#every inferno

[harmonyinkpress]

Hi, this is a question for Johanna Parkhurst. In Every Inferno, where did the inspiration for his estranged sister come from?

The way I ended up writing Every Inferno is SUCH A WEIRD STORY. Seriously, I’m sure most people think I’m making it up.

I had this dream one night. And there was boy, and fire, and the boy was climbing out of a window. For some time I’d wanted to write a book about a character struggling with grief—explore the difficulties of how death impacts the people it leaves behind and what grief can and does look like for young people.  So I took the dream and created the character of JJ, and Every Inferno was born.

Anyway, Penny. The sister. She was in the dream too! You know how dreams can be really disjointed at times? And to be honest, this one was already pretty fuzzy when I woke up, and it’s only gotten fuzzier over the years…but basically, at one point the boy climbs up to another window and there’s this little girl sitting there. She became Penny.

In the first drafts of the book, I actually attempted to write a scene where JJ really does climb up the side of Penny’s house to meet her at her window. But the scene didn’t fit in with the rest of the book. Ultimately the library worked much better as their clandestine meeting place.

[harmonyinkpress]

For Johanna P contest: In both Here's To You and Every Inferno, the young characters have experienced the loss of their parents--one pair to death and the other to neglect--how did you determine how you wanted to portray the loss and life reactions both boys have to it? (Possibly too personal here, but I'm wondering how much was it research for you and how much was related to personal experience.)

Dusty and JJ were both heavily influenced by different teenagers I’ve worked with over the years. I certainly had to do additional research to round them out, but their basic outlooks on life were grounded by outlooks of real teenagers I know who’ve gone through similar struggles. 

A lot of adults tend to underestimate teenagers, and I don’t think many adults realize just how many teens essentially navigate the world on their own each day. Sometimes, like in Dusty’s case, that’s because they have no choice. Sometimes, like in JJ’s case, that’s because they’d rather navigate the world alone. Both books were both my shout-out to those teens and my message to them that there might be people out there who can and want to support them. Even if that’s never been the case before.

[harmonyinkpress]

A question for Johanna! Who has been your biggest consistent inspiration even when writing seems impossible?

Definitely my students! I’ve worked in a middle schools and high schools for a lot of years now, and my students consistently remind me why I write for young adults. (Not that I don’t also appreciate my adult readers.)  And now that some of these have students have read my books, they really push me to keep writing—because they keep asking me when the next one is coming out. :)