Interview with Nashae Jones, Author of As You Wish

Welcome to Smack Dab, Nashae. Please tellus a bit about As You Wish.

I’m so excited to do this interview with Smack Dab.Thank you for having me. As You Wish is a middle grade romance about a girl whoafter a fight with her best friend, makes misguided wishes to the West Africantrickster god, Anansi. It’s a story that centers around friendship, family, andacceptance and of course a touch of magic.

I love the way you incorporate the idea of“be careful what you wish for” throughout. Where did the initial spark ofinspiration come from? How did you come to explore it through Birdie’sperspective?

I think the “be careful what you wish for” trope has beenone of my favorite tropes from the time I was kid. One of my earliestencounters with the trope was when I read the Goosebumps book Be Careful WhatYou Wish For, and I remember being absolutely fascinated with the concept ofthe duality of wishes, and how magic was never an adequate solution for yourproblems. So, I think it's always been a concept that’s been rattling around myhead. It’s always been a trope I wanted to explore.

It was a lot of fun getting to write about using a magicalsolution from the point-of-view of a middle school girl because we get to seesome very middle school type of wishes along with some more poignant, heartfeltrequests.

What inspired you to incorporate theAnansi stories from Ghanaian folklore into a contemporary middle grade novel?

I adored reading trickster tales when I was younger. Iwas always interested in the intersection between slapstick humor and morallessons. Anansi is one of my favorite folkloric characters, so I wanted torevamp him and make him come alive for today’s generation of readers.

I love that you’ve written an MG rom-com.You see the rom-com genre in YA, but so rarely in MG—those very first romantic feelingsare not as frequently explored in MG. What made you want to explore it? Why MGinstead of YA?

I think that there’s a real need for upper middlegrade books. In the past, there weren’t many options for kids who were in thattransition phase where they’re ready to move on from younger middle grade booksbut who aren’t quite ready for young adult books. When my own daughter waseleven, she was hungry for age-appropriate romance, but there wasn’t a wholelot available to her. So, I really want to write something to fill that need.

Nancy/Anansi is both helper and trickster.How did you balance these aspects of her character?

One of my absolute favorite parts of writing As YouWish was writing a middle school version of a morally grey character. Traditionally,trickster characters are neither good nor evil, and I really wanted to shapeNancy into that mold. I tried to balance Nancy’s mischievous and her innatedesire for chaos with her underlying affection for Birdie.

How did you decide which aspects ofBirdie's life would change or stay constant across the different realities? Howdid you develop the different versions of Birdie across the various realitieswhile maintaining her core character?

Constructing the alternate realities in an authenticway was probably one of the most difficult tasks for me when I was writing thisbook. I wanted to create realities that really drove home the point that usingmagic as a solution to your problems is not only inadvisable, but dangerous.When creating the different worlds, I focused on each one of her corerelationships. I brainstormed ways that those relationships would change as aconsequence of her wishes.

Social media plays a significant role inone of the alternate realities. What prompted you to examine its impact on teenidentity and relationships?

It’s hard to talk about the modern-day teenageexperience without incorporating social media. Many teens not only have tonavigate the complexities of their identity in the real world, but also in thevirtual realm. With Birdie erroneously tying peer acceptance to popularity, Ithought it would be helpful to show the influence social media has on teenagerelationships.

Sign language and Mishti's character playimportant roles in the story. What inspired you to include deaf representation?

I think all types of kids deserve to see themselves inbooks. With Mishti, I wanted to write a character who was deaf, but who wasn’t necessarilydefined by being differently abled. It was important to me that Mishti was a fullyfleshed out character that didn’t perpetuate stereotypes about deaf culture.

The revelation about Birdie's Uncle Ty'sdeath comes fairly late in the story, but it serves as a crucial piece inunderstanding her mother's anxiety. How did you balance keeping this emotionalbackstory hidden until the right moment while still making the mother'soverprotective behavior feel authentic throughout the book?

Birdie spends most of the story trying to find a wayto be “normal”. A big part of what Birdie feels like makes her abnormal is hermother’s anxiety and how it spills over into an almost smotheringoverprotectiveness. I think it was necessary to keep Ty’s backstory hidden fora while, because the reader needed to grow along with Birdie to be able totruly be able to empathize with Birdie’s mom.

How did your experience as an educatorinfluence how you wrote about middle school dynamics and relationships?

I think being a teacher has given me a unique insightinto the middle school experience, and not just because I can translate phraseslike skibbidi toilet. Ha! Because I’m a teacher, I’m able to get first-handknowledge on how teens interact with each other and the adults in their lives.Surprisingly, I find that the way teens build and maintain relationships istimeless. Teens today go through some of the same triumphs and struggles that Iwent through decades ago.

The book deals with themes of identity andauthenticity. What message did you want to convey to young readers about beingtrue to themselves?

I wanted readers to know that being “normal” issubjective, and everyone, no matter how perfect is dealing with their owninsecurities. So, it’s important to be the person who makes you happiest.

What’s next?

I am currently working on my young adult debut. Ican’t wait to share it with the world.

Where can we find you?

I have a contact form on my website: www.nashaejones.com.I’m most active on Instagram at @nashae.jones.