Julia Bodwell: Hey reader, welcome back to another episode. It's your host, Julia Bodwell, and joining me today is E.G. Young, author of A Dead Thing Like Me, in which a teen ghost in love with life and hot dogs becomes bound to the house of a grieving artist who summoned her via Ouija board. EG, thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to chat with you about this book.
eg young: Thank you for having me. I love the Gilded Page. I literally went there like this week and spent way too much money because it's the most
Julia Bodwell: thank you.
eg young: it's the most magical bookstore. So thank you for chatting with me.
Julia Bodwell: Well, we we loved connecting and of course we loved having you come because you signed some books for us and it was a s more special than any author that's ever come sign books because you signed with a invisible ink pen. Of course we're like running around looking for a black light. Like, do we have a black light? Are we gonna how we how are we gonna read her message? So is that something that you
eg young: I did for like running around like a blacklight, like do we have a lightlight? How many of you have
Julia Bodwell: do in all of your signings?
eg young: Any independent bookstore I've been trying to do it. So Gilda Page, Tom Bolo, and the Book Lounge all have the invisible ink messages. This is thanks to my friend David who sent me a little package with invisible ink pens and I was like, my god, you don't know what you've unleashed.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Ha ha I love that. Well that and you left us some goodies. so you had the the tarot cards, which I mean that
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: that's very fitting. it makes perfect sense that you would do that to go with this book. and I have to say I love this book so much. It was equal parts funny, spooky, tender. I'm just I'm so curious, where did you come up with this idea for this story?
eg young: Hot Dog just kind of, you know, appeared to me, just like she does in the book, to Logan,
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: the human teenager. this was in twenty twenty one and I was asking myself, if I was a paranormal creature, would I be a werewolf, a ghost, or a vampire? Which one would you be, Julia?
Julia Bodwell: Gosh, that's such a hard question because I love all of them. I'm I'm just like you, I love all the spooky things. I think
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: being a ghost would probably be my top choice, but I also would really
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: love the idea of being a vampire and like being immortal and although I would
eg young: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: it would be sort of like the Twilight Vampires where I couldn't I I wouldn't be able to kill people unless they were like bad. Like almost like a Dexter vampire, you know, like a vigilante. You know, you you can kill the serial killers.
eg young: totally. I feel you could you could you could totally rock a Dexter vampire. Yeah. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Okay, okay, I like that. But I also I love the go like I feel like a ghost is like OG spooky. but I I
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I like the idea of a of a like a Dexter vigilante vampire as well.
eg young: Yeah. It reminds me of the book, my gosh, what is it called? Is it Woman Eating? It's such a good vampire book and she tries it it it's it's
Julia Bodwell: Okay. I I don't know that one. But that sounds very I like the title, Women E
eg young: great and the the audiobook narrator is so good because she's British and
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: I'm gonna look it up right now. but anyway,
Julia Bodwell: I love that.
eg young: so I was asking myself what would I be? What would I wanna be would be Werewolf, but I I
Julia Bodwell: So would you be a ghost? okay, a werewolf. Okay. Okay.
eg young: I I would be a ghost. and so then I was like, all right, what what kind of ghost would I be? I would probably be a ghost who just like wanted a hot dog and a friend. Because this was during
Julia Bodwell: Is that your favorite food, hot dogs?
eg young: you know what? It's it's not okay,
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: yeah. Woman Eating by Claire Coda.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: she's trying to figure out how to be a vampire. I can't remember in the end if she actually does only go after bad people or if she's just like You know what? I deserve a treat. Either way, it's a great book.
Julia Bodwell: I'm gonna embrace being a vampire and do whatever I want. Okay. I love it. I'll have to check that out.
eg young: Yeah. So this was like during the pandemic and I was, you know, isolated in my house, missing my friends, missing New York City where I had spent a lot of time and thought I might move before the pandemic. And so I was thinking about like the hot dog stand outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and how cute it was. And although I don't eat hot dogs, hot dog the ghost came to me and was like, I really want a hot dog probably 'cause I sh she's yearning for a hot dog. She does.
