Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest is Alex Aster whose first book, Emblem Island, comes out in Spring 2020. Alex is represented by Laura Bradford, at Bradford Literary Agency.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

The idea for the Emblem Island series came from a story my Colombian grandmother first told me when I was four years old. In this specific cuento, a girl is gifted a beautiful marking on her forehead for following the rules, and her wicked sister is given horns for breaking them. The idea of earning or being given symbols stuck with me, and became the basis of the Emblem Island world, where everyone is born with markings on their skin that dictate their fate and talents.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

Like most authors, this isn’t the first book I’ve written—but it was the first to get published, and, surprisingly, was the easiest to write. In Curse of the Night Witch, the main character, Tor Luna, is cursed with a deadly emblem, and must find the mysterious Night Witch to reverse his curse. Because it’s a quest, I found building the plot to be not only a smoother process, but also a lot of fun! As the characters got closer to the Night Witch, and crossed Emblem Island for the first time, I was able to write in all sorts of magical, treacherous, and scary scenarios or characters they would run into on their journey.

Also, because of the impact Latinx stories had on my life and creativity, it was important for me to include some stories inspired by Latinx myths, including La Llorona, and La Ciguapa. From there, I wrote my own original stories, which became The Book of Cuentos, the book my main characters have to use to find the Night Witch. We decided in edits to include stories from this book between most chapters, so it’s almost like a book within a book, which I think is pretty cool!

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

In its first iteration, the story was pretty much the same as it is now—but 25,000 words shorter. After I signed with Laura Bradford, my amazing agent, the book expanded, and included many more adventures and worlds within Emblem Island. From the beginning, I had a pretty good idea of how the story would end up, and it was just a matter of getting the characters there. This is definitely not how I typically write, but the plot remained pretty firmly in place the entire way through.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Story ideas don’t come easily when I’m trying to look for them, but love to fall like clumsy shooting stars and hit me over the head when I least expect it. Once an idea I love is in my hands, it grows pretty rapidly, and it’s up to me to contain it all in a story. I’m also very inspired by music—certain songs set the mood for the tale I’m trying to tell, and I’ll often listen to the same track on a loop while I’m writing.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I’ve started a few very different stories after selling Emblem Island: Curse of the Night Witch, but one in particular has stuck. I finished writing it, and am now re-writing it, but I’m not in a huge rush, the same way I have been for other books. This time, I’m letting the inspiration come at me in its own time, instead of forcing it. But I do hope to have it finished by the time the first Emblem Island book comes out, which is June 9th! In terms of how to choose which story to write next, I think story ideas are kind of like roommates—you might enjoy a conversation or two with a certain person (or idea), but which one do you want to live with (mentally) for the next few years? Writing a book means living with the story for a long while, and reading it dozens of times, so it’s a pretty big commitment, and you really have to love it to give it the time and dedication it deserves.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

That’s so cute! I don’t have a permanent writing buddy, but I do sometimes borrow my twin sister’s ridiculously cute miniature poodle, Leo. He’s not distracting because he pretty instantly falls asleep in a ball in my lap.