Q: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

A: Read as much as you can, write as much as you can, and finish everything you start. When you finish something, share it. Find a group of readers you can trust (beyond your parents and friends, who LOVE! everything you write) and listen to their feedback. There’s a saying that good criticism feels like an arrow hitting its mark. Learn to separate the good from the bad. Learn to incorporate the good into your writing to make it better.

There are amazing resources online for aspiring writers, but some of my favorite books are: On Writing by Stephen King, Burning Down the House by Charles Baxter, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose.

Q: What do you do for writer’s block?

A: I don’t believe in writer’s block in the way that most people define it, like it’s a cold or a horrible rash or something. Not to make huge, sweeping generalizations, but here is my huge, sweeping generalization: most writers feel overwhelmed when staring down a blank page. You have to move through that feeling, which is really the fear of making a mistake. Some follow an outline to get into the story, some just start in line by line. Just do it. Just write. You can revise later.

If you’re having trouble starting each morning, leave the writing at a scene you’re excited about. When you’re moving through at a nice pace, when the writing’s really singing, stop there so you have something to look forward to the next day. If you’re stuck on one particular scene, or the plot isn’t working as it should, take a break from it and do something you love. Take the dog for a walk. Play a video game. Read a book.  Sometimes getting away from it for a few hours (or a couple days) can help.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Books, plural! There are too many. Here are some of my favorites, new and old…

YA/ Middle Grade: Scythe by Neal Shusterman, The Witches by Roahl Dahl, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Every Babysitter's Club Super Special but especially the one where Claudia and Dawn get stranded on the desert island, The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, The Giver by Lois Lowry, James and the Giant Peach by Roahl Dahl, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Cathrynne M. Valente, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Adult: The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender, The Last Policeman by Ben Winters, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, Self Help and Anagrams by Lorrie Moore, No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July, Sum by David Eaglemen, Middle Passage by Charles Johnson, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, Circling the Drain by Amanda Davis, And Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Yellowface by R.F Kuang, Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Room by Emma Donahue, and Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.

Q: Do you listen to music when you write?

A: Not when I’m actually sitting down at my computer. But I usually have an album or two that I’m listening to during the months I’m writing each book. For Eve it was Lungs by Florence and the Machine, for Blackbird it was Muchacho by Phosphorescent, and for This is Not The Jess Show it was Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette.

Q: When’s your birthday?

A: November 28th.

Q: I sent you a note through this site…what gives? Why haven’t you responded yet? It’s been five months.

A: I am sincerely, seriously sorry (I even used adverbs for you). Going through my inbox can sometimes feel overwhelming. Please know that I appreciate every email you write and I eventually read all of them. For more immediate responses, you can find me on Instagram at @annacareybooks.

Q: Is This Is Not The Jess Show going to be a movie?

A: This Is Not The Jess Show sold to Peacock and a TV pilot was written, but there’s no recent news to report. Check here or Instagram for updates.

Q: I just finished Rise and I’m so mad at you. All the feels!! How could you do this to me?!? Where is the fourth Eve book?!?

A: I know, I know! All the feels is right. I hated saying good-bye to these characters too, but for right now, I’m happy with where the series left off. If you haven’t found the epilogue, it’s in the paperback edition of Rise, and gives just a little more insight into what happens to Eve in the years following that last page.

Q: What are you writing next?

A: A twisty, fun, top secret adult book that I’m wildly excited about. Check back for updates.