We’re thrilled to announce that List of Ten, an #ownvoices young adult contemporary novel by Halli Gomez, will be published spring, 2021 by Sterling Children’s Books!
Since Halli is one of our own, we wanted to get the inside scoop on her path to publication.
Publisher’s Description of List of Ten
A harrowing yet hopeful account of a teen living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder . . . and contemplating his own mortality.
Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm. Finally, fed up with the daily humiliation, loneliness, and physical pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day.
But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list, moving him ever closer to his grand finale, even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined. This is a dark, intense story—with many trigger warnings—but it’s also realistic, hopeful, and deeply authentic.
This story is close to your heart. Did that make it harder to write?
It did. There were a lot of personal feelings in the story and it took me back to my teenage years which are difficult for anybody and especially difficult if you’re a little bit different. It was hard to write because it hit very close to home.
How did you feel when you heard that Sterling wanted to publish it?
I remember exactly where I was when I heard. My husband and I were driving back from taking my son to a week-long summer workshop at the SCAD (The University for Creative Careers). It was the longest time he’d been away from home and I was having feelings about that when Deborah Warren, my agent, sent me an email saying there was serious interest in the book from Sterling.
That turned into a series of emails as she told me about the offer and we discussed some of the terms. This was a nice, exciting surprise and definitely made the long drive home go more quickly!
Did you learn anything new about writing as you worked on List of Ten?
It’s funny. This was the first young adult book I wrote. My prior two novels were middle grade so I learned a whole lot.
High school is a different world than middle school so I had to get into that mindset. Also, middle grade can be pretty serious and dark, but you can do so much more with young adult because the audience is more mature. I wouldn’t have written List of Ten for middle grade. There need to be books about these topics for middle grade, but I don’t think I can write them, at least not right now.
What has working with a new imprint been like?
I met Suzy Capozzi, the editor for List of Ten, in New York when I traveled there for the SCBWI conference and she told me it would be one of the first three books published under the new imprint. That was exciting! It feels like I’m coming in on the ground floor of something new and I like that kind of thing. There’s the opportunity to grow as the imprint grows.
What advice would you give to other writers still hoping for that elusive book deal?
When I met Suzy, she gushed about my book and said everyone in the office was talking about it. The most important thing is finding the editor/publisher who loves your book because if they don’t love it with all their heart, they’re not going to support it the way you want it supported. This book is your baby and you don’t want it to get lost in the shuffle. Go with the publisher who loves your book as much as you do.
Support Halli by adding List of Ten to your Goodreads TBR list or preordering from the bookstore of your choice!
Goodreads
Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Check Back in February for a List of Ten Giveaway!
In the meantime, if you have a writing or publishing question for Halli? Send them in via info (at) wingedpen (dot) com and she’ll answer them in a future post!
You can find Halli on Twitter, Instagram, her personal website, and of course, contributing articles here at TheWingedPen.com.
Halli, I am SO excited for you and so glad you have written about this topic. I know it will be an important new addition to the YA world!
Thank you! I hope this book helps people who are having a hard time and educate others.