Sabaa Tahir's reprieve is coming to an end. Since 2015, she’s been immersing herself in the universe of her Ember series — a collection of YA fantasy novels — to escape and, often, process tragedies from the real world. “The way I faced things like genocide or the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan was to create a story where similar things happened, but I could control them,” she says. Now, with the publication of The Sky Beyond the Storm, the fourth and final installment, she takes advantage of what she describes as her “last chance to say what I wanted about people of color and the problems that uniquely affect them.”

But, while the series itself is wrapping up, it isn't the last that Tahir's devoted fans will see of her or her work — to start, she joined EW from her home in the Bay Area to discuss the highly-anticipated novel's release and just what it means for her (and society at large).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What have these books meant to you over the last five years?

SABAA TAHIR: When Ember first came out, there were very few books that had people of color as the heroes or the love interest. That’s why I wrote the book because I wanted to see more of it. I was the first Pakistani-American to be on the New York Times bestseller list — there were so few of us. I think it opened a door, in a weird way, in publishing. You can be an author of color, and you can write about fantasy and characters of color. And those books sell. That message has gotten stronger and stronger since the first book, and so many books have found their home. Nicola Yoon is one of those authors who, very early on, was like, "I’m writing books about kids of color, and they’re going to be about joy!" For me, I write fantasy; it’s not about the immigrant experience. It’s brown kids having amazing adventures. We stand on the backs of the authors who came before, but my hope is I’m starting that foundation.

What's the most important thing for readers to know about A Sky Beyond the Storm?

I think this book is really about the cost of war. Even when you know that you have to fight it, the cost is just too high — nobody ever wins because the cost is too high. It's also about who pays that cost. In this book, it's the children who suffer most from war. When it comes to war, childhood is somehow no longer sacred. We think it's sad that they're caught up in it, but you know what, there might be a terrorist in that village, so we have to bomb it. Part of the inspiration for this was the children of war whose stories have never been told. I think about the Pakistani army school that was bombed years ago in which 100 children were killed. And how much you must hate humanity to do that. This book focuses on the idea that children who have to fight war are the ones who we are failing.

Part of this series' appeal is that amongst the important topics it's bringing to light, the plot moves lightning-fast — are there any twists you can tease for the final installment?

It’s kind of nice because I have beta readers who are fans of the series, and one of my beta readers is [YA author] Nicola Yoon, who is also one of my best friends. Midway through the book, she called me and said, "I hate you so much; I want you to know that I don’t even want to talk to you anymore." [Laughs] I was like, okay, I hit that note exactly where I wanted to; it’s the reaction I wanted. There are a few moments in the book that are going to kick them in the feels. I’m going to get the angry DMs and tweets. There’s also a moment early in the first quarter of the book that I think people might not expect, and I’m excited about them reading. One of the things I was most excited about is that there is a friendship between two characters that weren’t friends before.

Is there anything in the book you were surprised by or that went in a direction you weren't expecting?

With the third book, I was on a writing retreat, which is really just an opportunity to eat a lot of In-N-Out and talk about books. [Author] Marie Lu was on it — she’s someone I consider a good friend — and she was like, you know, I think you go a little too far with this certain story arc, I think you need to stop the arc earlier. I think it’s more interesting to explore their flirtation with the scary parts of themselves. I was like, that’s a fantastic idea, thank you, Marie. And then with Sky, Nicola gave me some feedback on the end, I can’t say what it is, but she gave me some changes, and I ended up rewriting the end to work in her suggestion because she was 100 percent right. One of the things I like about YA authors is they don’t have any ego — we know we’re surrounded by insanely talented people, and you have to listen to what they say.

The publishing industry has made some good strides of late, but where else would you like to see improvement?

I’d love to see more books by marginalized authors get the support, funding, publicity, and attention that books by white authors, and previously published white authors, have gotten. There are so many incredible marginalized authors out there who don’t necessarily get those lead title spots. They don’t get the write-up. They don’t get the opportunity for success. I remember a few years ago, I pitched a column to a big newspaper and said I’d love to interview debut authors that no one has ever heard of, and I want to ask them 10 fun questions. Lighthearted stuff. And I didn’t get any bites because they didn’t know if anyone’s interested in those authors. It was so painful because I was like, how could you not be interested in these authors that no one has heard of until now?

