Ero, How are you fantastic? How are you doing today? Leah?
I'm living the dream. You have the best name. It's just one of
those radio names, you know, sitting around the house one day going wow,
what can I do to attract listeners? But man, it totally bit
me. And with the other direction though, because everybody goes your name Earl
Errol, What are you right? Hey? You're writing a book here,
and you've released a book that really is so important to today's why A readers,
And the reason why is because it's about self empowerment. It's about looking
at yourself in the mirror and saying I like you, Yeah, yeah,
absolutely, And that's so hard to do when you're a young person and the
entire world is telling you all the things that you're not or what you should
be. How did you step into this storyline? Because you know how books
are when when you I mean, my last book came to me while I
was walking through a mall. What about this one? You know what?
It came to me while I was trapped in my childhood bedroom at my parents'
house during quarantine. I wanted to escape that little, tiny room so badly.
And the thing that I thought about like, what is most fantastical,
what is most exciting? Why not write a book about a superhero? Yeah?
Yeah, and you love superheroes anyway, and so when you combine it
with writing my God, then that turns you into the story maker, right
right. It's it's hitting all the beats, it's writing my wheelhouse. So
it was perfect. Did it come out easily or was it one of those
things we had to weigh out the you know, the paragraphs and make sure
that this met with this one. And you know, because you know,
when when it comes to laying out the storyline, I mean, it can
come at you in so many different ways. Right, This was the easiest
book I've ever written. Sometimes, Erro, you know how it is.
Sometimes you struggle, you're in the you're in the creative mode and you're going
through it. But this book came to me so naturally, and it was
the most fun I've ever had writing. What made you bring up an earthquake?
Of all things? The earthquake is a game changer in this it really
is. You know. So I'm from Indiana, all flat land. We
don't have a lot of earthquakes in Indiana obviously, and so in true superhero
fashion. If something that unusual happens, you know that there's going to be
something supernatural happening on the other end. Did you have to go and do
some research on earthquakes to find out what it was like? Because I mean,
you know, it's one of those things where you can't imagine unless you
you know, watch it a lot of movies or documentaries about earthquake quakes,
but you still didn't experience it, you know, personally. You know what,
I didn't have to do a lot of research. We have one earthquake
in my lifetime in Indiana and it woke me up out of my sleep when
I was in like ninth grade, and so I know how jarring that can
feel and how unusual. And you know that type of disorientation is prime prime
superhero making. What is it about the relationship between Abby and Ellie? What
is the connection there? And is it it? Did it really happen in
your life and you just basically put it on the page. I've had a
lot of really really close important friendships over the course of my life, and
I think sometimes you can grow up together and who you become as you grow
is sometimes at odds with each other. So I really wanted to write a
friendship where they have such deep love and care for each other but obviously are
going through really different things and have to figure out how to navigate that together.
Yeah, because that's so important right now, because a lot of young
adults, you know, a friend to them is somebody they met on TikTok
or it's not even Facebook. For young adults right now, they don't go
to Facebook. But the thing is is that social media is their friend,
and it's like, man, you need some FaceTime right right? You know?
I think so I was raised on the Internet. I came up on
in the MySpace era, and so a lot of the relationships that I built
in my formative years were relationships with people who I never got to see,
and so I know how important those connections can be for young people. But
I all so know how crucial it is to have friends in your community right
by your side who you can see every day and rely on. You bring
up my Space. I just did a huge interview last week about my space
because it's still going. But did you know that it was designed one for
young adults? And your writing books for young adults? Look at that full
circle there right right? It comes right back together. I didn't know that,
but I'm not surprised at all. What is it about the young adult?
Is it because their imaginations are still wide open and they're not jarred closed
by boss is always telling you what to say. Oh, that's a huge
part of it. And the other part of it is that there is such
a bigness to every experience you have as a young person because it's the first
time you're navigating it, and it's really exciting to be able to write through
those huge emotions and be able to put myself right back in that headspace,
keeping humor alive inside your sentences. That takes a lot of focus and a
lot of balance. When did you know that it was okay that, yeah,
this is gonna be a good line. Oh yeah, I'm feeling it.
You know. Sometimes I don't know that it's a hot bar. Sometimes
I don't know that it's like a really great line until I hear somebody else
read it back to me and I'm like, whoa, who did that?
Me? Oh, she's on it. So sometimes it comes really naturally and
it feels good the second it comes out, and sometimes it takes weeks and
weeks of revision. Before I can see it. I'm glad you said revision,
because that's what scares a lot of people into, you know, putting
their books in boxes underneath their bed or in the attic, because it's like
that revision. People fear it is a growing place. And how did you
move through that moment when you it's like, you know, I need to
take these words out. It doesn't fit anymore. I'm not feeling it.
Yeah, I'm really fortunate that I have a team of editors that I trust,
and I've always had trustworthy editors, so I know that they're not going
to steer me wrong. So I can bring them work that maybe is not
fully formed yet, or an idea that I know I want to unpack a
little more, but I'm not sure how to get there, and they are
able to put me on track to where I need to go or push me
in the right direction. And so a lot of that is having people around
me whose feedback I can rely on, and knowing that at the end of
the day, the story can't get better until it gets written, and so
sometimes you just have to write the bad thing before you can get to the
good stuff. Ella Ingle doesn't have a cat doesn't have a dog. She's
got a pet fish. Wow, what are you guys doing in Middle America?
You know, I think I think they may have beta fish on the
East and West coast as well. I'm not sure, but I do think
they moved. Yeah, beat a fish is the one that never moves.
You just sit there looking at it going hello, hello, right right,
And they can live for so long. That's the thing. I needed a
fish that was going to be able to get us, get us from the
beginning of the book to be into the book. So now we're talking about
the book, Ellie Ingle Saves Herself. I want to say world, but
it's crossed out. I love the way that you crossed it out because and
that's so important because a lot of people will scratch things out or put white
out on it, or even just take it off on their phone. First
thoughts are always important thoughts. So to come back with herself on it is
so important to me as a writer, because you gave me your first thought,
the world, and then you changed it to herself right right. Well,
you know, I think part of this too is that the expectation is
in order to be a hero, in order to be great, you have
to save everyone, and I don't think that's the case. I think that
ordinary acts of heroism, the nurses that work every day, our teachers,
are librarians. I think those are even more impressive acts of heroism. And
sometimes that is just about being able to save yourself or the really really close
knit community around you. So what's next. You've got to be working on
something right now, because creative minds don't ever turn off. Oh yeah,
So next year we have Bree Boyd is a Legend, which is the sequel
to Elie Ingle, and it takes one of the side characters from this story
and makes her a hero in her own right. So you like to putting
your you know, a little series together here, aren't you? I am?
I am. It's it's it's a real adventure to be able to stick
with characters for longer than one book. So it's we're growing together. So
because you know, for many writers when they do write one book, when
when they finish it up and then relinquish it to the to the reader,
it's it's almost like we go through a morning because it's like, oh my
god, they're gone. I can't I can't write about them anymore. Everybody
else has got them right right. Well, you know, I started in
my Ya novels. My first two books exist in the same universe, so
some of the characters from the first book make like little background appearances in the
second book. And I I've found that that sort of helps motivate me through
my stories, is to make them all part of the same, same,
larger story. So um, I've had a little bit of practice, But
this is a rootball game. You got to come back to this show anytime
in the future. The door is always going to be open for you.
Leah. Oh, thank you so much. I'm taking you up on that
offer. Will you be brilliant today? Okay, I will thank you so much.