Julia Bodwell: She just she she's yearning the whole time. She just wants that hot dog and she can't have it. I feel like that's something, you know, relatable to any any person reading it is just like the thing that you want so badly and you just you can't have it for whatever reason. It's just like that I want it. Like the more you can't have something, the more you want it. I just felt so bad
eg young: Yeah. Yes.
Julia Bodwell: for her.
eg young: Yeah, it's like that writing advice. It's like the characters can want anything, even a glass of water, but in her case it's just a hot dog. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, she just wants a hot dog. But I love that, you know, you you forced her like into a different situation where all she wants, like her main goal in her afterlife, I guess you could say, because she's she's undead, she's not living, but she just
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: wants that hot dog. And so you sort of force her out of that in into an a new situation, you know, maybe she's a little uncomfortable 'cause she's like, I just want the hot dog. What am I doing here? so I love that. And and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: just the characters, you know, it's so tender and there was so much depth to it and you know, you look at it and you think it's just gonna be this kind of spooky book, which it is, but it just it has so much
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: so many layers to it, which I thought was so beautiful. and so yeah, I was just so curious how you came up how how you came up with the idea and and why you chose to make it young adult.
eg young: That's a good question. I mean, my MFA is writing for young adults. So I I I tend to gear towards that anyway. But also I feel like the themes of the story are very YA. Like she's trying to find who is she in this world? And how do you be a human person? And that's a big theme of the book. She also has a friend who's a hot demon and he's, you know, in a possessed body, and he's like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: I don't know, like what does a person smell like? So he just carries around a backpack with like Deodorants with wacky names. They're sort of like the old spice deodorant names, but wackier. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. Yeah, I love that sort of like quirk about his character that he just had all these deodorants with him. Because he like
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: you said, like he's trying to figure it out, he's he's not human, so he's trying to figure out how do I behave like a human and same with with hot dog, you know, she just wants so badly to be
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: seen as a human girl, so she's trying to emulate that.
eg young: Yeah, and I feel like that's something that like I mean, I still have those questions. How do I be a person? How do I make friends? How do I stand in a room normally? But if you're a ghost, you know, and you maybe like hover a little bit, and maybe
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: you can only communicate via Ouija board, that's even tougher. And I feel like for teens, that's when you're first trying to answer those questions, even if you never are quite sure. that's when it's hardest when you're like, How do I find my people? How do I be who I am? And so that really fit for it being a YA book.
Julia Bodwell: Which I think is so important, you know, especially to teens and two kids that age, you know, is like you said, they're they're trying to figure out who they are, they're trying to find their way in this world and you know, books are so important in such an important way for them to see themselves in other characters and and s you know, get
eg young: Okay.
Julia Bodwell: to know people th through the characters that they might not understand their perspective and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: That's why, you know, I'm I'm so adamant a against, you know, book banning. It's like you need to let these books be in the hands of these kids. They need to be able to be exposed in a in a safe way, to to s situations and perspectives. Yeah.
eg young: Yeah. It's super important. Yeah, and living in Florida living in Florida, we both have strong feelings about this 'cause Florida's like I think like number
Julia Bodwell: yes. yes.
eg young: one for book banning.
