As book covers inspired you to create make up art, what was your goal and/or inspiration you want readers to take away from Dear Martin? And, speaking to your craft, what authorial element makes a book “Nic Stone”? From Dear Martin, I want readers to be inspired to ask questions, first of themselves, second of others, and lastly of the world around them. Broken systems are often perpetuated because people are too nervous to challenge the status quo. Yes, it can be both jarring and scary to realize something you believe is incorrect, problematic, harmful, or all of the above. But as the American Civil Right movement of the mid-20th Century teaches us, change doesn’t happen without people standing up and saying: Hey, that’s not right. To get to that point though, we first have to be willing to challenge ourselves and our own perspectives. That—the prioritization of asking questions over offering answers—is what makes my books me, I think. My second book (in edits now, lord help me) deals with a totally different topic, but the characters spend a good bit of time reflecting on their experiences and trying to figure themselves out in relation to the world and people around them. I’m also a huge proponent of Voice and like gimmicky plot devices… like Dear Martin had the letters and sections of dialogue and media elements, and my second book is written as a trilogy of novellas: the first third over the overall plot is one character’s POV, the middle is another’s and the third is a third’s, and each “book” within the novel totally has its own narrative and character arc. It was (mostly) fun to write. You’re teasing your next book when Dear Martin hasn’t even released yet! But to cap off this chat and to bring it back to Dear Martin, what’s on your music playlist and what’s on Justyce’s playlist? I have… a lot of playlists. Lol. Lately all I’ve been listening to are the new Halsey and 2 Chainz albums (hopeless fountain kingdom and Pretty Girls Like Trap Music respectively).
Turn to the next page to meet the characters of Dear Martin! Photo by Sophie B.
Justyce on the other hand… Well, check it out for yourself. Thank you so much, Nic, for taking the time to spill all the deets on Dear Martin! I think I’m due for a re-read (and I never re-read) but I am pleased that all of the hallmarks of your writing mentioned above are what makes this book such an unputdownable experience. So thank you for giving voice and power to Justyce’s story as one that can be read as more than just fiction as it is now. Do you have any last comments for readers? To everyone who read this through the end and reads Dear Martin: you da real MVP.
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