If you’re a fan of middle grade literature, then surely you must have been eagerly anticipating Michelle Mohrweis’s debut The Trouble With Robots, which is out in just five days time (!!!!) (still time to preorder, in case you were wondering). And if you are, boy do we have an exciting post for you today—an interview with the author themself! So get yourself a cup of [insert beverage of choice] and have a read!
And don’t forget that you can follow Michelle on twitter too!
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
I’ve enjoyed writing for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I used to write stories in notebooks alongside my brother. I remember writing a story about a kid transported into the Candy Land board game when I was in elementary school. I wrote in the margins of my notes during middle school and in every spare moment I had in high school. In college I wrote my first full novel during NaNoWriMo (a novel that was rather terrible, so I’m glad it never saw the light of day!) To be honest, I don’t know if I ever truly decided I wanted to be a writer, so much as the idea of storytelling and writing was always there in the back of my mind. It felt right to write stories, and I’ve never been able to imagine doing anything else.
What are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
I adore YA fantasy and scifi! I read so many scifi/fantasy books and I hope to one day publish one also. I have a few YA side projects I’ve been poking at in my spare time, so maybe someday it will happen. I also really like middle grade contemporary, which is good since that’s the genre I currently write most!
As for genres I wouldn’t write… probably horror. I get so scared that I usually can’t read it (except in a few cases) so I don’t think I’d be very good at writing it.
I also used to think I wasn’t super into YA contemporary, but I have a lot of friends who write it, so I’ve been reading more and more. I’ve found I enjoy it!
When you close your eyes and imagine an apple, what do you see? An actual apple, a sketch of one, a blackness? Do you think that impacts your writing process?
I 100% see the apple. I’m a very visual person, and when I write, one of the first things I do is draw out my characters. When I’m stuck on a scene I’ll take a bike ride or walk, and as I go I’ll imagine the scene playing out like a tv show or movie. It helps me so much with descriptions and figuring out the flow of a story!
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
I usually start by looking at the dynamics of the world. Who is in charge? What dangers are there? What’s the lore and history of the world? How does the world handle certain things compared to our world, like LGBTQ+ rights and treatment? Then I come back to the characters, and I look at how the world I’ve drafted would impact them.
With my middle grade contemporary, this can be both easy and hard. My books are set in the world we already live in, but I still must figure out what things are like on a smaller scale within that world. In a way, the school they are at is a world of its own, so I have to build up what the dynamics are, when the classes happen, what supports do the characters have, ect.
With the scifi/fantasy WIPs I’m drafting, it’s so much tricker since then I’m building everything from the ground up. At the same time, that also gives me a level of freedom to imagine the worlds exactly how I want them.
For really bringing the world to life, I hone in on the small details. The little traditions, the small habits, the little things around a home. Those details give depth to the background I’ve built in a story and really let it shine.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’ve got a few! I can’t talk about everything, but I am actively working on edits for my second book, Young Engineers. I’ve also been drafting some YA scifi and fantasy wips. I don’t know where I’ll go with them or if they’ll ever see the light of day, but they are fun to work on. Finally, I have a really cool project I’m working on about… well… I can’t actually say anything about it yet! But maybe soon!
Three images that capture the aesthetic of your book?
For The Trouble with Robots, the first image is probably a room with gears and bits of metal scattered about, with the tables covered in plans and blueprints as the robotics team frantically makes last changes to the robot right before a big tournament. Here and there are bits of the characters’ personalities: Evelyn’s headphones thrown onto a table, a backpack with a rainbow heart pin leaning against the wall, Allie’s notebook and pencils scattered in a corner where she was working last, a box of half-eaten cupcakes precariously balanced on a table next to Allen wrenches and bolts. It’s messy and chaotic, but also welcoming.
The second image would be a group of kids, standing awkwardly around each other, not quite sure how to reach out and bridge that gap to friendship, but also so tired of being lonely.
The third image would be a saguaro cactus, reaching to the sky as it grows tall. Pitted with holes and old wounds, but still growing strong despite it all.
What would be your dream project?
To be honest, whatever I’m working on at the time is my dream project. I’ve fallen so in love with each and every story I draft. In the moment when I’m working on a project, it is the most important story to me. I’m so happy with what I’ve achieved: the books I have coming out and the books I’m working. They are my dream projects already.
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Oh that’s tough! Evelyn is really good at problem solving, but Allie is tough as nails. Alex has probably played a dozen zombie survival games though and would be ready to tackle it, but DJ is so quick with ideas that he’d be a good bet too. Varsha knows how to make crossbows with old robotics parts and rubberbands though, and Santino is so caring he wouldn’t let anyone fall behind to get zombified. Sooooo… maybe I’d try to take the entire robotics team with me?
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
Only three??? This question breaks my heart! There’s too many good ones to choose!
If I had to pick just three, I adore Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow. The queer first crush plotline was amazing to see in a middle grade book! On the YA side, I can’t get enough of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes. They wrote such nuanced and amazing characters. I also loved the long-distance romance in Fifteen Hundred Miles from The Sun by Jonny Garza Villa.
Though, what if I’m feeling more like reading fantasy? I can’t resist Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor. Queer characters, magic you drink, and a 1920’s aesthetic? Yes please! Also Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron has my heart. It’s an amazing queer after the fairytale type story! Oh, and if I’m feeling something more post apocalyptic, I can’t resist reading Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White.
Oops. That’s more than three, isn’t it? There’s just so many great LGBTQ+ books out now though!
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
Honestly, there are so many amazing authors in our community that answering this question would take up more room than all my other answers combined!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Mohrweis is a STEM Educator and space enthusiast. When not writing, they can be found launching paper rockets down the middle of their street. They live with their husband and two dogs in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking and hogging all the best spots beside the heater when it gets too cold. Follow them on Twitter @Mohrweis_Writes and visit them on the web at michellemohrweis.com.
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