Julia Bodwell: We're we're up there. It's like we're trying to be number one but for the wrong thing.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: so yeah, that's that's a little scary. so you said yes, you
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: you do have your FA in writing for children and young adults. So do you see yourself only writing young adult? Are you ever planning to write like middle grade, or will you ever go into adult?
eg young: Yeah, I'm actually co writing a vampire book with my friend that's an adult vampire book.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Okay.
eg young: and so I will probably always write in like YA and adult and maybe middle grade if I'm brave enough. That's like that's such an incredible like genre because you have to you have to you have to be so good at what you do to write
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: for middle grade, I feel.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. That's probably probably the hardest, you know, age to write at, you know, 'cause you really have to nail it.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: so who who when you were writing the book, were there any, you know, favorite characters or do you just kinda love them all equally?
eg young: I loved them all equally, but I I am an animal person, so I really loved Hor, who is
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: the little he's a little demon snake, and he came down to earth with Damon, the hot demon, and Damon ended up in the body of a teenage boy. Horse ended up in the body of a snake. But like before this, he was just kind of like a spirit, and he was like hoping he would end up in the body of a horse, not a snake. So he he he really identifies with being a horse, so he calls himself horse and he's just like he's just such a cute little friend. He can't speak because I mean it's a fantasy, so I guess he could speak, but for whatever reason he can't speak, but he does like communicate with the demon and then the demon will like translate. Like he just really wishes that he had like a margarita right now. Because Horace
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: loves a margarita.
Julia Bodwell: He was probably my favorite character as well. He just he was so adorable. I think I like that you made him this little tiny snake 'cause that made him so cute
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: and like cuddly. But I love the idea that he he wanted to be like larger than life. He wanted to be a horse, and it's like, no no, you have to be
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: this tiny, adorable little snake creature. So
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: that was that was very endearing. so you actually have hi I hope I get this right, hyper mobile spectrum disorder, is that right? Okay. So
eg young: Mm-hmm. I do.
Julia Bodwell: and that does that mean that you have like problem with with your hands with writing and and typing.
eg young: Yeah. So hypermobile spectrum disorder is basically like your connective tissue is just wacky and so it doesn't hold up your structures correctly. So that means
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: like your your joints often aren't held in place correctly. So typing, writing by hand, now I've found even dictating, like even using my voice. So like before
Julia Bodwell: Really?
eg young: before this, I used a little vocal mist inhaler. I did
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: voice exercises. But even that, because like there's connective tissue all through your body.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: and so when I was first writing this, I did not know that I had this. I just knew it hurt a lot when I typed.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish writing it physically because it was really painful. So that's when I ended up learning dictation and I dictated most of this, literally just speaking it. into the software that translates it into words on the computer screen.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, well ha I'm I'm I'm so curious about that. You know, you said that you you dictated the whole book. It's I'm I'm not thinking of it as like, you know, when you you talk into a voice memo or like you do it like an audio
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: audio text to talk, so like it doesn't get any of the you know, sometimes it spells the word wrong or it gets the wrong word or or it has no punctuation. So is it kind of like that or is it a more advanced program where it can kind of pick up some of that? Okay.
eg young: It's it's definitely better than that. I tried like just the phone in app dictation
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: tools for a while and that did not work. And then I talked to one of my former professors who has had to use dictation before for mobility issues. And he was like, You have to try drag and nuance.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: so that's like it's a it's a higher functioning dictation. It learns your vocal patterns, it gets most things right, and you can train it to get certain words right. It still makes mistakes, but it's way, way, way better.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. And do you find like, you know, versus you I know you said it's now kinda causing you some problems too, but still compar
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: compared to typing or writing, like it was much easier and less obviously you don't want it to be painful when you're trying to write your books.
eg young: Right. Yeah, it's definitely helped a lot. And now I like to mostly dictation, but then I'm doing some typing when my voice gets too tired. So they they they take turns. Like whichever part of my body needs a break, I use the other thing.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, that's fair.
eg young: yeah. But it was really interesting, like learning to write by speaking is super different, like psychologically than like writing or typing. So
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: that was like a that was a whole journey for me.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. That's crazy 'cause yeah, you're you're you're just saying it all out loud. when you
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: when you write, like did you do you do like a lot of outlining first? You just sort of have the idea in your head and then you just like jump right in and start writing? Like what's your process like for writing?