What's your secret to being such a productive author?

I have an offsite office — it's a private office I can go to without worrying about running into other people. I have two children, and I take care of them in the first part of the day, so now I only have from 1 p.m. or so until 6 to work. So that’s rough. But what I do to be more efficient is dedicate one day to emails, one day to social media content creation. Tuesday is my script day; Wednesday is just Embers stuff. It’s forced me to be much more efficient; I have no choice. It’s also forced me to work until 3 a.m. So I scramble as much as I can, and stay up really late and drink coffee and eat chocolate.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Seija Rankin

Last summer, EW described Kristen Arnett's debut novel as "the lesbian Florida taxidermy family novel you never knew you needed." In June 2021, her sophomore work With Teeth will hit stands and, while there's no taxidermy this time around, it's set to be another captivating family saga. And, EW has the exclusive first look, starting with the cover.

With Teeth will continue the author's legacy of Florida settings, following Sammie Lucas as she works from home and attempts to care for her ever-complicating family (sound prescient?). Her son Samson's emotional distance puts Sammie's maternal instincts into question and strains her marriage with her wife, Monika — and, to complicate things, Samson's sullen personality threatens to blossom into something darker.

But, let's hear it from Arnett herself. The author is answering EW's burning book questions about what we can expect from the upcoming novel and how exactly she gets it all done.

What is the first thing — ever — that you remember writing?

I remember sitting in Sunday morning service and using the church bulletin “notes” section to write a long and meandering story about The Babysitter’s Club. It was basically fan fiction; I wrote myself in as one of the characters and made all the other babysitters my best friends. I was obsessed with those books as a kid! I realize now that I deeply identified with Kristy, who felt pretty gay with her dirty jeans and t-shirts and baseball hats. The story I wrote was objectively terrible, for sure, but it did involve me saving a young babysitting charge from drowning in a pool! Even from a very young age I thought way more books should be based in Florida.

What is the last book that made you cry?

It takes A LOT to make me tear up (I usually joke around that I’m a robot and that the moisture would rust my insides), but the last book that definitely got to me was Laura van den Berg’s I Hold A Wolf By The Ears. There’s a story in that collection called “Volcano House” that’s about two sisters and grief. The last paragraph of it, wow, it packed a wallop. Felt like a beautiful punch to the guts. After I got done reading it I just kind of sat there and willed the tears back into my eyes. Damn you, Laura, for making me cry!

Which book is at the top of your current To-Read list?

The book that was at the top of the pile was Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind. I just started it today and I’m already almost halfway through! People were not joking about this one, it is absolutely a page-turner. I’ll probably stay up way too late tonight so I can finish it!

Where do you write?

I started out my writing career working in libraries, so let me tell you, now it feels like I can write absolutely anywhere. I love noise and bustling people and cramped little spaces and being hunched over my computer. My girlfriend and I recently moved to Miami from Orlando and we have a balcony, so I’ve started writing outside when the weather is nice (it is always pretty nice here). I love a lot of windows and light when I’m writing. I like to see and hear and feel Florida all around me as I work.

Which book made you a forever reader?

I think I’ve always, always been a reader, but without a doubt the book that has stuck with me the longest is Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina. It was the first time I read a book where I felt like I saw myself inside it. It’s queer without talking about its queerness. And it’s such a beautiful book about place. South Carolina is a living, breathing character that sits inside its pages. I read that book and thought: this is exactly me and it’s exactly how I want my work to feel. Whenever I am trying to write about place and want to reaffirm how best to go about it, I crack that book open and sit with Dorothy again and let her tell me all about it.

What is a snack you couldn’t write without?

I’m going to make a bold assertion here and claim that beer is a snack! I have to admit, I dearly love sitting down with a beer outside and working on anything. That is my ideal situation. I like reading with a beer and I definitely like writing with one. I’ll also be upfront and state that I like anything from 7-Eleven, but especially Steel Reserve and Cool Ranch Doritos (though I have to admit it’s hard to type with all that flavor dust on your fingers).

If you could change one thing about any of your books what would it be?

I honestly don’t think I’d change anything about any of them. The thing that’s so great (and simultaneously terrible) about publishing work is that once it leaves the nest, it’s no longer your own anymore. I like to think of the books I’ve published as little gangly birds that have gone out and grown up with their readers. It’s nice to think about them living their best lives out there with other people.

