YA KidLit ALERT!
Greetings Readers, Writers, Creatives...
I can't wait for you to read all about Brianna Jett and her Debut YA Novel-in-Verse, Under a Carnivore Sky. I met Brianna at VCFA when I was still finding my footing, and she already seemed rooted, steady, generous, and in love with story. Now she's stepping out into the world with a strange and wild book that I can't wait to dive into
(I pre-ordered mine — get yours!!!).
We talk about hunger, worldbuilding, writing without rules, and how to follow the pull of a story even when it leads you somewhere unexpected— trust your voice.
The cutest little Bug ever!!!
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Hello, Brianna, and welcome to Teazurs Blog. We met at VCFA—you as a very cool TA, me as a newbie, scared student—you graduated in 2022 and now have your first book coming out this year. What's the title, and how did it come about?
I can’t believe it’s been almost four years since I graduated with an MFA. It feels like no time at all has passed—but also like everything has happened between now and then. My debut novel in verse is called Under a Carnivore Sky, and it actually began as a short story I wrote during my time at VCFA. Right after graduation, I queried and got an agent with a different novel in verse. That story did not sell, so I had to decide what to do next. I took the advice of a former advisor and attempted to adapt the short story into a full novel—and it worked! Not only did I love it, but my agent did as well. The rest is, I suppose, history! Four years after graduating, my first novel will be on the shelves.
What are your launch plans for this book? Will you be signing covers? Answering questions in person? Or chatting on social media?
I’m hoping to do a little bit of everything! I’m having a launch event in my hometown of Chicago, where I’ll be signing books and chatting about this story. Throughout the rest of the summer, I have a book tour lined up. I’ll be in Seattle, Portland, Winter Park, Colorado, and Rochester, Minnesota, doing book events. I’ll be signing, talking to readers, and just generally having some fun with my book.
You say you're obsessed with hunger in your life and in your work—what kind of hunger is Lili carrying? How does that help her in this carnivorous swamp?
Lili has a hunger for life and all the things that come with living. But in the town she lives in, hunger is seen as a shameful thing—something to exert will over and ignore. It’s quite puritanical. As the novel progresses, Lili realizes that hunger is the thing that will not only allow her to survive, but to thrive.
A carnivorous swamp!! How did you come up with this fun and deliciously strange idea? Where were you when it struck? And how did you know it could be a full novel in verse?
I was in bed when the idea for a carnivorous swamp came to me. It was the middle of my time in graduate school, and I had just finished a semester. I needed to turn in a new workshop piece in a few days—and I had nothing. Just as I was falling asleep, the idea for a short story came to me about a girl who must traverse a dangerous swamp to find the monster eating her dad. I wrote it in a fever dream over the next few days.
It wasn’t until a few months later that my advisor suggested it could be a novel in verse. I was resistant to the idea at first.
I had never written in verse
and did not consider myself a poet.
But the idea never entirely left my brain. So a few years later, it was just sitting there—ready to be written.
You keep accidentally writing verse novels—hmmm, I love this…how do you know if a story is best told in prose or verse? Would you call yourself a poet now?
It’s been a long road to being able to call myself a poet. I think imposter syndrome fought me on this at first. I grew up thinking poets had to be great and mythical…and I felt anything but. But I fell in love with writing in verse, so I had to accept that I was a poet—otherwise...
I was undermining
my own joy.
Even though I call myself a poet, I still call myself a novelist. In fact, I consider myself a novelist first. I set out to tell great stories and write good novels—and poetry is my medium.
When it comes to deciding if a story
is best told in prose or verse,
I mostly just go off vibes.
If it feels better in one medium over the other, I go with my gut. That’s perhaps not the most “craft” way of putting it. So, I’ll add this: I don’t think there’s a wrong medium for any one story. I think each medium (whether we’re using prose, verse, storytelling through illustrations, or anything else) simply yields a different result.
It’s like walking through the woods. You’re going to get to the other side, but each path you take might lead you past different views and will feel like a different experience—even though it’s the same destination and the same forest.
The world you've built in Under a Carnivore Sky must've been fun to create. I'm studying worldbuilding in verse…what tricks or tools did you use to build this strange world while still keeping the language tight?
Yes, the worldbuilding for this was so fun! I did a ton of research into carnivorous plants, coniferous swamps, and epiphytes (a class of plants like orchids). I went to different conservatories and also did research online—all of which inspired my own work. For the most part, every plant I mentioned is real. I just added a little sparkle (and some teeth) here and there.
That is, actually, my biggest tip. Have fun with the worldbuilding of your stories. If you’re having fun and if you’re excited, then the words are less likely to feel like too much on the page.
My other tip is to build as you go. Since worldbuilding is more than just the ground below your character, but also the weather and the politics and the money system etc, I like to worldbuild as my character interacts with the world around her. It’s a great way to both ground your character while also fleshing out the world. This also keeps things concise. I’m only telling my reader exactly what they need to know for this one poem to make sense. The next poem will have what it needs to make sense, and so on and so forth.
At the risk of spoiling things, I think the thing you’ll hate most is how much you end up caring for the monster.
Lili teams up with a mapmaker—Why maps? What can a map reveal about a character? How did you construct them? Is there anything that might help my readers if they are making their own maps?
