93: Life Altering Moments for Writers and Their Characters - Jessica Khoury Author Interview

Do you remember the moment you fell in love with reading? Or a magical moment in a story that stuck with you forever? In this episode I talk with author Jessica Khoury about creating her newest book, Monster and Apprentice, how the story developed, how she discovered its themes, and all of the magical moments that go along with a writer's journey. Jessica Khoury is the author of many books for teens and young readers. Her stories have been translated into over a dozen languages and have been finalists for awards like the South Carolina Junior Book Award, the Ignyte Award, the Maine Student Book Award, the Oklahoma Sequoyah Masterlist, the Amelia Bloomer Project, and many more. Her bestselling middle grade debut The Mystwick School of Musicraft was named one of the Best Audiobooks of 2019 by Audible and is one of the Top 20 Most Listened-To children's books of all time.Jess comes from a family of immigrants and currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband and daughters. She spends free time hiking in the mountains, playing video games, and sketching new characters for new stories. Her stories draw inspiration from the world around her, her own childhood, and her Scottish and Syrian-Palestinian heritage.Find author Jessica Khouryhttps://www.jessicakhoury.com/https://www.instagram.com/authorjess/https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicakhouryhttps://www.pinterest.com/jesskhoury/https://jnkhoury.blogspot.com/Monster and Apprentice by Jessica Khoury https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Apprentice-Jessica-Khoury/dp/1665990112/Chapters00:00 Meet middle grade author Jessica Khoury05:08 What is Monster and Apprentice by Jessica Khoury about?10:04 On world building13:15 How Jessica came up with the idea for Monster and Apprentice15:43 When writing fantasy do authors plan themes in to their books?20:10 When Jessica had a brilliant writer moment when she was struck with inspiration that was perfect for her book22:11 A moment that a child loved in one of Jessica’s books23:47 What was the moment that Jessica knew that she was an author?26:16 What was the moment that led Jessica to being published?28:46 Does Jessica illustrate her own books?29:45 What is next for author Jessica Khoury35:10 Jessica’s book recommendation37:03 What to read next if you have loved reading Monster and Apprentice