eg young: I used to be no outlines, but then I realized nothing I wrote ever made sense. So
Julia Bodwell: He
eg young: I did I did switch to using outlines. And so for this book, I started just experimenting, like hanging out with the characters, writing a little bit of the first like chapter or two. Then I outlined using Save the Cat Writes a Novel.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: And Lisa Kron's books, Wired for Story and Story Genius. And I kind of used those two models together. So got like the major character beats and the major plot beats through the midpoint. And then
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: once I reached the midpoint, I did like the major beats to the end. But I always kind of knew what the character arc would be. I just wasn't completely sure how things would would would get there.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Well sometimes that's nice, you know, not not having all the answers. You have to let your characters guide you a little bit and and speak to you and tell you what they want too, I'm sure.
eg young: Yeah. What about you? Do you do you write?
Julia Bodwell: I do, yeah. So I I say that loosely. I mean I I somebody asked me the other day what my process like what my writing process looks like and I'm like, Well, I usually have an idea in my head. Usually I I know the ending.
eg young: Mm.
Julia Bodwell: Like I know exactly what I want how I want the the story to end. And I don't really outline. I'm more of a a a pantser, maybe a little bit of a
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: plancer. I might type some things down. But then, you know, I'll
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I will write for a few like days or weeks and then I won't write again for like six months. So it's a terrible it's a terrible
eg young: That's so fair.
Julia Bodwell: process. I have a really bad like schedule. I I don't recommend it to anyone who's trying to write. You need to, you know, I'm sure you can s attest to that. Like you have to write more regularly. And so, I just get so busy with other things that I don't make it a priority like I should. And then when I do sit down, I'm like, okay, what was I doing? 'Cause that was six months ago and I have to go back and like reread everything and so so much time is wasted like revisiting what I was working
eg young: That happens to me. That happens to me too.
Julia Bodwell: on and I also get stuck. So if I get stuck and I'm like I don't know what's where it's going
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: or or what we're doing, then I'll I'll take like a prolonged break. So that's kind of where I'm
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: at right now is like I don't know what I'm doing. So I'm gonna take a break and maybe lightning will strike and I'll get an idea back.
eg young: Yeah, I mean that's fair 'cause you're running a whole bookstore.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: It's definitely it's definitely not the the priority is running the the bookstore, not writing. I look at it more
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: of like a hobby for me right now. so maybe one day that'll change. But it's it's just for me personally as someone who doesn't like the spotlight, I love to be able to spotlight other authors and like chat with, you know,
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: other authors about their books and and hand sell those in the store. So
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I'm sure I'll probably always write, but I I like to just exist quietly in the background.
eg young: And sometimes it's really nice when writing is just an art for yourself. Like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: that's kind of how this book started. I was trying to finish another manuscript and I was really struggling and I was stuck. And then I was like, this is fun. Like this this ghost character is fun. But you know, I I should finish the other book. And then my friend Elliot was like, no, you should if you're into writing this, just write this. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: I kind of just wrote it like, it's such a weird book, probably no one will want it, but you know what? I'm just gonna do it for me. And then this is the book that that got picked up, so
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. And now this is your debut, correct? Okay.
eg young: This is my debut, yes.
Julia Bodwell: Did you finish the other book that you were writing, the other story? No pressure, but
eg young: You know, I haven't because I hadn't learned outlining. Hadn't learned outlining, but I am gonna go back to it. Plus
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Okay.
eg young: it was it was a dystopia and I feel like since recent events, living in Florida in the age of a second Trump administration, I could write a much better dystopia than I tried
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: to back in like twenty fourteen. What did I know back then? Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I mean, I feel like what do we ever know? We w as we do something more and more, we just get better and we learn more. so
eg young: It's true.
