The Night the Stars Went Missing follows young Winston, who discovers the stars have vanished due to Earth’s mistreatment and embarks on a celestial journey to mend the sky and inspire a world of stewards. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

From the beginning, I wanted to create a story for a younger audience that was driven by Climate Change. Somewhere along this journey, I recall hearing the question, “What do the stars mean to you?” I can’t remember if it was asked directly to me, if I heard it in a movie, or picked it up from a passerby’s conversation on the street. But, for some reason, the question stuck with me. It caused me to consider all the beliefs and meanings people carry about stars. I then wondered: “What if the stars were faced with losing their meaning? What if they feared an existential threat?” From there, the ideas poured out of me. So many interpretations of the stars meant ample inspiration for creativity with the stars’ personalities. Alas, The Night the Stars Went Missing was created. A perfect blend of whimsy and fantasy, while tackling one of our generation’s (and future generations’) biggest crises.

How did you approach crafting Winston’s character to resonate with young readers, especially in his connection with his late grandmother?

In general, I created what I thought was missing and what I felt resonated with me as a young reader. A character with buzzing curiosity and courage, a fantastical setting, and an adventure—this is all I wanted to read!

From a character design aspect, it was especially important for my first children’s book to have a character that looked like my younger self or like my nephew. I needed to see a young brown-skinned boy on the pages. I needed to see what I didn’t have in the books I read growing up. In so many ways, not seeing this always made me feel irrelevant in my own skin, or at a minimum, made me question my identity.

Regarding the connection to Winston’s late grandmother, this is rooted in my own connection with my grandmother, which was very rich, strong, and bolstered by unconditional love. It was beautiful. She inspired me to want to be more curious and to go after big things. She instilled in me many of my core values.

Around the time I was writing this story, she was ill and would ultimately pass away. Adding Winston’s grandmother was an addition that came later, as an homage to my own grandmother. I had been trying to understand Winston’s motivation for embarking on such a big journey. When my grandmother passed, I knew it right then. Winston’s grandmother would be his inspiration driving his quest.

The book addresses some complex global issues in a simplified manner. How did you decide which elements to simplify and which to delve deeper into?

This was a challenge, for certain. Ultimately, I needed to distill it down to the message of the story. What was I trying to accomplish? I knew that I didn’t intend on crafting a ‘how-to’ book or something more expository, nor did I desire a disaster-we-are-going-to-die Climate Change story. I wanted something that felt whimsical while focusing on the collateral damage of the devastation placed on Earth by humans. This story was a way for me to associate core feelings with a complex subject. It was about making an emotional connection for a certain age group, and as a result, making the lesson stick.

I knew I was not best equipped to teach about the science behind Climate Change, but I could support the conversation and get it started. And there it was! That was my objective – to serve as a launchpad for parents to have meaningful conversations with their children. To serve as a starting point. I imagined a parent asking their child, “How do we save the stars today?” And that evolving into a lesson that continues evolving.

What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?

My next book is titled, The Colorless Boy. It will be out in 2024. In The Colorless Boy, Jasper lives in a world where individuality and self-expression are believed to be the cause of all atrocities in the world. Because of it, all color has been banned and all things in the world, including people, have been drained and stripped of their color.

For Jasper, his colorless skin and muted surroundings are all he has ever known. Until that is, he begins to dream in color. This causes panic for Jasper, who believes he is somehow broken. When things can’t get worse for Jasper, he stumbles across a rare colorful home tucked away in the woods — along with a shockingly colorful boy.

Against all odds, their curiosity, kindness, open hearts, and a journey through a colorful house made of magic, lead them to discover the meaning of acceptance and friendship. Together, they dare to defy a world of rules set long before their time. And for Jasper, it will be the first time he sees himself for who he truly is.

Stay tuned for more up-to-date information by following me on IG @hellowonderworld or by signing up on my website http://www.hellowonderworld.com.

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