Interview with debut author Janae Marks
This week, we featured Janae Marks, author of the middle grade debut novel From the Desk of Zoe Washington about 12 year old Zoe who loves baking and dreams of becoming a pastry chef. On her 12th birthday, she learns about a father whom she has never met who is in prison for a terrible crime that it sounds like he may not have committed. This novel was heartwarming, engaging and enlightening. As a mom of a middle grade reader, I was so impressed with how gingerly Janae was able to deal with the heavy topic of social justice while keeping the story fun and appropriate for the middle grade audience. For good reason, this book has already been selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month, #1 Kids Indie Next List, A Junior Library Guild Selection, and most recently, a goodreads 2020 Choice Awards nomination - of which voting is happening now, so please go vote!!! .
Janae’s story is one of perseverance and determination. She grew up in the suburbs of New York City and now lives in Connecticut with her daughter and husband. Janae has always loved books and telling stories. In high school, she told stories on the stage in the form of musical theatre which was an initial career goal before she realized that her true passion was creative writing. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Writing for Children from The New School. She received her undergraduate degree in English. Janae spent seven years in the publishing world working for a Big Five publisher. She wrote three young adult manuscripts before switching to middle grade and writing From the Desk of Zoe Washington. Fans will be thrilled to know that she has a second middle grade (non-sequel) novel coming out in Fall 2021 called A Soft Place to Land about a 12 year old girl named Joy thrown a whole lot of change in her life and has similar themes of family, friendship, mystery and finding oneself.
Thank you again to Janae Marks for taking the time out of her busy writing and speaking schedule to answer some questions. We look forward to seeing the success of Zoe continue and reading your next book. Congratulations!
I loved reading that you were involved in musical theatre in high school. Like musicals, books are stories. What do you think the key ingredient is in telling a story?
Characters! Every story, whether it's on the stage or in a book, needs a hero(ine) that you can root for, as well as a cast of side characters that feel like real people.
It looks like the title for From The Desk of Zoe Washington in the UK is different than the US? Why is that?
One thing I've learned about book publishing is that there's a lot authors have little to no control over, including book titles! My US publisher liked my original title, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, but my UK publisher didn't think it fit their market. So they came up with another title - The Faraway Truth. They also created a brand-new cover, which I also love!
What is the story behind the songs on the official Zoe’s Spotify playlist?
When thinking about what Zoe and Marcus could bond over, music immediately came to mind. My dad and I danced to a Stevie Wonder song at my wedding, so that's what inspired me to have Marcus mention "Isn't She Lovely" in his first letter. From there, I picked other songs that I loved growing up, since I'm only a little older than Marcus is in the book. I had a lot of fun putting the playlist together! (You can find it on my website at www.janaemarks.com/book-extras.)
Last question: what is the most recent book you read?
I recently read and loved Serena Says by Tanita S. Jones and The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead.
For more information about Janae Marks, visit her amazing website www.janaemarks.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at @janaemarksbooks.
Happy Reading! @mommylovesbooks
