Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited
to have Mia Araujo here to share about her middle grade fantasy Afia In the
Land of Wonders. It sounds like a fantastic story inspired by West African
kingdoms and has gorgeous illustrations. I’m looking forward to reading it.
In her
stunning literary debut, Mia Araujo presents a gorgeous reimagining of Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland, spinning a new story that is accompanied by
arresting, ethereal illustrations about twin sisters and how one must venture
outside the safety of their home, into the wilderness, in order to find herself
and true happiness.
Afia has always felt like half of a whole. Her
twin sister, Aya, is perfectly happy with fulfilling their family's
expectations of them. But Afia dreams of exploring the world beyond her
secluded cliffside home of Dafra. She dreams of adventure.
When she meets a charming shape-shifter named
Bakame, who dazzles her with promises of a magical land called Ijabu, Afia
decides to take her destiny into her own hands. Although it will mean leaving
everything she has ever known behind, including her beloved sister, Afia
follows Bakame into the forbidden forests surrounding Dafra, from which no one
has ever returned.
Filled with magical sights, a charismatic Queen
and her intriguing court, Ijabu is everything that Afia has ever dreamed of.
But she soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and this fantasy world
demands a terrible price. With the help of a mysterious trickster, Afia must
evade the Queen's hunters and the lost dreamers of Ijabu, who wish to pull her
deeper into their web.
Now, Afia must find the courage to survive while
standing on her own--or risking losing herself completely to the wonders of
Ijabu.
Debut author-illustrator Mia Araujo weaves an
extraordinarily luminous and beautiful story, inspired by Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, about what it takes to find your true self,
even if it means facing your deepest fears.
"Nothing short of an amazing adventure into
a fantastic world, Mia Araujo has crafted a beautiful narrative, made all the
more incredible by stunning visuals that overflow with heart and soul." --
David F. Walker, Eisner-award winning author of Bitter Root and The Second
Chance of Darius Logan
Follower
News
Before I
get to Mia’s interview, I have Follower News to share.
Sandra Cox
has a new release, Reuben Hayes. Here’s a blurb: The crusty middle-aged rancher had only ever loved one woman.
And now her daughter stood on his doorstep. And here’s a buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Reuben-Hayes-S-Cox-ebook/dp/B0DWQBGT88
Jennifer
Lane also has a new short story release, Behind the Catcher’s Mask. Here’s a
blurb:
Fast-pitch
softball is Andie Wilson’s life. She’s a fierce pitcher hoping to score a
college scholarship, and she hates the annoying distraction of cocky baseball
players crashing her high-school charity game. But she doesn’t anticipate the
impact of one baseball player: Colt Turner. As Colt stares at her through his
catcher’s mask, his steadfast gaze may be just what she needs to guide her
through a crisis. And Colt may need Andie, too—to cope with the secret hiding
behind his mask. And here’s a buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZL7M23F
Interview
With Mia
Araujo
Hi Mia!
Thanks so much for joining us.
1. Tell us
about yourself and how you became a writer.
I’m an Argentine
American artist and first-time author born and raised in southern California.
Since 2007, I’ve exhibited my
artwork in galleries, museums, and conventions and have done professional
illustration for newspapers and books, including Silvia Moreno Garcia’s Mexican
Gothic and Gabe Cole Novoa’s The Wicked Bargain. I also co-host Painted
in Color, a BIPOC art podcast on YouTube with my friends, Lauren Brown and
Eric Wilkerson.
I’ve been obsessed with drawing ever since I was a little
kid. When I was 8 years old, I remember telling the class on my first career
day that I wanted to be an artist and an author when I grew up.
I majored in Illustration and minored in Creative Writing at
Otis College of Art and Design in 2007, but I stopped writing for years after
graduating because I was suddenly afraid that I wasn’t any good at writing and
that I had to figure myself out before I could write. So for years, I focused
all of my creative energy on my paintings and drawings. I finally came back to
writing again in 2012, when I started the project that would become this
book.
2. Where
did you get the idea for Afia In the Land of Wonders?
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland is one of my
favorite books from my childhood and I’ve wanted to reimagine my own version
for years.
My twin sister, Barbra, and I grew up
inseparable, so when I moved out and left home for the first time, it was
really hard living apart from her. I felt lost without her and like I had to
figure out who I was on my own, so I decided to write her this story as a way
to reconnect with her.
Your Writing Process
3. Your story is based on West African
kingdoms. What research did you do to create your fantasy world and how did it
affect your world building process?
