Zan Romanoff, GRACE AND THE FEVER, on there being no shame in having fallen in love

by Jocelyn Rish

We are delighted to be joined by Zan Romanoff as she shares with us more about her latest novel, GRACE AND THE FEVER.

Zan, what was your inspiration for writing GRACE AND THE FEVER?

I was reading a blog post about how people could take fandom skills and translate them onto resumes– like, most teens on Tumblr know more than I do about website coding, video editing, etc. And I thought about the people I knew who were deeply into celebrity conspiracy theories, and how they’d make great detectives– especially if you gave them a more solvable case to pursue. GRACE didn’t end up being a detective story, but it’s very much about figuring out how fandom and the so-called real world intersect with one another, and whether or how it’s possible to live in both.

How long did you work on GRACE AND THE FEVER?

I wrote the first draft super, super fast– just under three months, writing two hours in the morning before work every day, and then usually on weekends as well. I was in a daze the whole time. I’m surprised I didn’t get fired, honestly. It was the only thing I really cared about while I was drafting it. But that was almost two years ago now. It doesn’t matter how fast you write– publishing is always long.

What do you hope readers will take away from GRACE AND THE FEVER?

That getting the guy is usually the middle– not the end– of the story. But there’s still no shame in having fallen in love.

What are you working on now?

A book about Snapchat, hurt feelings, abandoned hotels, first forays into feminism, and what it means to let other people see you when you aren’t sure who it is you’re showing them yet.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grace and the Fever
by Zan Romanoff
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 5/16/2017

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty in this contemporary YA about what it means to be a fan and what it means to be a friend when your whole world is in flux.

In middle school, everyone was a Fever Dream fan. Now, a few weeks after her high school graduation, Grace Thomas sometimes feels like the only one who never moved on. She can’t imagine what she d do without the community of online fans that share her obsession. Or what her IRL friends would say if they ever found out about it.

Then, one summer night, the unthinkable happens: Grace meets her idol, Jes. What starts out as an elusive glimpse of Fever Dream’s world turns into an unlikely romance, and leads her to confront dark, complex truths about herself and the realities of stardom.
From the author of A Song to Take the World Apart, Grace and the Fever is a heart-clutching reminder of what it’s like to fall in love whether it’s with a boy or a boy band and how difficult it is to figure out who you are after you’ve fallen out of love again.

Purchase Grace and the Fever at Amazon
Purchase Grace and the Fever at IndieBound
View Grace and the Fever on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zan Romanoff writes essays + fiction, mostly focused on food, feminism, television and books. She graduated from Yale in 2009 with a B.A. in Literature, and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Her young adult fiction is represented by Logan Garrison at The Gernert Company. If you want to get in touch with Zan about something (anything!) else, you can reach her at zanopticon at gmail dot com.

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Have you had a chance to read GRACE AND THE FEVER yet? What sort of fandom skills do you possess? What would your dream job with those skills be? Do you feel like sometimes getting the guy is what people focus on in stories? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy reading,

Emily, Jocelyn, Anisaa, Sam, Martina, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: May 20, 2017

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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← Previous: On the Value of Studying Writing with Coaches by Martina Boone Next: Karole Cozzo, author of THE TRUTH ABOUT HAPPILY EVER AFTER, on a character originally not being in the story →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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