You probably already know Sherri L. Smith. She has written scores of books, most of which have been selected for various “it book” lists including JLG Best Books For Children. Sherri’s book The Blossom and the Firefly was the Golden Kite winner, and Flygirl was the California Book Award Gold Medalist. So when I had the chance to interview her about her beautiful new book, Candace, the Universe, and Everything, I was over the moon. The book is a touching, generational book that will be perfect for moms and daughters to share. It mixes science and fantasy seamlessly. Sherri and her work are inspirational.
Sherri, the book connected with me on so many different levels. As a middle aged woman trying to figure it all out…and as a mom watching my own 13 year old deal with similar issues, this book really speaks to girls and women. Thank you for a book I can read with my daughter!
- In today’s society, the importance of science and the strength and voices of women, especially women of color, are being silenced. The book is skillfully written as a thoughtful yet complex middle grade book, while still giving voice to the voiceless. When you were working on the manuscript, was this your intent?
I knew from the beginning that this would be a multigeneration book building on the idea that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I think it’s important to recognize how we are uplifted, and who we can uplift in return. It’s how humans grow, even when the noise of the world would say different.
- A wormhole in a school locker is such a wild idea. How did it come to you?
Who doesn’t love a surprise portal to another place? Narnia is the ultimate, but since I was a kid I was curious about (and sometimes terrified of) hidden doors. And lockers are the least intriguing, most commonplace doors we open a million times in school without ever going through (barring a bully coming along), so it just made sense.
- The three characters and their gifts: Candace is an artist, Tracy is a writer who becomes a scientist, Loretta is a scientist who becomes a writer. I love the connection with Window in the Sky. I love that it was made into a bad movie.
Ha ha! It happens all the time, doesn’t it? And yet a book being made into a movie is seen as a sign of success. I mean, I wouldn’t knock it! But hopefully it lets moviegoers discover the books, too.
Weaving a story and mixing up the timelines must have been very complicated. How did you manage to weave it all together so seamlessly?
If it’s seamless, we have to thank my editor, Stephanie Pitts, who has wrangled me through several woven timeline books by now. I knew from the start that the story would take place mostly in Candace’s timeline, but I think it’s really interesting to see how people become who they are as adults. It’s not a perspective you get to have that often when you are young. So looking for key instances in Tracey and Loretta’s lives was the starting point. And then creating snippets from Loretta’s book, Window in the Sky, that resonated with their storylines came next. There was some back and forth and tears over it all before it was done, but it sounds like it works!
- Tracy’s friend tells her she’s a bad writer. Have you ever had a moment where you almost gave up?
A moment? Let’s say moments, multiple times, sometimes in just trying to get the words right, or finish, or figure out what’s next, quitting is always a handy option, but not one I’ve ever taken. Simply because I know in a day or a week or a few minutes, I’ll just keep writing anyway. So you might as well stay the course. That said, I’ve learned that there are great writers, and writers who are learning. Even the greats are still learning. So if someone tells you your work is no good, ask for constructive, not destructive, criticism. If they can’t give useful feedback, move on and get back to work.
- Was there another version to the ending of the book? Did you always want Candace to go through?
What a good question! Without giving too much away, I’ll say I tend to protect my protagonists in early drafts. I love Candace and wanted her to stay safe. I also didn’t want her modeling reckless behavior. But a dear friend who is also a brilliant writer pointed out it was the biggest question in the book. And books can go where we can’t, so why not let them? It reminded me that where we feel resistance in our writing is usually where we need to go. That’s where the story is waiting.
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Her ultimate dream was to run off and hide away in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but a close second was owning a bookshop. So opened a cozy little online and pop up bookshop called Hunni Hound Books.
She blogs about writing family and all that falls in between. She has also written articles and short stories for The Plaid Horse Magazine, Typishly, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Root and Star Magazine, and The Newnan Time Herald. She has attended Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop and The Southhampton Literature Conference.
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