Most of the fantasy books I grew up with were set in European
worlds or fantasy versions of them and I
never questioned that. But after
taking an African Art History class in art school and learning about the great
West African kingdoms of the 10th-16th centuries, I desperately wanted to see
more fantasy stories inspired by them. My way of paying homage to these
kingdoms was to create the fantasy world in this book. It
’s a reflection of my admiration for the people who lived
there and who made the art that inspired me so much.
Since this is my first attempt at fantasy world-building, I
wanted to educate myself as much as possible on the inspiration for the world
of Djiombé—the Saharan trade routes that connected the African continent with
the rest of the world at that time, the lavish kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and
Songhai, the libraries, universities, and learning centers of Djenné and
Timbuktu. I looked to the writings of Ibn Battūta, who wrote some of the only
first-hand accounts still available to us today of everyday life in these
kingdoms. I also read West African stories to balance out the European
influence of the fantasy stories of my childhood. I didn’t want to link too strongly to any real world culture, so I
used a range of influences for the setting of the story.
4. You started writing Afia In the Land of Wonders in 2012.
Share about what your writing process was like and how it evolved over the time
you wrote and revised your story.
This story went through a lot of evolutions since 2012, but I
didn’t truly start writing a draft until 2017. Up until then, I was mostly
focused on figuring out who the characters were, what they wanted, the
world-building, and how the story would look visually. I was also working
service industry jobs 40-60 hours a week during those days, so I really only
got to work on this story part-time.
My writing process usually starts with scribbling notes,
making word lists, using index cards, and trying to find patterns and
connections between all the pieces of the story. I always turn to drawing,
reading, and research when I hit a dead-end. I incubated my writing until about
2020, which is when I finally felt safe enough to start asking for feedback.
It’s super important to find people who you feel safe sharing early drafts
with, but who will also be honest about what you need to improve.
The initial manuscript was finally finished in May 2022 and I
revised it as much as I could until I submitted the final in January 2024.
Having a few months away from my manuscript at a time while I waited for my
editor’s notes actually helped me feel less precious about making changes.
But despite all the evolutions, from the very beginning, I
knew exactly how I wanted the story to end because I knew where I wanted my
main character to end up. So Afia’s emotional arc has been my compass
throughout the twists and turns of the writing process.
5. Afia In the Land of Wonders is an Alice in
Wonderland retelling. How did you keep some elements of this fairytale while
making your story unique? What advice do you have for writers wanting to write
a retelling?
In the beginning I was staying as close as possible to the
original story because I was really nervous about doing a whole reimagining of
my own. I didn’t have any faith in my ability to write a compelling story.
During the pandemic, I had my first chunk of time to really sit with the story
and realized that I needed to be bolder in my reimagining. And I’m so glad I
did that—the characters all take inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s cast, but
they are their own characters and have evolved beyond what I imagined back in
2012. I also make references to iconic scenes and details from the original
story, like the mad tea party, the “eat me” cakes and “drink me” bottles, the
trial, etc but I only used details that fit into this world and story.
My advice to anyone wanting to reimagine a beloved story (if
you’re anxious like me) would be to set aside your imposter syndrome or
intimidation of the original work! Find that personal connection to the
story—who are you writing this for and why? That emotional core is what will
make your reimagining truly yours, no matter how many times it’s been retold by
other writers. And of course, listen to your characters and let them take you
where they need to go—that’s the most fun part of the process for me.
Your Journey to Publication
6. When did you start querying this book?
How did you know you were ready to start querying?
My journey was a bit different, since I started with the
artwork before I ever got to the manuscript. For years while I was working my
day job as a server, I exhibited the concept art for this project at comic
conventions and shows like Emerald City Comic Con, WonderCon, and GenCon to see
if anyone else would be interested. The people I met in person at these shows
would follow me on social media, join my mailing list, or Patreon afterward,
and a lot of them have been watching this project develop and have been
supporting me for years—I really owe a lot to their enthusiasm and
encouragement.
When the pandemic hit, I was deep in the outline stage of my
manuscript when one of my paintings went viral on social media. That’s actually how I met my agent, Regina Brooks from Serendipity Literary, who
helped me go straight into the submission process.
7. It's cool how you met Regina Brooks. How did
she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?
Regina asked me to write two sample chapters before she
agreed to represent me. From that first conversation, I felt a connection with
her—she understood what I was trying to do and believed 100% in making a
full-color illustrated novel as a debut, even when other people were telling me
that no publisher would pick it up unless it was in black and white.
We went on submission in November 2021 with the first 7
chapters and some sample artwork. Regina worked very hard to find the right
home for my book. Even though we had several rejections, Scholastic was the
perfect fit. Like Regina, they were on board with a full-color illustrated
novel. Regina has been there every step of the way for me, giving me feedback
on the manuscript and edits, answering my emails and phone calls even after
incredibly long days. She really is the best, most hard-working agent I could
hope for! And shout-out to her assistant Emma Loy-Santelli and social media
manager Scott Richmond, who have both been incredible too.
