About the Author: Kate Fussner
What would you like readers to know about you?
I'm an educator, novelist, and accidental poet living in MA with my wife and our dramatic dog. In my free time, I like to swim laps, bake delicious treats, and walk in our local arboretum.
What music do you listen to (if any) when you write?
I love making playlists for my novel-writing sessions, although they are not necessarily directly correlated to the novel's plot. Rather, they are playlists meant to help evoke the emotions in me that I'm trying to create within my stories. For example, I'm working on a YA novel at the moment and I'm using many songs from my high school years to drum up the feelings I experienced when I was the age of my protagonist.
What books or authors inspired you to become a writer?
I've always been a voracious reader, so it's hard to imagine a time when I wasn't feeling inspired by some book or some writer (in other words, there are too many to name!). Several important ones are writers that I've had the incredible fortune of learning directly from (Kiese Laymon, Paul Russell, Jason Reynolds, Tracey Baptiste, Michelle Knudsen, and Cynthia Platt) and those whose stories inspired me in my adolescence to write my own stories (Sandra Cisneros, Jeanette Winterson, and Tim O'Brien).
About the Book: The Song of Us
What is your book about for those who haven’t read it?
THE SONG OF US is a queer middle grade novel-in-verse inspired by the Greek myth, "Orpheus and Eurydice," starring two seventh grade Boston girls destined to learn to love themselves as they love and lose each other forever. It's perfect for fans of middle grade books by Ashley Herring Blake and Jasmine Warga.
What has been your inspiration for writing it?
I came up with the idea in my third semester of my MFA program. Despite the fact that I had never written middle grade stories and I had not written a single poem since high school, I felt this deep urgency to try to write this story. I am so glad I listened to that silly gut feeling of mine, because it was right. I needed to tell this story.
What was your favorite scene or part of your book to write?
My favorite scene to write was when Olivia and Eden hang out after school together, and Olivia teaches Eden how to hang upside down from the monkey bars. It was a moment that captured so much of middle school: wanting to play like a child, and wanting to love as hard as grown ups seemed to.
Where can your book be purchased?
Starting May 30, THE SONG OF US is available wherever books are sold! But I highly recommend checking out Porter Square Books (MA) or Children's Book World (PA) if you'd like a signed copy.
To the Future Writer:
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write a book?
Sometimes, the gut will tell you to write something. Your brain might say, "I can't possibly write that book. It's too weird! or too silly! or too outside my wheelhouse! or I don't even know how." This is an opportunity for you to push back against your brain gently by asking, "But what if I can?"
What’s next for you? Any events, upcoming pubs, etc.
I have a bunch of events in June 2023! You can find more on my website atkatefussner.com. I will have a second middle grade novel-in-verse out with HarperCollins in 2024, and I can't wait to tell so many more stories.
Where can we find you:
Twitter- @katefussner
Instagram- @kafussner
Facebook-@Kate Fussner
Website- www.katefussner.com
What’s on your TBR list?
So many books!! But right now I can't wait to read all of these books out later this year and early next year:
- Iris Kelly Doesn't Date - Ashley Herring Blake
- The Invisible World - Nora Fussner (Yes, she is my sister, but I haven't read the finished version yet!)
- The Otherwoods - Justine Pucella Winans
- Linus and Etta Could Use a Win - Caroline Huntoon
- Asking for a Friend - Ronnie Riley
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