Hello! I am so excited to finally write about the short little author interview I did with author Phil Stamper back at the beginning of December! **And as always, the work to support the Black community is not done, whether there is media coverage for it or not, so here is the link to click in order to support the Black Lives Matter movement in any way you can, and thank you to StarlahReads for compiling these resources. You can also visit the description of this video by booktuber Jess Owens, which has links to several additional resources about global events.**
Back in October, Phil Stamper (author of YA novel The Gravity of Us published in February 2020 and upcoming YA novel As Far as You’ll Take Me to be released in February 2021) put out a call on Twitter saying that any book blogger, no matter how small, could fill out a form to submit some interview questions. I had recently been approved for an arc of As Far as You’ll Take Me on NetGalley, so as soon as I finished reading (review will be up at the end of this week, don’t worry), I sent off three questions and waited to see what would come of it. In December I had three responses and a link to a media kit, so now I’m here to give you some insight into this YA author’s mind.
But first, some backround because he sounds like such a cool guy! “Phil Stamper grew up in a rural village near Dayton, Ohio. While it could be seen as a boring lifestyle to some, he kept himself entertained through playing the piano and writing stories that stretched his imagination. He has a B.A. in Music from the University of Dayton and an M.A. in Publishing with Creative Writing from Kingston University. And, unsurprisingly, a lot of student debt. When he first left his home state, he landed in Washington, DC with no job prospects, $800 in graduation money, and the promise of a walk-in closet to live in. Not long after—and he’s not totally sure how—he was jumping headfirst into a career in non-profit PR and sleeping in a real bed. He loved writing for a living, even if he was writing press releases and news stories… and hundreds of emails to annoyed journalists. But after a while, the dry writing started to get to him, so he thought he’d finally work on that book he always wanted to write… Years later, with a new degree and two new cities under his belt, he works in publishing development for a major book publisher in New York City. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog. That book he always wanted to write never sold, and neither did the second or third. But at the intersection of hard work, talent, and luck, his best selling debut novel was published by Bloomsbury YA in February 2020, and you can expect more from him in February 2021.”
Question 1: What is your favorite part about getting to write queer stories?
I love hearing from queer teens who have read my books! Writing books is such a solitary experience, and it’s terrifying once it’s “out there”—especially since I write so much of myself into my books! But with The Gravity of Us, I received so many messages from queer teens who fell in love with the book, and those messages are worth way more than all the starred trade reviews in the world!
Question 2: Has your mindset leading you to your second release changed (as opposed to leading up to your debut?)
I really love this question. I was an entire wreck leading up to the launch of The Gravity of Us. Our industry puts so much pressure on authors for their debuts, and everything feels very make-or-break, like if our first weeks sales aren’t astronomical, our careers are over. Of course, I spent all that time worrying about other things not realizing my book was about to launch into a literal global pandemic.
With As Far As You’ll Take Me, my mind is a little clearer. I still promote the hell out of the book, of course, but I’m confident about the book and I’m really happy with the feedback so far. With book two, it feels like I’m setting the groundwork for books three, four, and beyond. And sometimes that means taking a step back, looking at the limited amount of time I have, setting boundaries, and making strategic decisions.
As I go to launch my second book into this pandemic, I feel like I’ve started a really solid career as an author, and that’s something that’s put my mind at ease. Hopefully, I can enjoy the leadup to this launch a bit more!
Question 3: Marty leaves his small town in Kentucky and books a one-way ticket to London to start a new life. If you were handed a one-way ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Ooh, a one-way ticket? Assuming the pandemic is over, I’d choose London any day. I lived in London while in grad school a few years ago, and I would love to do it again. Plus, as you’ll see in As Far As You’ll Take Me, there are so many European cities you can easily visit from London. I miss traveling so much!
The Gravity of Us is about a successful social media journalist, Cal, who is relocated to Houston with his family after his father is selected for a NASA mission to Mars. There he meets another Astrokid, Leon, and while the frenzy around the mission grows, so do their connection. As Far as You’ll Take Me is about young Marty, who books himself on a plane to London from his small American town with nothing more than his oboe and a dream to live free of his family’s expectations. From the outside, Marty’s life looks like a perfect fantasy, but he soon finds the fascade is cracking and starts to wonder if he’ll ever find a place that truly feels like home. I just want to give a quick thank you to Phil Stamper himself, for giving us bloggers the opportunity for an interview and taking the time to answer my questions. I am very excited to pick up his debut, and a review for his sophomore novel will be posted here next week!
Where to find Phil and The Gravity of Us:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
The Gravity of Us buy links
Thoughts About Things 