On a purely craft level, I needed a secondary character who could both challenge Lili and give her that which she needs most. She knows the swamp well, but has never been able to find the monster. By making Caleb a mapmaker, I could give her a reason to partner with him—and give Lili a reason to grow close to him.
But being able to make maps means you are able to see accurately the world around you. In other words, I could make Caleb insightful and observant—two things I knew Lili would chafe under. She doesn’t like to be challenged and doesn’t like to be seen.
Also, I love maps. I grew up reading fantasy novels, and I always loved seeing a map on the first few pages. I always found them so romantic, so it was so fun to talk about maps in this story.
You are a gracious and kind TA who loves helping students, and now I see you are donating a percentage of your profits to environmental organizations. Thank you!! What made you decide to do this? How did you choose which groups to donate to?
I am privileged to be able to donate some of my proceeds, and honored to do it! Writing books is not my main source of income, which means the time I get to spend writing feels like a gift. It only ever made sense that I give some of that back.
A lot of this book was inspired by my love of nature. Truly, so much of this book wouldn’t exist if I didn’t already stop to take pictures of flowers, or spend Saturdays at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. When I was deciding who to donate to, I thought about the world that inspired my book—and the nature that is under threat. My donations are only a drop in the bucket, but I tried to cast a wide net and reach organizations that are doing really impressive conservation and climate change work.
You love weird and strange writing—what's the strangest or freakiest scene or image that keeps you up at night?
There’s one thing that’s been keeping me up at night, but not out of fear. It’s a story puzzle that I’m trying to solve. Since 2020, I’ve had this idea of a world where women’s eyes are removed, sometimes replaced by tech, and sometimes not. I’ve been trying to work that into a story for years, and I think I’m close.
How do you write strange? Do you start with "normal" and then add strange elements, or do you start with strange and then get stranger?
I imagine it like a dial. I have an idea, and then I look at it from every angle and try to imagine how I can “dial it up”.
To me, strange is simply
unpredictable.
It’s the thing you don’t see coming, or the thing that you haven’t quite seen before. Nothing is ever new, not completely. But if I can mix my recipe in such a way that it feels surprising, then I’ve done my job. The best way I can put it, is if I have an idea, I ask myself how can I take the unexpected route? And once I’ve figured that out, how can I make THAT even more unexpected?
If Lili from Under a Carnivor Sky were to show up to your first book signing….what might she be wearing? What might she say?
Oh, great question. I imagine she’d be in something purple. She’d choose the color carefully and the texture with care. She wouldn’t care if it’s fashionable.
I don’t think she’d say anything to me, because although she came for the signing, I think she’d get bored being in line and eventually wander the rest of the bookstore until she found a book that grabbed her attention. She’d be in the corner reading all night.
You went from VCFA student to grad to TA - What has surprised you most about seeing the program from the other side?
The thing that has surprised me the most is simply that the learning never stops. I learned soooooo much during my time at VCFA. But I’ve also learned soooooo much since I graduated. The best thing about the WCYA program is that it gave me the tools to keep learning.
The most common craft struggle I see students struggle with is when they ask “is this the way I am supposed to be doing this?” There’s no right or wrong way to write—and no matter what anyone tells you, there are no rules that apply to every book in every situation. There are no defaults and no standards. That’s the hardest thing for students to learn. I struggled with that myself.
But once you realize
you don’t have to write
within someone else’s notions
of good or bad,
then you free yourself
to just create.
When I struggle with this, I like to interrogate the source of these “rules”. Far more often than not, a literary “rule” came from a white man in power deciding what he did was good and what others did was weird or wrong. Defaults only ever serve those in power.
Is there a craft exercise you use that might help newbie writers reading this blog?
This might sound trite, but follow your joy. Write what makes you happy. Write for yourself. Often, drafting can be hard work. If the heart of your story doesn’t bring you some joy or meaning, it can be really hard to keep going when things get tough.
What's one lesson from your MFA experience that you know will help other MFA students?
Collect the lessons and build up your toolbox. That toolbox for writing will last you longer and serve you better than any one story you perfect.
Has teaching other writers changed the way you write or approach your writing?
Teaching others has taught me to be more kind and gentle with myself. If I would never ask for perfection in a student, why do I beat myself up when I don’t write perfectly?
Where will you be in the next year so that my readers can meet you in person? Conferences? SCBWI? Book signings?
My full book tour announcement is coming this week! Angie, I can send you this once we announce. (YES! And I will post here, so readers, stay tuned.)
What does your dream career look like for the next 5-10 years?
My dream career is to simply still be writing books and teaching writing in 10 years.
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Hip Hip Hurray for Under a Carnivore Sky and amazing debut author, Brianna Jett, for this interview!
The way she talks about writing— it stays with me. I feel permission to be free, to play, to push myself further for the joy of creating. To trust the strange. To build a world one small, necessary piece at a time.
I'm lucky to have Brianna as a TA, blazing a path for weird and strange verse novels. I'm so excited for her!!!
Thank you, Brianna!
Under a Carnivore Sky is on its way, and I have a feeling this book won't just be read— it will be devoured.
If you'd like to order the book, follow, or connect with Brianna click on the links:
PreOrder Under a Carnivore Sky (Barnes & Noble)
PreOrder (Bookshop.org)
PreOrder (Amazon)
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