SPUN GOLD

Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria is billed as the frst book in a series. How many will there be? is is the rst book in a duology. Right now it's a big trend in publishing to acquire two-book series. So as of now, there are two books planned. However, I never say never to adding more.

Move over, Harry Potter and Rumpelstiltskin! Maine author George Jreije’s debut fantasy novel is all about alchemy.

INTERVIEW BY NATALIE FOSTER

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? Typically, you talk to a writer and they'll tell you about how they grew up loving books and reading and writing, but my writing journey began mid-college. I’d just read a novel that I loved, and that voice in my head said, “Hey, I can do this!” But it turned out I was wrong. Everybody will tell you, those rst few manuscripts—we don't talk about those. Five years later, I said, I'm going to try to write a middle-grade book. I really like this age category, but you see so many middle-grade fantasies, and I wanted to do something original. I’m an Arab-American. I have Lebanese citizenship. I lived in Lebanon for a few years, and I speak uent Arabic. I was like, what part of my culture can I draw from that’ll be unique in this book? And I thought, no one's really done anything I also want everyone to nd it, because with fantasy you can more indirectly critique systems that are unjust without spoon-feeding it to the reader. And I don’t think children are less deserving of that depth than adults are. In fact, I think that’s why so many [fantasy] books have appeal across age categories. I'm hoping that Shad does the same.

with alchemy, even though it’s one of the original magic systems in the world and the precursor to science itself. Being that it was so prevalent in the Middle East and in the region I grew up in, I said, all right, I'm going to write an Arabic character who becomes an alchemist. Shad is in many respects a re ection of who I was at twelve years old.

Do you see this as bridging a gap in children’s literature? As authors, we're all trying to nd our readers. As an Arab, I want young Arabs who, like myself, didn’t have representation growing up to nd this book. But How did you make the move from editing to writing? It's actually the opposite. I got my rst book deal and then was approached by a boutique agency about editing professionally. Before I got published, I found that the process of writing a book involves so much working with other writers to improve your own work. We can't just write our book and have it be ready for other folks’ eyes. We must solicit feedback along the way, and in the process of giving and receiving it, I found that I was an e ective editor. And I wanted to give back to the [writing] community, because I had wonderful authors who had given me advice along the way, so I started editing for major mentorship competitions like Pitch Wars and WriteMentor to help aspiring authors nd their agents and land their book deals.

What are your favorite conditions to write in? I like to nd small windows between

meetings or on a bus or plane ride. ose random in-between moments where I'm unbothered are when I write most of my work on my phone in Google Docs. I only write a page or two—500 words—a day. I’m not someone who can do a marathon of writing. I'm slow and steady. But you get the manuscript done through consistency.

How did you end up in Maine? I took a job that was based in Massachusetts, where I grew up. But their [Unum, now BerryDunn] main o ce was in Maine, in Portland, so I got the opportunity to move up here in early 2019. I met my ancé here in Maine and really settled into Portland. I’ve traveled all over the world, but I found my creative groove in Maine.

What does it mean to you to be Lebanese-American in Maine? We o en think of Arabs as “the other,” but seeing the world through the lens of ArabAmerican culture growing up here, and also the Lebanese culture my family instilled in me gives me the advantage of seeing more similarities than di erences from halfway across the world to here. I grew up with a lot of Vietnamese, Black, and Latino friends in Massachusetts, and

I loved immersing myself in their cultures and sharing my culture with them. So I want to hear from the Somali population in Portland.

I've always sought out diverse perspectives, because my own experiences are so di erent from what is normally represented in traditional media. And that's a major theme of my writing.

What’s your favorite place in Lebanon?

Tripoli, which is a major port city, but not one of the richer areas. Folks don’t have much, but there’s always this vibe of gratitude that you don’t necessarily see elsewhere. I'm always inspired by this reminder that in a world where we’re told more is better, sometimes having less allows you to be thankful for what you have. Not to mention the best Arabic sweets bakery in the world is there, in my opinion.

How would you characterize traditional children’s books in Lebanese culture? is is something my Arab author friends and I talk about. ere’s not a huge reading culture in Lebanon, and it’s not because people don’t want to read. It’s just that life is more complicated in that region. Some of the luxuries that we get to enjoy in the West—such as being able to walk into a library and pick out a book and get it for free—we don’t have in Lebanon, unfortunately. I’m highly thankful for the bookish culture that exists here. ere’s so much going on with libraries, and it’s such a huge privilege. e Portland Public Library was a place where I did a lot of writing and editing.

What kinds of books do you like to read in your free time? It's a loaded question to ask an author who their favorite authors are, because if I don't say someone's name, I'm going to annoy them. I was always a much bigger comicbook reader growing up, and that has continued to this day. I’m not allowed to say too much, because there may or may not be another book deal on the horizon for graphic novels. But I’ve recently enjoyed e Stardust ief by Chelsea Della. It’s an Arab-inspired adult fantasy. A middle-grade novel I've read recently is Jamar Perry's Cameron Battle. I love the diverse perspective Jamar brings as a queer Black author.

In a world where we’re told more is better, sometimes having less allows you to be thankful for what you have.

How did you celebrate the release of your frst novel? On the “Rich Kid, Poor Kid: Exploring Socioeconomic Diversity in Young People’s Literature” panel at the inaugural Maine LitFest, and with signings at Print: A Bookstore and Green Hand Bookshop. And with tons and tons of baklava. n