8. You’re also a very talented artist and
illustrated Afia in the Land of Wonders. Did you also design your gorgeous
cover? How has it been working with your publisher on edits for your book and
the illustrations?
Thank you so
much! Yes, I painted the wraparound cover art in acrylics and created the spine art, but the rest of the
design is by my amazing book designer, Omou Barry. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have gotten such an amazing team on this book. Designing and laying out an illustrated
novel like this is no small feat, and I had a very
specific vision for what I wanted, but my designer Omou, creative director Elizabeth Parisi,
and editor Lisa Sandell did an incredible job and went beyond what I could’ve
imagined. Lisa was a fantastic editor, and was super kind and patient as this
was all new for me—she understood what I wanted to do with the story and
everything she suggested was in full support of that.
The most challenging part of the whole process for me was
trying to finish the manuscript and creating 30 acrylic illustrations and 20
pencil drawings in 2 years….but the publisher was kind enough to bump the
release from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 so that I wouldn’t have to rush any of
it. I really couldn’t have asked for a better experience or team as a
first-time author.
Promoting Your Book
9. How are you planning to celebrate your
book’s release and promote it?
My favorite local bookstore, Arvida Book Co. in Tustin, CA is
hosting a launch event for my friends and family on my publication day. I can’t
wait to celebrate with everyone who has had to hear me talk about this book for
so long and who has supported me and cheered me on the entire time. It’s going
to be very emotional to have them there with me on that day!
Aside from those events, I attended the New Orleans Book
Festival and TLA in Dallas to share about my book and did my first school visit
last month. After the book is out, I’ll continue sharing my process on social
media and Patreon—I have a lot of behind the scenes sketches, videos, and
process photos of the 12 years that went into this. I’m also working with my agent and my publicist, Brooke
Shearouse, to schedule other events and school visits. I’ll be sharing the details for those on my website and socials.
10. As an artist, some of your clients are
Penguin
Random House, HBO, Wizards of the Coast, Imagine FX, and the Washington Post.
Are any of your connections with them or others in the art world helping you
spread the word about your book? Did you learn anything from working with them
that is helping you as an author?
Not those
clients specifically, but I am still in touch with artists from my gallery
days, coworkers from my service industry jobs, fellow illustrators and artists
from the years I exhibited at conventions, and former instructors and
classmates from college too. I’m lucky to have met so many incredible people throughout my career and many of them have
already been helping me get the word out for my book, which I’m super grateful
for.
Each one of
those stages of my life helped me tremendously—waiting tables forced me out of my shyness of talking to strangers and the
people-watching there gave me lots of ideas. Working a convention booth helped me learn how to talk to people about my art and to
practice pitching what my stories are about. All of these bits and pieces of my life inspired my work but also helped me improve at presenting it and
myself professionally.
11. What are you working on now?
I have several
story ideas I’m working on now—a couple of
picture books, some middle grade
stories, and a middle grade series that I’m especially
excited about, but it’s too early to share. All illustrated, of course! As labor-intensive as
this book was, I really do love using pictures and words together to tell my
stories and would love to create as many stories like this as possible. For
anyone who’s curious to follow the process or to get
the first peek at future stories, feel free to join my mailing list or Patreon page.
Thank you so much for having me, Natalie!
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Mia. You can find Mia at:
Giveaway Details
Mia’s publisher is generously
offering a hardback of Afia In the Land of Wonders for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a
follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the
right sidebar) and leave a comment by April 26th. If I do not have your
email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in
the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on
Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or
follow Alby on their social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll
give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
This book giveaway is U.S.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted
by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.
Upcoming
Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Wednesday, April 16th I’m participating
in the Raindrop in Roses Giveaway Hop
Monday, April 21st I have an agent
spotlight interview with Carey Blankenship-Kramer and
a query critique giveaway
Wednesday, April 23rd I have an agent
spotlight interview with Rebecca Eskildsen and a query critique
giveaway
Monday, April 28th
I have an interview with debut author Alby Williams and a giveaway of their MG
Where There Be Monsters
Thursday, May 1st I’m participating in the Come What May
Giveaway Hop
Monday, May 5th I have a guest post by author Donna Galanti
and a $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card giveaway to celebrate the release of her MG Loon
Cove Cover
Wednesday, May 7th I have an interview with author Aimee
Phan and a giveaway of her YA The Lost Queen and my IWSG post
I hope to see you on Wednesday!