Julia Bodwell: for for this being your debut, what's been sort of the because it's fairly new, couple couple weeks, two weeks, right? Like it's still so new. Like it's not been out there very
eg young: Yeah, like two weeks. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: long. so what's been the sort of the most exciting part of the release so far?
eg young: It's been really fun to connect with the bookstores and obviously it's a dream come true for every author to go into a bookstore and see their book there. but also just meeting all of the people. I feel like it's really made me feel more connected to the literary community of Tampa Bay and it's forced me to drive a little farther and go visit bookstores I haven't been to before and find new favorite places. So I think connecting to people and now that it's out, like starting to be able to connect with readers is really cool. Like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: it's it's just fun that hot dogs exists now in a real book form. She's not just in my head. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, yeah.
eg young: it's cool to share her.
Julia Bodwell: Well, and I love the fact that you said, you know, she you were just writing the story for your fun for fun for yourself. And I
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: I feel like, you know, any art when it becomes a job, like, you know, you have to do it, but when you're doing it for yourself first and foremost, that really comes across through the page to the readers. You know, we can really feel the passion
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: and the love that you put into the story. and then now you get to share it with all of us and and we get to enjoy it, you know, just as much as
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: as your as you did when you were writing it and creating it.
eg young: Exactly.
Julia Bodwell: So what do you hope that readers take away from the book? 'Cause there's a lot a lot of really great messages, but what what were you hoping that readers get out of it?
eg young: Yeah, I mean, first I hope they have a good time with it. I hope they enjoy hanging out with Hot Dog. I hope Hot Dog becomes their new ghost BFF is what
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: I tell everyone. and like there's a lot of different things that they could take from it. I feel like one of the like for me, as I was exploring what does it mean to be human? the answer is anything, it it anything you want. there's no one right way to be a person. And that's something Hot Dog finds out throughout the book. Like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: Part of the reason she wants a hot dog is she feels like if she could just go up to this hot dog stand and order a hot dog with banana peppers, that would prove she's just like a real person. And then when she doesn't
Julia Bodwell: Which I love that she she she l she later like evolves and she wants to go to the Halloween party for the same reason. Like I love that. She's like, if I could
eg young: Yeah, right.
Julia Bodwell: just go to the Halloween party and show that I'm a re like I'm a real human girl
eg young: Yeah. Like her wants get bigger as her world gets bigger and also
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: her attempts at being a person. Like if I get this invite, if I drink a potion that makes me look more human, maybe maybe that's gonna be the thing. And at the end of the day, she already is a person. Just just because she's a ghost doesn't mean she's not a person. And every every one of her friends in this book, like a a demon snake who wishes he was a horse. a demon boy who's confused about how to be in a human body, a human girl who's also very different herself. they're all different flavors of weird. And like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: she finds her people and her friendships and herself and realizes there's no one right way to be a person, which I feel is a lesson I've had to learn. As I have found
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. Yeah.
eg young: like my weird friends who are, you know, the perfect fit for me. And send me the send me the invisible ink pens.
Julia Bodwell: Yes, I love that. Like I I'm I love that for you. You have friends that send you invisible ink pens and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: encourage you to write messages with with them so that people have to have a black light to read your message. I love that. So you you will you will need
eg young: Exactly. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: if you if you find a a signed copy of a dead thing like me in any of the Tampa Bay bookstores, you will need to procure a blacklight pen because or a black light,
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: because it's invisible pen, which is awesome.
eg young: Correct. Any of the any of the any of the indie bookstores, I haven't I haven't signed all of them at like Barnes and Noble yet.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: and the one that I did sign, I was in a rush and I forgot my invisible ink pen. So but but if
Julia Bodwell: no.
eg young: it's I know it might have to go back. But if it's at the gilded page or an indie one, then for sure.
