Frequently Asked Questions

For signed preorders of You Shouldn’t Be Here, please order from Parnassus Books or The Bookshop.

For more information on signed copies of my books and/or signed bookplates, please visit this page.

Yes! I love meeting with book clubs who have chosen to read one of my books. It’s so fun to talk with readers and answer their questions about all the stuff that doesn’t typically come up at events due to spoilers. And I always bring my signing pens to in-person events, so I’ll be happy to sign books for anyone in the club who brings their copy!

If your book club would like to read one of my books, please shoot me an email via my Contact page and we will figure out the best way for me to visit with your club. If you live in the Nashville area, I will try my best to come in person; otherwise, I’m happy to join via Zoom.

I’m so pleasantly surprised by how many folks have asked specifically where they should buy my books, and in what format, so that I get the most personal benefit from the sale. However, I’ll make this real easy for you—it doesn’t matter.

Yes, I get a higher royalty rate for some formats than others (hardcover gives me the most profit per sale; the rest are about even), but it seriously does not make THAT much of a difference. Just buy the format you enjoy reading the most! The thing that benefits me the most as an author is if you read it and enjoy it (and leave a review, if possible).

Same thing goes for the retailer—my royalty rates are fixed by my publisher according to the format of the book, not where people buy it. So wherever you tend to buy your books sounds like the perfect place to me.

Yes! A huge way you can support my books is by requesting them from your local library. Library sales are a big part of a book’s success, and librarians want to stock the books their local readers are interested in. And the best part is, it is totally free!

You can also check the book out from the library (or put it on hold if it’s already checked out). This shows that there is demand for the book, and may encourage the library to purchase more copies.

Another way to support the book is to leave an honest review wherever books are sold. The more reviews a book has, the more likely it is to show up in searches, enabling more readers to find it. This includes Amazon and Goodreads, of course, but don’t forget Barnes & Noble, Target, BookBub, and Storygraph!

For more suggestions on how to support an author beyond buying their book, check out this fantastic post by author Damyanti Biswas: How Do You Support an Author Without Breaking the Bank?

I’m so honored that you thought of me! All blurb requests must go through my agent, Holly Root.

Two strangers search for the truth behind bizarre occurrences no one else dares to discuss—only to discover that they’re connected by secrets that could destroy them both. A thrilling and twisty novel by the acclaimed author of the Mindy’s Book Studio pick I’ll Stop the World.

When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing a mysterious voice in her house, she’s thrilled at the possibility of a ghost. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. But why is she the only one who can hear it? And what does it want from her?

Meanwhile, first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao just got the keys to her new home, which is located close to her job, within walking distance of a dog park—and, most importantly, in the town where her cousin went missing several years ago. No one in East Henderson wants to talk about what happened, but Madelyn is determined to find answers.

As the two strangers search for clues, their investigations begin to point toward the same dark place. But by the time they realize that the truth could be deadly, it’s too late to turn back. And someone out there will stop at nothing to make sure their secrets stay buried.

You Shouldn’t Be Here will release in all formats (hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and ebook) on July 9, 2024.

Yes! The audiobook version of You Shouldn’t Be Here will be available on July 9, 2024, as an Audible exclusive. It is available for preorder here.

You Shouldn’t Be Here is currently available for preorder from all major retailers, or you can check with your local indie.

You Shouldn’t Be Here is a mystery marketed for adults. Like I’ll Stop the World, it is a bit of a crossover title, since it features both teenage and adult characters; however, the primary main character of You Shouldn’t Be Here is an adult (23-year-old Madelyn Zhao, a first-year middle school chorus teacher). And personally, while I think older teens could certainly enjoy You Shouldn’t Be Here, I do think adults are more the target audience for this one.

You Shouldn’t Be Here contains depictions of narcissistic abuse and manipulation, assault, misogyny, discussion of school shootings, gun violence, murder, and death.

To view a complete list of content warnings for YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE, please go here.

Diversity is an important part of the world we live in, so it will always be an important part of my books.

There are two main POV characters in You Shouldn’t Be Here, Madelyn and Angie, and both are biracial-Chinese. Madelyn is half-Chinese and half-white; Angie is a quarter Chinese and 3/4 white. Madelyn also lives with clinical anxiety, for which she takes medication.

The book also prominently features characters of Mexican heritage, and one major white character identifies as a non-binary lesbian.

Not yet, but I’m working on one. Stay tuned!

