Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Lillie Lainoff, Author of One for All; On Writing Re-imagining The Three Musketeers, Disability and POTS Representation, and Fencing

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

I love having old friends of the Pond visiting us again! In July last year, I had the delight of having Lillie Lainoff visit us to talk about her favourite sword-wielding girls in fiction and history! At the time, her stabby YA debut, One for All was releasing in a distant seven months. Fast forward to today, and One for All releases in just a little under two weeks! So, I am so thrilled and happy to have Lillie Lainoff visiting us again today, this time for an author interview that I loved.

Welcome Back to Black History Month at the Pond! Celebrating Black Authors and Literature in February 2022

Welcome back to the Pond, friends, and also a warm welcome to another Black History Month series at the Pond. Last year in 2021, we ran our first ever Black History Month at the Pond, and we had so much fun putting it together. Though we won’t be having as many guests like we have had in previous years, we are excited to celebrate Black History Month once more, and we have some awesome interviews with wonderful Black authors and book recommendation posts lined up.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Chloe Gong, Author of These Violent Delights; On Growing as an Author and Person, Writing Historical Fantasies, and Foul Lady Fortune

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

A little over a year ago, I had dinner with Chloe Gong and the friend who connected us when Chloe was back home in Aotearoa (New Zealand). At the time, These Violent Delights hadn’t released yet and we yarned about books, upcoming debut life, and all the other things that friends talk about over pasta and ice cream. Then, I told Chloe that, one day when she comes back home, we’d go out and celebrate all of her successes. Because of how the world is right now, travel is hard – and I don’t think we’ll get the chance to celebrate in-person for awhile longer. But, even though Chloe can’t visit me in Aotearoa, she can, however, visit me at the Pond – which brings us to this truly exciting and wonderful post today.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Rebecca Kim Wells – On Fairy-Tale Reimaginings, Compelling Character Arcs, & Writing Fantasy with a Human Touch

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

I have a big soft spot for fairytale-inspired stories, especially ones written by diverse authors. I knew I was going to like Briar Girls from its lovely blurb (a mysterious forest, a cursed girl, and a hidden world of magic? How could I resist?), but I wasn’t prepared to fall head over heels for its realistic, compelling characters and intriguing worldbuilding. We’re so honored to have Rebecca Kim Wells at the Pond today to share a few secrets behind her upcoming YA fantasy book!

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Ryka Aoki, Author of Light from Uncommon Stars – On Inspiration, Learning the Violin, and the Magic of Queerness in Speculative Fiction

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Friends, I genuinely think Light from Uncommon Stars is the best book I’ve read this year so far. The premise of a runaway violinist who ends up getting mentored by a legendary musician (who may or may not have struck a deal with the devil) was already so compelling, but I truly did not expect the story to grab me by my heart and shatter all of my emotions—only to put the world back together kinder, sweeter in the end. It is such an honor to have Ryka Aoki at the Pond to talk about her lovely balm of a book today, and I’m so excited to share our discussion with you!