Greetings, Friends! Today I bring you a guest appearance by my friend, YA author L.S. Moore, who is here to tell us all about her upcoming debut, BridgeKeeper! She brings you some brilliant new vocabulary words, a spectacularly spooky ghost story (with more to come), and last but not least…
In all its gooey glory
…gluten-free cinnamon rolls! More on that later. First, let’s take a look at BridgeKeeper!
On a night when the veil between the living and the dead is as thin as a soap bubble, sixteen-year-old Will McCurty discovers a chilling family legacy.
Each generation’s firstborn becomes a medium, a Bridge between the living world and the In Between. It won’t affect Will, only his older brother, Seth, but every Bridge needs a Keeper. A Keeper’s job? Chat up the dead. Keep them from using Seth’s body to do anything crazy or dangerous. And then clean up their earthly messes so the spirits can pass on. There’s only one candidate for the job.
Will has a choice — walk away from his brother and their shared destiny, or leap into the secret, shadowy world of ghosts and lost souls. Becoming Seth’s Keeper means Will must harbor secrets, lie to friends, and break his mother’s heart. But it’s that or abandon his brother to the desperate dead.
Will takes the leap and makes a lifelong commitment, but it might not be such a burden after all. Life’s likely to be short for a BridgeKeeper.
…And lemme tell ya, it is all that, and more! Coming August 1 from publisher The Big Fig (pre-order here!), BridgeKeeper is a splendid, spooky mystery about brothers, destiny, and the dead. Fans of Supernatural are going to love it! Fans of ghosts will love it. Fans of graveyards (more on that later) will love it, too—and so will fans of cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa. Which is, you know, pretty much everyone. Moore’s got you covered.
Check out this spooky trailer!
Moore had a few minutes recently to chat with us about her upcoming release. Enjoy the interview!
What was your inspiration for BridgeKeeper?
Thanks for inviting me, Elizabeth! Three things aligned about fifteen years ago that inspired me to write BridgeKeeper. A television series called Supernatural started its run. My sons grew into teens. And I discovered fanfiction. My first novel, Coven, was posted one chapter at a time on fanfiction.net. Fans! What a rush! That experience hooked me on writing, but I wanted to create my own original stories. So, I dissected Supernatural to figure out why I found it so compelling. Deep bonds between characters always move me, and there’s nothing like the inescapable blood ties of siblings. Testing those bonds makes for great drama and comedy. Writing for young adults made perfect sense since I was living with a couple of them. So, I created my own set of brothers adventuring in their own ghost-filled world. My sons and their friends provided me with lots of great source material.
Take us through your inspiring journey to publication!
Fortunately, writing’s not like becoming a ballet dancer. You can start exactly when inspiration hits you. I started rather late in life, but one of the first things I did was join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI. In their workshops and conferences, I honed my craft, and lucked into our incredible Wednesday critique group. BridgeKeeper wouldn’t be here without you wise, patient people. You encouraged me for years as I accumulated many, many rejections in my search for a literary agent. Then a new member joined our group. Sherry Bushue started her own independent publishing house, The Little Fig and had great success publishing picture books. When she decided to open a new Young Adult imprint, The Big Fig, I submitted BridgeKeeper. The rest is history.
You’ve said you’re writing for a very particular audience. Could you talk a little more about that?
Sure. If you aren’t the parent or teacher of a boy who loves to read, you probably haven’t noticed how few books in the Young Adult section are written from a guy’s point of view. I worked in a public library for years and saw firsthand how heavily the YA shelves are weighted toward characters who identify as girls. I concede that YA is the only fiction category where female authors and characters dominate, but do we have to give girls the attention they deserve by neglecting our guys? I hope not. I’m not sure how the myth started that teenaged boys, cis or LGBTQ+, don’t read. I know from experience that they certainly do. My sons devoured the YA section and moved onto adult fiction long before I was ready for them to. So, I try to buck the trend and create boy protagonists, which, by the way, girls enjoy reading about too. I’ll step off my soap box now.
Moore has supplied a Visual Aid to help explain taphophilia.
You are a self-professed taphophile (a very Myrtle word!). First, define that for any readers who might not share the passion, and tell us more about this fascinating side of your personality!
It is a good word, isn’t it? A taphophile is a person who enjoys cemeteries, gravestones and funerals. I’m not a funeral fan, but I admit, I love traipsing around a good cemetery. I’m sure Myrtle is aware, but cemetery, is the more generic term and refers to anyplace set aside for the burial of the dead. A graveyard also serves this purpose, but it’s adjacent to a place of worship, holy ground. I find cemeteries and graveyards intriguing and calming, great places to find inspiration whether I need a quiet, beautiful spot or a dreary, spooky one. I take my camera and a notebook and stroll slowly, reading the stones. They have so many stories to tell. They’re treasure troves of character names too!
What’s next for L.S. Moore?
BridgeKeeper book two is in the works. Soon, I’ll get to do one of my favorite things and lead writing workshops for teens in schools and libraries. My talks will be about making the leap from fanfiction to original stories.
…And what Making project would you like to share with our readers?
BridgeKeeper features wonderful spot illustrations by artist Cristina Bencina, including the famous cinnamon rolls.
Gluten free cinnamon rolls! The scent of these heavenly treats plays a part in BridgeKeeper. Recently, I adapted a recipe for cinnamon-raisin bread that I found in the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, How Can It Be Gluten Free, 2020 edition. It’s kind of complicated but check the book out at your local library. The recipe’s on page 283. Just slice the cylinder of dough into rolls instead of forming a loaf. Lay them in a single layer in a greased baking dish and bake for a slightly shorter time than the recipe recommends. Yum!
(ecb adds: Check out America’s Test Kitchen’s collection of gluten free recipes online!)
Laura, thank you so much for traipsing by! Readers, don’t forget to check out Moore’s website, lsmoore.com, and follow her on social media at @lsmooreya. BridgeKeeper will be here in just two weeks!