I guess such a thing is possible, but it’s not likely. I wrote You Shouldn’t Be Here as a standalone, and I think it wraps up pretty well by the end.

No idea, but that would be rad.

The end and the beginning become one in a heart-pounding coming-of-age mystery about the power of friendship, fate, and inexplicable second chances.

Is it the right place at the wrong time? Or the wrong place at the right time?

Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents. The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years. Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future. He just never imagined that his life might take him backward.

In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin. Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school, but have never met―because Rose lives in 1985. Justin won’t be born for another twenty years. And his grandparents are still alive―for now.

In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures―by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet.

The hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and Kindle editions of I’LL STOP THE WORLD are available to purchase now wherever books are sold!

Yes! The audio version of I’LL STOP THE WORLD is available to purchase through Audible. The nine-person cast stars Michael Crouch as Justin, Natasha Tina Liu as Rose, and features Alaska Jackson, Brian Holden, Mark Sanderlin, Sarah Naughton, Scott Merriman, Marcus Stewart, and David de Vries in supporting roles.

Age categorizations for books can be tricky, especially when it comes to books featuring teenage characters. I’LL STOP THE WORLD is not a typical YA book in that its narrators range in age from 12 to mid-20s, neither of which sits comfortably within a traditional YA range. But the central protagonists of the book, as well as a large portion of the supporting cast (including multiple other narrators) are 17 and 18 years old and in high school. A significant portion of the plot is also centered in and around the high school, making it not out of place within the YA category.

That said, I’LL STOP THE WORLD is being positioned by my publisher as a “crossover” title, meaning it can appeal equally to both teens and adults, rather than YA, which is targeted primarily at teens (although adults definitely can and do enjoy it).

As for me, I don’t like to put upper age limits on books; I’m a big proponent of reading what appeals to you, regardless of how old (or young) the target audience for the book is. I like to think of YA as “teens and up,” Middle Grade as “tweens and up,” etc.

So with that said, I’LL STOP THE WORLD is kind of YA, kind of not, but I don’t think that ultimately matters. Its intended audience is teens and adults who enjoy mysteries, time travel, ensemble casts, multiple points of view, and stories that explore themes of friendship and family. Due to the intensity of certain scenes, I would recommend parents of kids below high school age read it first in order to determine appropriateness.

I’LL STOP THE WORLD contains depictions of emotional abuse, alcoholism and excessive drinking, underage drinking, smoking, racism, discussions of homophobia, and violent bullying.

To view a complete list of content warnings for I’LL STOP THE WORLD, please go here.

I’LL STOP THE WORLD may take place in a small town (and mostly in the ‘80s), but one of the reasons I chose to make the location both fictional and geographically vague was because I wanted to depict a group of characters that was as diverse as the world we currently inhabit, without having to worry about whether the demographics of Stone Lake were “accurate” to the other small towns I drew from for inspiration.

I’LL STOP THE WORLD counts among its core cast characters from a variety of backgrounds, including multiple characters who identify as Chinese, Black, Latinx, or white. Some of these characters are biracial. There are also major and supporting characters who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, one of the main protagonists has been diagnosed with ADHD, and several characters experience undiagnosed anxiety.

Obviously, even in a book with a large ensemble cast and multiple narrators, I still can’t represent every variation of life experience—no one book can do that—but I hope that I’LL STOP THE WORLD helps contribute to the growing pool of stories that allows readers from all sorts of backgrounds to find themselves in books.

Not yet, but I’ve been asked about this a lot, so I’m working on one! Stay tuned!

The title for I’LL STOP THE WORLD came from the song “I Melt With You” by Modern English, which I listened to approximately nine thousand times while writing this book.

Short answer: no idea, but that would be awesome!

Longer answer: Mindy’s Book Studio was conceived as a collaboration between Amazon Publishing and Amazon Studios, and the books published through Mindy’s Book Studio are acquired with an eye toward possible adaptation for film or TV. When I’LL STOP THE WORLD was acquired by Mindy’s Book Studio, part of the deal was that Amazon Studios would have first-look rights to adapt the book for film.

That said, there are many, many steps a book has to go through before becoming a film or TV show, and nothing is a guarantee until it is. So while it’s amazing that Mindy and the team at Amazon Publishing and Amazon Studios all saw film potential in I’LL STOP THE WORLD, that doesn’t mean it’s going to make it all the way through that process, anymore than being a promising gymnast in kindergarten guarantees you an Olympic gold medal.

