognition for it, even if the recognition was subtle. 

            Drawing from my childhood to write my protagonist, even though she was based on a real-life person I had access to and could speak with directly, helped me develop this character. It helped me create a plot I loved. It helped me write a book that is personal and so meaningful to me. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure how I would shape this story and her, but in the end, using these experiences allowed me to write what I hope is an authentic character that readers will relate to and write a book they can connect with emotionally. Whether or not your work is autobiographical, exploring your childhood feelings can help give your writing an affecting impact. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, V.T.! You can find her at https://www.vtbidania.com/ 

Giveaway Details 

V.T.’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of A Year Without Home 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 February 14th. 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 V.T. 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. 

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, February 3, I have an interview with Alichia Dow and a giveaway of her YA Until the Clock Strikes Midnight and my IWSG post 

Monday, February 9, I have an interview with Seema Yasmin and a giveaway of her MG Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can 

Wednesday, February 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tamara Kawar and a query critique giveaway 

Sunday, February 15, I’m participating in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop 

Monday, February 16, I have a guest post by Michael P. Spraudlin and a giveaway of his MG The Spider Strikes 

Monday, February 23, I have an interview with Christyne Morrell and a giveaway of her MG The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite 

Wednesday, February 25, I have an agent spotlight with Renee Runge and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop

Happy Sunday, Everyone! Today I'm excited to participate in the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop hosted by MamatheFox and MomDoesReviews. I hope you're somewhere not too cold this winter. It's frigid here, but I'm making the best of it. By March, it has to get into the 30s. I've been crocheting amigurumi animals and reading a lot. I just donated 27 to my local Catholic Social Services for foster kids. It really makes me feel good to know that my little animals may give some comfort to kids going through a hard time.  

Book of Your Choice or Amazon Gift Card Giveaway 

Now, onto my other passion--books! I’ve got a lot of exciting newly released MG and YA book choices this month that you might like. You can also choose another book in the series by these authors or a book of your choice. You can find descriptions of these books on Goodreads. Here are your choices:

If you haven't found a book you want, you can win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Giveaway Details

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 February 15

th telling me whether you want a book, and if so, which one, or the Amazon gift card and your email address. Be sure to include your email address. 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, 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. The book giveaway is U.S. only and the Amazon gift card giveaway is International.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, February 2, I have a guest post by V.T. Bidania and a giveaway of her MG A Year Without Home

Wednesday, February 3, I have an interview with Alichia Dow and a giveaway of her YA Until the Clock Strikes Midnight and my IWSG post

Monday, February 9, I have an interview with Seema Yasmin and a giveaway of her MG Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can

Wednesday, February 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tamara Kawar and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, February 15, I’m participating in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop

I hope to see you tomorrow!

And here are all the other blogs participating in this blog hop:

MamatheFox, Mom Does Reviews, and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Author Interview: Tracy Wolff and The Aftermyth Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Tracy Wolff here to share about the first book in her new middle grade fantasy series, The Aftermyth. It sounds like a real page turner with a very sympathetic main character whose plans are imploding. I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

In a world ruled by the tenets of Greek mythology, one girl’s fate is more than it appears in the first book in a new dark academia fantasy middle grade series from #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crave series Tracy Wolff.

What’s your myth?

Penelope Weaver has spent her whole life preparing to attend Anaximander’s Academy, where students learn how to bring to life the stories of Greek mythology as well as discover the Greek god whose principles they most embody. Penelope knows she’s an Athena—all smart, practical, and rule-following girls who take part in stories that matter are Athenas.

But when Penelope and her twin brother Paris arrive at Anaximander’s, it appears fate has other plans. Penelope isn’t placed with Athena but with students who are anything but practical and who prefer parties to rules. And that’s just the beginning. She’s given the world’s worst muse, her assigned tasks feel impossible, and the magic of Anaximander’s is overwhelming. Not to mention, there are two very different boys making her new life even more confusing.

But as things go from bad to dangerously worse, one thing becomes in a world where everything is fated to happen a certain way, some stories need to be rewritten. As the world around her shifts and cracks, Penelope is asked to forget everything she thought she knew to help create a better story…even if that changes every plan and breaks every rule. 

Follower News 

Before I get to Tracy’s interview, I have Follower News to share. Valinora Troy has a new MG fantasy, Lianna and the Hombit, releasing on 1/29/2026. Here’s a blurb: A grieving girl in need of a friend. A magical creature with a secret task. Can they end the ancient curse threatening their new home? You can find more information at www.valinoratroy.com

 

Interview With Tracy Wolff 

Hi Tracy! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

Hi! Thank you so much for having me 😊 And oh, wow. That is a question with a very long, very circuitous answer, but I’ll give it my best shot!

