Once upon a time, there was an author whose books associate ED Reina binged in one week. This story isn’t a mystery, so we’ll let you know right now that this week’s featured writer is Stephanie Garber (she/her), #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series.
 

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have always wanted to be a writer. I love telling stories, and I love looking for stories. But I’m also the kind of person who values safety and stability, and so for a long time, pursuing writing as a career seemed like too big of a risk. After college, I pursued an entirely different—and much safer—career path. Then, I picked up Twilight. It was the first piece of fiction that I read after grad school that literally changed my life. Twilight reminded me how much I loved reading and books and stories. And it inspired me to start writing again.

At first, my writing was just for me. I had no intention of trying to get published. I wrote because I loved it. But the more I wrote, the more time I wanted to spend writing, and I began to wonder if it would be possible to write as a job, because it was all I wanted to do. So eventually, I took the biggest risk of my life. I quit my job, moved back in with my parents, and decided that I would work as hard as I could to pursue my dream of writing books. And it was very hard! It wasn’t until about six years (and about 200 rejections) later that an editor finally bought the sixth book that I had written, which turned into my debut novel, Caraval.

The Once Upon a Broken Heart series is dreamy and fantastical, but def has a few Brothers Grimm-esque moments. Did you seek inspo from them or other classic fairy tales?
I have always been enchanted by fairytales and when I first started writing this book, it all began with a fairytale. I had this idea for what I called Murdery Cinderella. I thought it would be so fun to write a book where a Cinderella-type girl marries a prince who is murdered on the wedding night. She then becomes the prime suspect and to solve the crime and clear her name, she’s forced to team up with a very handsome someone who she fears might be the actual murderer. This is how the first seed of Once Upon a Broken Heart was planted, but for a long time I didn’t know how to write it—until I realized that Jacks would make an excellent handsome-someone-who-also-might-be-the-murderer.

Oddly, I don’t actually love the fairytale of Cinderella. I’m such a sensitive person that the beginning always breaks my heart a little too much. I think my favorite fairytale is probably Beauty and the Beast because it’s not as sad, and I’m totally a sucker for a villain who turns hero in the end.

Speaking of the series, you have a new book coming out soon. What’s A Curse for True Love about?
A Curse for True Love is the third and final book in my Once Upon a Broken Heart series. ACFTL continues to ask the question, “How far will you go for your happily ever after?” and once again, readers will see characters going to great—and very questionable—lengths to get what they want. I’m not sure how much else I can say without spoiling the story, but I can tell you that I’m very happy with how this series has ended and I’m extremely curious to see what readers think!

And we wouldn’t want to forget the trilogy that had us falling in love with this world in the first place. When writing Caraval, did you know already that Jacks was going to steal our hearts and find his way into the next series?
I loved Jacks since the moment he showed up in my book Legendary threatening to kill my main character. I adore morally gray, slightly toxic characters who are willing to go to incredible lengths to get what they want, and as soon as I introduced Jacks, I knew I wanted to write a spin-off series with him. But I actually wasn’t sure how readers would feel about it.

When I first finished writing the Caraval series, Jacks wasn’t a wildly popular character—in fact, I think a number of readers disliked him. Writing this series around Jacks felt like a bit of a risk and I was a little nervous to do it. But I also believe in following the stories that make me nervous. If I’m writing something that feels too safe or too easy, I feel like that will show up to readers—and I don’t want readers to feel safe when they read my books. When someone is reading one of my books, I want them to feel as if they are falling in love with someone who they aren’t entirely sure will love them back. I want them to feel excitement and butterflies tinged with just enough anxiety to keep them turning pages. I don’t want anything to feel too easy. I want my stories to feel romantic and intriguing, but never ever safe.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently? And what’s next on your TBR list?
My fave read of the year has been The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter. It’s an extremely fun, perfectly paced adult rom-com about a young woman who wakes up in Paris with amnesia and believes she’s a spy! Spy tropes and secret identity tropes are among my favorite, so reading this book went down like candy. It was full of delicious romantic tension and humor and Ally Carter’s trademark wit, and I cannot recommend it enough.

The next book I’m planning to read is The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin. I’ve always loved vampires and I love the way that Shelby writes, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since the moment it was announced.

Lastly, is there anything else exciting coming up for you?
I don’t think I can say anything about my next project just yet. However, sometime soon-ish after A Curse for True Love releases on October 24th, I will hopefully be able to share a little more about what’s next, which I think is really, really fun!