There’s nothing I love more than announcing a gorgeous new voice in middle grade fantasy. So it’s with great pleasure that I introduce you to K. A. Reynolds, debut author of the magical, glorious The Land of Yesterday. Welcome to The Winged Pen, K. A.!

JA: More and more often, we’re seeing middle grade authors tackle tough subjects like grief, mental illness, and trauma for younger audiences. Can you talk a little bit about what led you to this particular story and the importance of getting stories like this into the hands of children who might identify with Cecelia’s grief and loneliness?

KR: When this story found me, I’d spent three weeks lost in my own depression, convinced my dream of being an author was dead. But, as I was crying on my bedroom floor, a mess of tears and sorrow, a strange sorrowful girl with blue hair appeared in the darkness of my mind. She was crying so hard, her tears spread through her own bedroom and turned everything near her to paper, including herself. I saw Cecelia so clearly. I jumped up, revitalized, and wrote. Three weeks later, the first draft of The Land of Yesterday was born.

As I was drafting, however, I realized this story had rooted in me years ago. My mother died suddenly when I was seven. I was in shock. Scared. Grieving. Desperate to have my mother back. So, I went into the basement and wrote her a letter. Asked her why she left me and if she was coming back. I made a little homemade envelope for my letter, taped it up, stood in the middle of the bright red carpet, and closed my eyes. I’d been told by grown-ups my mum was an angel now, so seven-year-old logic told me that if I threw my little letter high, she’d catch it in heaven. But, when I threw the letter in the air, it hit the ceiling and zig-zagged back down, uncaught, unseen, unread. I dropped to my knees, pushed my face into the carpet, and cried.

My gentle mother and best friend wasn’t coming back.

I don’t recall what became of my letter, but it was the first inspiration for The Land of Yesterday. After Cecelia’s little brother dies suddenly and her mother leaves to go after his ghost, Cecelia writes her own mother a letter, in the ink of Cecelia’s saddest and most magical tears, asking her why she left and when she was coming back. It was as if that little unanswered letter I wrote all those years ago had stayed with me, waiting for this moment to rise.

As a child, I was desperate to know I wasn’t the only kid grieving and battling monsters. I was desperate for understanding, especially by my peers. But sadly, as a middle grader, I never found it. That’s why this book exists. It’s so importantto me that kids navigating what may be the darkest parts of their lives know they aren’t alone. I wanted other children like me to have a friend in this book, Cecelia and her family, and in me. A friend to walk alongside them through the darkness. A friend who’s been to hell and back and survived to tell the tale.

For me, understanding is the most important book quality of all.

JA: Tell us about your background in poetry and how it helped you with writing The Land of Yesterday! 

KR: I began writing poetry very young. My first poem was a Shakespearean sonnet about my cat Julia pooping on the dining room table! 😊For some reason, that really, um, inspired eight-year-old me. I’ve been hooked on poetry ever since.

As a child and teen, writing and reading poetry helped me release, examine, and make sense of my conflicting emotions, thoughts, and pain. Helped me connect with the often-confusing world. Through poetry, I discovered metaphor, which is such an excellent medium for exploring and understanding the complexities of love and grief, death and fear, especially for children. It taught me how the words written can mean much more they seem. That there is just as much meaning hidden between the lines of a poem as there is up front on the page.

So, yes, my background in being a published poet and longtime reader, definitely helped in writing the story of The Land of Yesterday. A story in which I wrote a cage inside a girl’s center with a lantern inside. A story where, when her lantern is unlit on the page, between the lines, I’m showing the reader she is lost and hurt, scared and sad. And when her lantern is lit on the page, between the lines, I’m showing the reader she’s gaining strength and courage, confidence and hope. That she is finding her way.

I always say I’m a poet first, novelist second. Poetry is a way of seeing the world. And once your eyes are open to it, I’m not sure you can see it any other way.

JA: You start the book with a quote from CS Lewis and its heroine is named Cecelia Dahl, which I took as a reference to Roald Dahl (one of my favorites!). Do you consider them both influences on your work? Who else inspired you and this story?

KR: Yes! That quote from C.S. Lewis is one of my most beloved. “Courage, dear heart.” Those three little words pack so much feeling and hidden backstory inside them that it felt like the perfect introduction to the emotional journey in The Land of Yesterday.

And you guessed correctly with Dahl! Roald Dahl’s weird and fantastical worlds filled with humor, emotion, whimsy, and fantasy, gave me an escape from my sad reality as a child, and a strong foundation as a future author of weird and fantastical worlds. It only seemed fitting to honor the author I loved so much by giving Cecelia, a girl turning into a paper doll from grief, the name of Dahl.

As for other inspirations, The Little Prince is my #1 favorite children’s book, so it played a huge role, not only in this story, but in my life. Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a genius beyond imagining. How he wrote a different story for children and adults—and combined it all into one deceptively simple book—is masterful. I love and admire him and his story so much, I dedicated an entire chapter to The Little Prince (and, shh, don’t tell the other chapters, but it’s my favorite)!

Aside from other authors, my mother and grandmother definitely helped inspire this book. They are in every word I write always.

JA: What’s been the most surprising thing to you about this publishing journey?

KR: Goodness. I’d have to say how amazing the writing community is. That I found some of my most treasured friends, heroes, mentors, and CP’s there. How friendly and open most authors are—from baby authors to all-time faves. I can honestly say, without the writing community, I most likely would have given up my author dream long ago and wouldn’t be giving this interview now. 😊

JA: What are you working on next? 

 KR: My next book, The Spinner of Dreams, is an own voices middle grade fantasy, out summer 2019 by HarperCollins. It has a dark fairytale vibe but is also just as whimsical as The Land of Yesterday. The neurodiverse main character, twelve-year-old Annalise Meriwether, has anxiety and panic disorder, long squished-blackberry-colored hair, a monster living inside her left hand, and is a sweet cinnamon roll Ravenclaw child! Read more about it on Goodreads!

I have already seen the cover and it is epically beautiful !I’m also working on two more secret standalone MG’s I can’t wait to share with everyone. 😊

JA: Thanks so much for joining us and congratulations on your beautiful debut!

K. A. Reynolds is a poet and author from Winnipeg, Canada, currently residing in the wilds of Maine. Her superpowers include daydreaming, smiling, and saving spiders from certain peril. When not typing, hiking, or caring for the elderly, she enjoys swapping bad jokes with her numerous offspring, herding various furry beasts, and reading strange and colorful tales expertly crafted by other imagination astronauts in love with words. Visit her at www.kareynoldsbooks.com.