Hey everyone! Welcome to the start of the YA reads 2015 Debut Authors Bash!
Make sure you check out all the other blogs as well!
Jasmine Warga
Hi, I'm Jasmine. I live and write in a small town (technically a
village, but that sounds so medieval) that is a few miles outside of
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Since I find it exceedingly uncomfortable to write about myself, I will keep this short. MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES is my first novel and will be published by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in Winter 2015. My second novel, which is currently untitled, will most likely be published in 2016.
My Heart and Other Black Holes
Sixteen-year-old physics
nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who
can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind
her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel
is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness. There’s
only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But
once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners,
Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username
FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking
for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in
common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as
their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question
whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must
choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so
they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that
Roman may not be so easy to convince.
1) Is 'My Heart and Other Black Holes' your first time writing or have you been writing since you were younger?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I started to get more serious about my writing around the age of twenty-two, but I had trouble finishing projects. I would start novels and lose momentum around page 50 or so. (I still have this problem to some respect to be honest!). MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES is my first published novel, though it’s definitely not the first novel I ever tried to write.
2) I know you wrote this book after a close friend of yours passed on; (I'm sorry for your loss) Do you think this kind of helped you understand or get over what happened?
I don’t think that writing the book helped me get over losing my friend. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be over losing my dear friend. In Jandy Nelson’s beautiful book, THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, the narrator states: “Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath.” And I really think that is true. But I do think working on this book was a huge part of my grieving process. It allowed me to contemplate for hours on what it means to die, and more importantly, what it means to live.
3) Before you were a full-time writer you were a science teacher - do you think this helped you with your book?
Help? I’m not sure if it helped, but it certainly influenced the book. I think Aysel’s penchant for physics stems directly from my frustration at having to teach physics when I knew so little about it. (I’m terrible at science and it was a really bad idea that I was assigned to teach it!) I also think that teaching was such a life-changing experience in general for me. I was so affected by my wonderful students so those interactions have certainly influenced my writing.
4) I personally have gone through some of the issues in this book so this really touched my heart - Other than "Everything gets better" what is something you want the readers to take from this book?
First, thank you so much for your kind words—it means so much to me to hear from readers like you who have struggled in similar ways to Aysel. To answer your question, I’m not even sure that everything gets better, but I want readers to understand that they will get better. You are stronger and braver than you realize. And you are more loved than you realize. I want more people to understand that depression is an illogical illness that lies. It will try to convince you that you are alone. But you are not alone—you are never alone. Please hold on. And please reach out and get the help you need. We are all counting on you to stick around.
5) Of course I have to settle on Aysel as my favorite character but I love them all. Do you have a favorite character? Why?
Oh, I don’t know! I’m probably partial to Aysel was well since she was my narrative companion throughout the novel and I knew her better than any of the other characters. I also have a soft spot for Aysel’s little brother and Roman’s mother just because I believe that they are so full of love and very large-hearted.
6) Are you currently writing another book? If so, Can you tell us anything about it?
Yes! It’s actually written and I’m currently revising it under the guidance of my brilliant editor. I’m really excited about it. I can’t say too much about it yet, but it’s about music/reclusive rock stars, fandom, and secrets. It’s certainly different from MY HEART, but I think ultimately plays with some of the same themes.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I started to get more serious about my writing around the age of twenty-two, but I had trouble finishing projects. I would start novels and lose momentum around page 50 or so. (I still have this problem to some respect to be honest!). MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES is my first published novel, though it’s definitely not the first novel I ever tried to write.
2) I know you wrote this book after a close friend of yours passed on; (I'm sorry for your loss) Do you think this kind of helped you understand or get over what happened?
I don’t think that writing the book helped me get over losing my friend. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be over losing my dear friend. In Jandy Nelson’s beautiful book, THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, the narrator states: “Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath.” And I really think that is true. But I do think working on this book was a huge part of my grieving process. It allowed me to contemplate for hours on what it means to die, and more importantly, what it means to live.
3) Before you were a full-time writer you were a science teacher - do you think this helped you with your book?
Help? I’m not sure if it helped, but it certainly influenced the book. I think Aysel’s penchant for physics stems directly from my frustration at having to teach physics when I knew so little about it. (I’m terrible at science and it was a really bad idea that I was assigned to teach it!) I also think that teaching was such a life-changing experience in general for me. I was so affected by my wonderful students so those interactions have certainly influenced my writing.
4) I personally have gone through some of the issues in this book so this really touched my heart - Other than "Everything gets better" what is something you want the readers to take from this book?
First, thank you so much for your kind words—it means so much to me to hear from readers like you who have struggled in similar ways to Aysel. To answer your question, I’m not even sure that everything gets better, but I want readers to understand that they will get better. You are stronger and braver than you realize. And you are more loved than you realize. I want more people to understand that depression is an illogical illness that lies. It will try to convince you that you are alone. But you are not alone—you are never alone. Please hold on. And please reach out and get the help you need. We are all counting on you to stick around.
5) Of course I have to settle on Aysel as my favorite character but I love them all. Do you have a favorite character? Why?
Oh, I don’t know! I’m probably partial to Aysel was well since she was my narrative companion throughout the novel and I knew her better than any of the other characters. I also have a soft spot for Aysel’s little brother and Roman’s mother just because I believe that they are so full of love and very large-hearted.
6) Are you currently writing another book? If so, Can you tell us anything about it?
Yes! It’s actually written and I’m currently revising it under the guidance of my brilliant editor. I’m really excited about it. I can’t say too much about it yet, but it’s about music/reclusive rock stars, fandom, and secrets. It’s certainly different from MY HEART, but I think ultimately plays with some of the same themes.
Hope you all enjoyed this little interview! I sure did! I thank her so very much for taking some of her time out of her day to do this with me!
If you loved this book as much as I did then make sure you enter my giveaway!!
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