All a first-look deal means is that Amazon Studios has the right to consider the possibility of an adaptation first, not that they have to move forward with it. If they do, there’s still many factors that could stop the process before a single scene is ever filmed. If they don’t, there are still many other options to explore in the world of film and TV. So the TL;DR version is: we won’t know until we know.

Would it be neat to see my story brought to life? Absolutely. Is it up to me? Nope.

While I try to never say never, I conceived of and wrote I’LL STOP THE WORLD as a standalone novel, and my intent is to keep it that way.

Read, read, read. Read a wide variety of genres and authors, read books from diverse perspectives, and read recently published works. As you read, try to make mental notes of what’s working for you, what you find frustrating, how the author is structuring their work, how they’re holding (or losing) your attention. Then bring all that to the table when you sit down to write.

Also, offer to critique a friend’s writing, and see if they will read and critique for you in return. Aside from being a big help to the person you’re reading for, reading and critiquing for others is one of the best ways I’ve found of improving my own writing skills. Just remember to be kind and constructive — “this sucked” doesn’t give your critique partner much to work with, but “I was confused by X” or “I wish we knew more about Y” gives them a road map to improve.

I am honored that you’d want my opinion on your writing, but unless I know you personally and have already offered to read for you, unfortunately, the answer is no. However, I think it’s wonderful that you want someone to read for you, and I encourage you to keep looking!

Personally, I’ve had great luck finding critique partners through local writing groups, conferences, and even through social media. Good luck!

For me and the other writers I know personally, critique partners are an invaluable part of the writing process. A great critique partner (or critique group) can help you find the weak spots in your story, brainstorm through tricky plot tangles, cheer you through writing slumps, hold you accountable to your goals, and help you hone your writing craft.

I found my first-ever critique partner through Twitter (RIP). I didn’t know any local writers, so I just messaged someone I interacted with frequently and knew I got along with and asked if she’d be open to exchanging writing for critique, and she said yes. (This was extremely odd for both of us, as we are both very introverted. Must mean it was meant to be!)

Eventually, I met other writers through local book signings and book events, local SCBWI meetups, writing conferences, and writing retreats. The unifying thread through all of this is that I had to invest in my local writing community by going to support other writers first, and through doing that, I made connections with other writers who were in a similar stage as me and were also looking for the same sorts of relationships I was. There are also plenty of virtual ways writers can connect now, if you don’t have much of a local writing community (although you may have one and just not be aware of it — check with your local library and ask if they know of any writing groups in your area who are open to new members!)

Whether you find your critique partners online, in person, or a mixture of both, my experience has always been that the best way to get others to invest in you is to be willing to invest in others. I hope you find your people.

I actually went to college with my agent, although we didn’t know each other well at the time, and when I first started querying, I also had a referral from one of her existing clients. But… she still wound up passing. The book I’d written just wasn’t strong enough for her to sign me.

So I wrote another book, and I queried her again, and that book (which was not I’LL STOP THE WORLD) was the one that convinced her to represent me. Long story short, all the personal connections in the world still can’t get you in the door if the writing isn’t there yet. The work has to stand on its own.

My agent is brilliant and if you believe she (or any of the other amazing agents at Root Literary) would be a good fit for you and your work, I recommend you query them according to the submission guidelines at the Root Literary website.

That said, I can’t personally refer you if I don’t know you and/or haven’t read your work. But don’t let that discourage you — good work is always enough!

The best resource I have found to learn everything you’ll ever want to know about writing query letters is Query Shark. There is no piece of advice I could give you that is better than what is on there.

Writing a synopsis is the bane of my existence. That said, this post from author Susan Dennard is the best tool I have found for creating a synopsis. The questions in her worksheet can be fleshed out as much as you want, so while her tutorial is specifically for a one-page synopsis, you can go longer if you’d like.

If you have a great idea for a book, YOU should be the one to write it! No one will ever write your idea the way it is in your head. Take, for example, the premise “A man wakes up to find that he’s living the same day over and over, and must figure out how to break the cycle.” That idea can give you Groundhog Day, or Edge of Tomorrow. Ideas are just a starting point; the story comes in the execution.

So if you have a great idea, that’s awesome! But I am not the one to write it. YOU are the one best equipped to develop that great idea into a full-fledged story. If you think, “but I’m not a writer,” just try it and see. You may be surprised.