I always say that I’ve been a writer since I understood that letters made words and words made sentences that could entertain people, and while that might be an exaggeration, it’s really only a small one.
From the time I was very little, my dad trained me to be a writer, though I don’t think he knew that’s what he was doing. He would say that he was training me to use my imagination. If we were sitting outside or going for a walk, he’d tell me to close my eyes and listen really hard. Then he’d ask me to describe everything that I heard. Or, and these were my favorite days, we might be sitting on the couch about to watch a movie or play a game and he’d tell me to make up a story about my shirt or the stuffed animal in my arms or my slippers or the painting on the wall or … you get the drift.

I do know that I wrote my first short story when I was six or seven years old. It had a princess (and a prince), a rainbow, a leprechaun, and a happily ever after. I don’t remember much else about the story (except it was written in an aquamarine marker) but I do remember that it was the most fun I’d ever had. I couldn’t wait to write the next story, and I think that was the moment I decided I wanted to be a writer.

I spent the next twenty plus years of my life getting there. I joined every writing club/newspaper/literary magazine I could throughout high school and college. I wrote a play my junior year in high school that was professionally directed through something called the California Young Playwrights Project. I had my first poem published in a professional journal when I was in high school. And when I went to college and grad school, I majored in literature and creative writing. In graduate school, I worked under a biographer and memoirist, and when she thanked me in the acknowledgements of the book she wrote while I was her assistant, it was the first time my name was in print in a book published in New York. It was an exhilarating feeling and I swore, then and there, that it wouldn’t be the last time my name appeared in a book from the Big Six publishers (Big Five now). And the next time it happened, I was determined my name would be the one on the cover.

From there, I became an English teacher for middle school, high school, and then college, and continued writing as much as I could in between work and starting a family. But it wasn’t until my second son was born prematurely and the doctor suggested I stay home for a year to help heal his lungs, that I started pursuing writing seriously and professionally. During the course of that year, I wrote two books and a novella and they became my first New York published works—two from Harlequin and one from NAL, a division of Penguin Books.

I’ve been writing professionally ever since—young adult fantasies and contemporaries, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, books for kids with dyslexia, and now, finally, my very first middle grade novel. I am so excited about The Aftermyth and can’t wait to hear what people think of it. 

2. What an inspiring story. It’s so cool that your dad started you on your writing path. Where did you get the idea for The Aftermyth? 

The idea for The Aftermyth came from a bunch of different places. I have been wanting to write a middle grade forever, and when my editor mentioned she wanted a Greek mythology book, I jumped at the chance to write one. Each book in the series will follow Penelope Weaver, a young girl who is attending Anaximander’s Academy, a school where students are divided into 5 halls that honor 5 Greek gods, based on their personality traits and family legacies. I wanted Penelope to explore a different Greek myth in each book, and I started with Pandora’s Box because it is a myth that has always bothered me. Pandora was created by two gods (Zeus and Hephaestus) to punish two titans (Prometheus and Epimetheus), yet she is the one who has gotten blamed for opening the box/vase they gave her. This was a huge reminder to me that history is written by the winners, winners who—for millennia have been men—and I wanted to challenge that with The Aftermyth. Penelope is a mythweaver—someone who has the power to change myths—though she doesn’t know it at first, and The Aftermyth series is my shot at herstory instead of history. I had a fabulous time telling a funny,  action-packed story that also asks who gets to decide which myths we believe—and why.

Your Writing Process 

3. Share what your writing process was for The Aftermyth once you came up with the story idea, and how long it took to complete a draft to send to your agent and editor. 

I brainstormed The Aftermyth for a few months before I started writing, partly on my own and partly with my editor, as I worked out the pieces of the story I wanted to tell and the world I wanted to tell it in. But once I started writing, it took me about two months to write the book I turned in to my editor.

4. You wrote it in two months! As a slow writer, I need to take a class from you. Reviewers have said that The Aftermyth is a real page turner. What are your techniques for making readers, especially middle graders, want to keep turning the pages?

I am so thrilled and so grateful that early reviewers have been so positive and excited about the book! I don’t know if I have any actual techniques to keep people turning the pages, but I do like to write in short, action packed chapters that don’t take very long to read. Action-adventure mixed with humor is my favorite thing to write and I try to put as much of both into every chapter as I can. Also, my favorite thing about writing is creating characters who feel like real people. I have so much fun with their quirks and personalities, and I think people who read my books are invested in finding out what is going to happen next to whatever character in the story they like the most.

5. The Aftermyth is the first book in a series. You’ve written over 15 series already. How much of the rest of the series did you know as you wrote The Aftermyth? What tips do you have for other writers who want to write a series?

As I did with The Aftermyth, I tend to do a lot of brainstorming at the beginning of a series, working out the world, the big overarching problems, the character arcs, and a basic problem/growth arc for each book in the series. I like to know where I’m starting and where I’m going to end the series (though sometimes that changes along the way) and I usually have a few key scenes in mind for each book. Other than that, though, I like the world to grow organically in each book and see where it takes me.