What is your favorite part of With Teeth?

My favorite part of this book is absolutely how weirdly funny I got to be with it. I think there can be so much humor in discomfort, especially when we get to have a little distance from it and not be directly in the action. It was a genuine pleasure writing a book that had so many “why did you do that, no, oh god” moments in it!

What was the hardest plot point or character to write?

It was definitely difficult to consider who tells the truth in this book. I think a big part of that comes from the fact that when it comes to families, everyone in a household is essentially an unreliable narrator. Even if we’re all telling the same story, it’s inevitably going to wind up as our own take on the situation. We’re not in each other’s heads. We have different thoughts, feelings, memories. Narratives diverge in families. Once I finally came to this realization, it became a little easier to see how to shape the narrative.

Write a movie poster tag line for With Teeth:

Oh God! Maybe “The Call Is Coming From Inside The House”

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Seija Rankin

What's the first thing you do after you win the National Book Award? If you're Charles Yu, you come straight to Entertainment Weekly to answer our burning book questions. The author received the 2020 honor for his novel Interior Chinatown, a searing (and searingly funny) take on Asian stereotypes, capping off a wonderful year — professionally speaking, of course. Now he's sharing his wisdom with us: Like the breakfast sandwich that fuels his writing habit and his favorite thing about his award-winning book. Oh, and we'll address the Karen in the room, too. Read on for more.

What is the first thing — ever — that you remember writing?

When I was in fourth grade my class took a trip to Yosemite. I wrote poems while I was there. I don’t remember much, except that they were about nature. Leaves and waterfalls. My teacher, Mr. Cott, found out about them and contacted the local newspaper, Culver City News, and they printed the poems. My mom and dad were really proud — my mom has copies of the article.

What is the last book that made you cry?

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah — although they were tears of laughter.

Which book is at the top of your current To-Read list?

The Fractalist: Memoir of a Scientific Maverick, a memoir from Benoit Mandelbrot, a pioneering mathematician who uncovered fascinating features about the world.

Where do you write?

Either in the living room (which has a built-in bookshelf) or our guest bedroom. Once in a while, if temperature permits, in my car, parked in the garage.

Which book made you a forever reader?

Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

What is a snack you couldn’t write without?

My wife Michelle makes these egg sandwiches — scrambled, on wheat bread with a very thin layer of Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise. Delicious.

If you could change one thing about any of your books, what would it be?

Cut out the excess words.

What is your favorite part of Interior Chinatown?

The physical object! Both hardcover and paperback. The people at Pantheon and Vintage make such beautiful books.

What was the hardest plot point or character to write?

Karen. She’s the love interest and the secret hero of the book (she’s loosely based on my wife, which is tricky on many levels!). Also, I’m hoping the character might recuperate the name “Karen” which has had a rough year.

Write a movie poster tag line for Interior Chinatown:

Be more.

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• By Seija Rankin @@seijawrites
• By Seija Rankin @@seijawrites

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Seija Rankin

Jenny Slate may be an artist in every sense of the word, but she isn't a masochist. Her book Little Weirds grapples with big pain (a recent divorce) and big questions about life and the state of the world (why did we elect a misogynist to the White House?), and it could be easy to mistake her for the kind of creative who basks in melancholy, a comedian with a very dark side.

"When I think of those times, I'm really glad I'm not in them," she says of Weirds' source material, to set the record straight. "In fact I described it to my therapist yesterday as: The feeling that I have is that I'm watching an 8-year-old standing outside of her school, wondering if someone's going to pick her up."

Slate, 38, describes the period in her life that inspired the book — her early-to-mid-thirties — as imperative to who she is today, but dark nonetheless: "I'm glad they happened, but I regret some of the damage I caused to myself by being reckless or drunk, and it sucks that the doorway I went through to be here in my safe, sunny life was really smoggy and cobwebby and scary and gross."

Little Weirds just released in paperback, which should bring Slate's very specific brand of self-reflection, comedy, and magical realism (there's no Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, but you're close if that came to mind) to an even wider audience. To mark the edition, Slate joined EW to discuss the personal and political heartache that fueled her writing, her time spent crafting sentences in a barren beach cottage, her astrological chart (she's an Aries, which which is covered in Little Weirds' several birth-themed entries), and more.

