Spooky season is starting early for all you fans of paranormal novels – Ciera Burch’s Camp Twisted Pine releases tomorrow, perfectly timed to kick off the autumn! And today, we have an interview with the author herself to whet your appetite! Don’t forget you can still preorder Camp Twisted Pine here, to get it straightaway tomorrow!
And you can also keep up with Ciera via instagram.
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
Yes! I’ve always been a huge reader and the desire to write branched off naturally from there, as soon as I was able to put pencil to paper and create words of my own. I was definitely younger when I started writing, but I wrote what I’d probably consider my first ‘real’ story at about 9 or 10.
What pieces of media would you say were formative for you? Do you see any of their features in your own writing?
Oh, man, so many! I was a kid at such a great, blossoming time for kids books, MG and especially YA! Definitely series like Percy Jackson and the Olympians that I just really enjoyed, but also movies like the 1995 Casper or My Girl (still crying to this day) that dealt with heavier topics like death and grief that have definitely become a hallmark in my own work.
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 see an actual apple! I think it does impact my process, especially when it comes to writing setting or describing things. I can absolutely get lost in trying to set the scene and a lot of unnecessary details that I loved, and thought I did a pretty good job on, end up getting cut in editing, often by me and not my editor.
If you wanted to learn about craft, which three authors would you suggest reading?
Mildred D. Taylor, Octavia Butler, and Holly Black. Can I sneak Brian K. Vaughn in there too? I think graphic novel and comics is just a fascinating storytelling medium!
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
I focus on the characters. I’m a very character based writer, even over plot, and I try to make them feel as realistic and dynamic as possible. After all, they’re telling and/or driving the story—there’s no story without them! If I can make them—and their emotions and choices and reactions—fully human, then I know, at least for me, that the book is set and that it will come to life for folks.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’m currently working on my next MG, tentatively titled Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away, about a girl who’s never had a crush on anyone before, unlike her friends, and starts to literally go invisible as she tries to figure out what it means. I’m also working on my next YA, Out of Step, Into You, about two cross country runners who were best friends, became rivals, and now have to be teammates as they try to deal with their feelings for one another.
Three pictures that capture the aesthetic of your book?
I knew my Pinterest board would come in handy someday!
Three songs you would put in your book’s soundtrack?
I never actually have playlists for my MG novels and now I’ve gotta think about it! Hm. I’d say: Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield, Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, and Runaway by AURORA. Maybe substitute any of those for What’s New, Scooby Do by Octopus Montage.
What would be your dream project?
Oh, it’d be like some long, Ulysses-esque mediation on love and grief and personhood with really fleshed out characters and not true plot. That, or a ghost/human sweet love story.
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Oh, easy. The Jersey Devil.
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
The hardest question! I’m gonna go: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, and Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth.
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
Can I pick Megan Thee Stallion, for fun? Beyond how cool she is, she’s a big anime nerd and I feel like we could come up with the strangest, most fun graphic novel ever, honestly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ciera Burch is a lifelong reader, writer, and ice cream aficionado. She has a B.A from American University and an MFA from Emerson College.
When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons, eating ice cream, and thinking up more spooky stories with Black girls at the center. While she is originally from New Jersey, she currently resides in Washington, D.C with her stuffed animals, plants, and far too many books and D&D dice.
Find her on Instagram @cierasburch. She’d rather you not find her on Tumblr.
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