I don’t have a lot of tips, except to keep a story bible. As a series grows and the world and list of characters expands, it’s helpful to have a list of rules, etc. that you have already set up in the series so that you can quickly reference it. For example, I might have a minor character in book one who plays a small but important part throughout the series. After writing them in book one, I like to make a quick note about them—what they look like, what color eyes they have, where they live, etc in the story bible. I remember who they are from book to book, but if it is a character who only has a couple pages per book, I might forget what color eyes they have or how they wear their hair, etc.

Another tip I have about writing a series I actually got from the middle grade and YA author Ally Carter. We were at a conference and having lunch with a bunch of other writers one day and she mentioned that her philosophy for series is to leave everything on the table in each book. Don’t hold a great idea back for the next book in the series—use every great idea you have in the book you are writing and worry about the next book when you get there or you run the risk of there not being another book in the series. I thought it was a great piece of advice when I heard it and it’s definitely something I try to live by even now. 

Your Journey to Publication 

6. Your tips are great. Your agent is Emily Sylvan Kim. Tell us how she became your agent and about how you’ve been able to publish over 60 books since you got your first publishing contract in 2007. 

Emily is my first and only agent and even after all these years, I still feel so lucky to work with her. I’m actually an impatient sort, and getting an agent is difficult at the best of times. So when I decided to concentrate on writing full time during that year I stayed home with my premature son, I sent chapters into two Harlequin writing contests with the hope of getting my work in front of editors who might actually buy it. I ended up placing in both contests and, after some revisions, one of the books was accepted for publication in a two book deal. That deal helped me get Emily’s attention and eventually she offered representation. 

Accepting that representation was one of the easiest (and best) decisions I’ve ever made. From the beginning, Emily was my first choice for an agent because everything I knew about her made me think we’d be a good fit. And it turns out I was right. The second book I’d entered in the second Harlequin contest was ultimately rejected because it wasn’t right for the category line it was aimed at, but when Emily signed me in November, she really liked the book and wanted to shop it. By early January, she had found Full Exposure a home at Penguin. That was nineteen years and more than seventy books ago, lol. 

7. What is your writing schedule like since you became a published author? How have you stayed so productive and juggled publishing multiple books a year? 

My schedule is a little wild. I am a slow plotter and a fast writer, so once I’ve figured out the main plot points of a book I can write it in a month or two (depending on the length). When I’m first starting a book, I tend to only write a couple thousand words a day because I’m still figuring things out. Somewhere around the middle of the book, my speed picks up and by the end, as I’m racing toward deadline, I usually write between seven and ten thousand words a day.

I usually only write one book at a time, but I can still brainstorm, edit, or do publicity for other books at the same time. So that’s mostly how I juggle—for most of my career, I’ve tended to have four projects in different stages at any given time. One that I’m brainstorming, one that I’m writing, one that I’m editing/doing copyedits or proofs for, and one that I’m actively doing book signings/interviews/publicity for. 

8. You write for middle grade through adult and in many different genres. For some books, you write under the names of Tracy Deebs and Tessa Adams. What made you decide to write under pen names when you’re so well known as Tracy Wolff? 

Back when I started my publishing journey, things were different. Your publishers wanted you to have different names for different projects. Tracy Wolff was the name my first books were published under. They were contemporary romances, and when I started writing YA, my YA publisher wanted me to write under a different name. Then when I started writing paranormal romances for adults, they wanted a third name, and Tessa Adams was born. Eventually, though, self-published authors helped show publishers that authors could be successful writing different types of books under the same name and I was able to streamline my different names back down to just one—Tracy Wolff. 

Marketing Your Books 

9. How are you planning to market The Aftermyth? How has your marketing strategy changed over the years? 

I’ve been very lucky to work with publishers with amazing marketing departments my whole career, so a lot of my marketing tends to go hand in hand with whatever they are doing. Simon and Schuster, who are publishing The Aftermyth, are incredible. They’ve been so wonderful to me and to this book at every step of the journey, including marketing.

As for what I do personally. I have a readers group, a newsletter, and a street team, so I will be publicizing The Aftermyth that way, as well as on my social media accounts. And yes, I am so excited that Simon and Schuster has organized an eleven-day signing tour for me, so I’ll be at various events in bookstores around the country in February.

10. What are you working on now? 

I am working on the second book in the Aftermyth series, the second book in my Calder Academy YA series, and a brand new Romantasy novel for adults. Thanks so much for having me! 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Tracy. You can find Tracy at tracywolffauthor.com, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Giveaway Details

Tracy’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of The Aftermyth 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 February 7th. 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 Tracy 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. 

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

Sunday, February 1, I’m participating in the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop

Monday, February 2, I have a guest post by V.T. Bidania and a giveaway of her MG A Year Without Home

Wednesday, February 3, I have an interview with Alichia Dow and a giveaway of her YA Until the Clock Strikes Midnight and my IWSG post

Monday, February 9, I have an interview with Seema Yasmin and a giveaway of her MG Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can

Wednesday, February 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tamara Kawar and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, February 15, I’m participating in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop

I hope to see you on Sunday!