"I feel like Mars, like turmoil," she says when describing a recent visit to an astrologer (this is also where we mention she's back in Los Angeles after a stint on the East Coast). "But I don't want to sustain any more emotional injury. So I find different ways to be that same kind of hot-blooded warrior."

This isn't a spoiler alert, but Little Weirds has a happy ending. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given that the author has been open, off the page, about her engagement to art curator Ben Shattuck (a relationship that began as she finished writing the book), but it feels like a pertinent thing to mention. "I wouldn't write the same book now, because the issues are all something that in one way or another have been kind of resolved," Slate says. "And I think that what I felt at the time was that there was a really dangerous example of a male leader who is leading on impulse alone — and I want to show an example of impulse that is kind and considerate and comes from years of developing a voice and a sense of responsibility towards other people. I was just really frantic for kindness towards myself and towards the world."

Watch the video above for more from Slate.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Seija Rankin

The Hellfire Club part two is coming, just when interest in the dealings of Washington couldn't be any higher. Jake Tapper has been busy covering the presidential election (among many other stories) in his post at CNN, but he still made time to bring readers another thriller. The Devil May Dance will hit shelves on May 11, 2021, and picks up with Charlie and Margaret Marder in their life at the top of the political hierarchy in D.C. The plot is just as twisty as its predecessor, so we'll let the official synopsis speak for itself:

Charlie and Margaret Marder, political stars in 1960s Washington DC, know all too well how the tangled web of power in the nation's capital can operate. But while they long to settle into the comforts of home, Attorney General Robert Kennedy has other plans. He needs them to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency, but to the security of the United States itself. Charlie and Margaret quickly find themselves on a flight to sunny Los Angeles, where they’ll face off against a dazzling world of stars and studios. At the center of their investigation is Frank Sinatra, a close friend of President John F. Kennedy and a rumored mob crony, whom Charlie and Margaret must befriend to get the inside scoop. But in a town built on illusions, where friends and foes all look alike, nothing is easy, and drinks by the pool at the Sands and late-night adventures with the Rat Pack soon lead to a body in the trunk of their car. Before they know it, Charlie and Margaret are being pursued by sinister forces from Hollywood’s stages to the newly founded Church of Scientology, facing off against the darkest and most secret side of Hollywood’s power. As the Academy Awards loom, and someone near and dear to Margaret goes missing, Charlie and Margaret find the clock is not only ticking but running out. Someone out there knows what they’ve uncovered and can’t let them leave alive.

EW is offering an exclusive look into the upcoming book, straight from Tapper himself — starting with the cover reveal.

Tapper is also sharing some insight into his favorite things about the sequel, and how he gets it all done. (Hint: It involves bourbon.) Check out his answers to EW's burning book questions below.

What is the first thing — ever — that you remember writing?

A political cartoon when I was maybe 3 or 4, so it was writing and art. It was a subtle commentary of our then-mayor, Philadelphia's corrupt thuggish Democrat Frank Rizzo. It was a drawing of Hizzoner with the caption BAD RIZZO BAD RIZZO BAD RIZZO. The Zs might have been aimed in the wrong direction, but the point was clear.

What is the last book that made you cry?

I may have to go back to when I read Elie Wiesel's Night in junior high.

Which book is at the top of your current to-read list?

Nick Hornby's Just Like You. Huge fan.

Where do you write?

All over. Wherever I can grab time. I carry around a Macbook and I go room to room and take it with me on trips.

Which book made you a forever reader?

I read a lot as a little boy; television was discouraged. My mom introduced me to this great children's book series that was popular in the U.K. (where she briefly lived) and in Canada where she grew up: Ant and Bee by Angela Banner. Banner wrote them to teach her son how to read and I think that's where I got the bug.

What is a snack you couldn’t write without?

Bourbon.

If you could change one thing about any of your books what would it be?

I'd go in with a scythe and make them much shorter.

What is your favorite part of The Devil May Dance?

Taking real things that happened in 1961-1962 and turning them into settings or plot points.

What was the hardest plot point or character to write in this book?

To turn Frank Sinatra into a living, breathing credible person was a challenge, but it was also a lot of fun.

Write a movie poster tag line for The Devil May Dance:

In a town built on illusion, is anything real but evil?

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Author:Seija Rankin - Source: EW