Debut You is an interview feature on Our Stories Matter blog. Debut authors who have released or have upcoming releases in 2023 are given six questions to answer about themselves and their book. Currently, the questions are the same for all authors. We hope you enjoy getting to know Ciera Burch and can offer your support. Go here for past Debut You features.
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Describe yourself in five words.
As a writer, I describe things for a living, but it’s always much harder when I have to do it for myself! The five words that are closest to describing me that I can think of are: organized, creative, funny, tired, and determined.
I think my creativity is probably the word that describes me best and that has stuck with me for my entire life. I’ve always been the type of person to daydream and make up stories in my head in an instant. Sometimes, the tiniest comment or detail will spark an entire story or character in my brain, and I’ll get lost for ages following a thread and coming up with a story that I may or may not write down—for work or fun. My creativity has kept me sane during the most difficult times in my life, and it’s allowed me to find fun and enjoyment in my life in the most surprising places and times.
Explain your book’s journey.
Actually, my journey with Finch House was pretty rapid, especially compared to my YA journey. Before writing Finch House, I already had an agent and a two-book YA deal, and I realized that I wanted to try my hand at writing middle grade at some point. My agent suggested that I don’t wait and give it a try, and the first draft of Finch House poured out of me in about 30 days. I sent it to my agent, who suggested we go on submission right away, and the next thing I knew, I was in an auction, and Finch House was sold. It became my debut after my YA got pushed back, which has been a fun, fascinating experience. Altogether, I wrote the book at the end of 2021; it sold in early 2022 and was just published on September 5, 2023!
Besides you, who has been your cheerleader(s) throughout this process?
My family, absolutely. They have always supported my writing, and my mom especially has been my number one fan, especially when it comes to listening to every made-up story or story idea I’ve talked her ear off about. My friends have also been supportive, largely by talking me through moments of writer’s block and middle-of-the-night writing freakouts and cheering me on by going on ice cream runs with me.
Understanding your audience is essential. What do you know for sure about the audience you are writing for?
I know for sure that kids like to have fun! They appreciate seeing themselves at work, going on adventures, and being the heroes. I know that they are endlessly curious and have countless questions, and I love to be the person to try and answer some of them or create new ones, especially related to the stories I create and tell.
Tell us about your book.
Finch House is about an eleven-year-old Black girl named Micah who purposely goes into a supposedly haunted house called Finch House to find her poppop, who has gone missing. Micah and her mom have lived with her poppop her entire life and are planning to move an hour away soon, so Micah is worried she’ll lose the connection she has with her poppop and that he’ll be lonely living alone. Finch House is about family connection, especially intergenerational connection, anxiety, coping with change, sorting through generational trauma, and facing your fears.
YOU did it, congratulations! Your story is going to be read by children or teens, educators, parents, librarians, book bloggers, etc. How do you feel, and are there any other projects in the works—that you can discuss?
Thank you! I’m still a bit surprised and getting used to having a book out in the world that people can and have read. It’s been helpful that I’ve been working on plenty of other things in the meantime, particularly my second middle grade, which takes place at a summer camp in New Jersey and features the Jersey Devil.
Finch House
Ciera Burch | Margaret K. McElderry Books | September 5, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Ciera Burch has a BA from American University and an MFA from Emerson College. Before becoming an author, she was once an assistant editor, an indie bookseller, and a theater ticket seller. She remains an ice cream lover, plant mom, and ghost enthusiast from New Jersey who currently lives in Washington, D.C., with far too many books and a bookshelf full of plants.
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