Julia Bodwell: Not the invisible ink pen. You'll definitely have to go back. Yes, awesome. That's great. so what are you working on next? Are you working on anything? Are you just sort of enjoying the release of this book?
eg young: Yeah. No, I have one last chapter to write of the co-written vampire book and I am yeah,
Julia Bodwell: you did say that, sorry, yes, yeah. Mm-hmm.
eg young: no, but I didn't tell you like where I was in the process.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: so now I'm getting imposter syndrome because I've
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: been, you know, doing debut things and just like you said, I have to go back and reread this book and be like, Who wrote this? Who are these characters again? So
Julia Bodwell: What were we doing?
eg young: yeah, so that's what I've been doing. Luckily my friend Elliot is there. be like Emily calm down. It's it's n in a nice way, not in a patronizing way. in like a way of like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. He he's just being a good friend.
eg young: yeah, like you've you've totally got this. Like just just write something. So together we're gonna we're gonna get to it. He's the co writer, yes. And and is the one that
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I love that. So is it so that's he's the co-writer? Okay. And is there
eg young: is the one that told me to write this book. He's a genius.
Julia Bodwell: Yes, which I lo I love that. He's the one that sent you the invisible pen okay. Invisible ink pen. that's David. I'm sorry. Okay. Okay. Ellie told you to write it. Okay. Well you've got a you've got a good
eg young: Nope, that's David. Nope. David sent me the pen. Elliot is co-writing and absolutely. And Marianne.
Julia Bodwell: a good a good group, you know, supporting you behind you.
eg young: Yes. Marianne designed the tarot cards that you'll get if you go to the Gilda page and get some swag with your book. Yes.
Julia Bodwell: Which are amazing. They're awesome. I love them. so is there like a is it far enough along where you guys have a pub date for that one, or are you just still working on the manuscript?
eg young: No, we're still working on the manuscript, so that's exciting. 'cause
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: who knows?
Julia Bodwell: That's awesome.
eg young: I'm pi I'm pitching some young adult scripts to my editor in hopes that
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: like I can move forward on one of those too.
Julia Bodwell: So now that you've got, you know, one book behind you, are you sort of having to write the full manuscript again or can you just sort of pitch the ideas to the publishers, like have your agents pitch the ideas? Like how does that work?
eg young: that's something that's so interesting about the publishing industry is I feel like I'm constantly finding out new things. but right now we're pitching like sample pages outline. And
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: hopefully if they like it, they can move forward just with that. but yeah, it's
Julia Bodwell: Okay. So sort of just like this is the concept, not necessarily like I've written an entire manuscript, here it is. Okay.
eg young: Right. Like the the vampire book is different because it's adult and so I don't
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: have an adult editor or publishing house that I already have an established relationship with. But I love the editor that I worked with for this. Like Cade Dishman is so smart, so kind, made this book better in ways that I didn't think were even possible I never could have dreamed of. So I
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: really want to work with them again for sure.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Is that something that realistically could happen, you know, for your for the future for your next books? Okay. Okay. Fingers crossed, yes. Put the energy
eg young: Yeah. Yeah, if they like the pitches, so put good energy out.
Julia Bodwell: out. so you you know, you're you're writing a lot, you're working on a lot of things. What are you currently reading? Yeah.
eg young: I just finished The Dead of Summer by Ryan Lasala, which you know 'cause I entered your I entered your bookstore and I saw it on the
Julia Bodwell: Yes, you were yep. You were telling me.
eg young: shelf. And it has the paperback has the cool sprayed edges that look kind of like octopusy. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, they did a nice job. Which you did say that that was a a good comp for your book, right?
eg young: I yeah, probably more The Honeys,
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: which is one of Ryan's earlier books. The Honeys would be a good comp for my book because it's like
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: campy, horror, but also very poignant and also funny. but yeah, I'm I'm obsessed with the Dead of Summer and the sequel doesn't come out until April, which is my birthday. So that's nice
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: for future me, but but for current me. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Excellent. That's that's like your you know, your your your birthday present, like you know, future birthday present. But yes, current you is probably frustrated as as most readers
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: tend to be when there is any sort of a sequel or if it's a a series and they have to wait. That's why I I don't typically read series, unless if it's already finished or there's enough out, 'cause
eg young: huh
Julia Bodwell: I'm such a slow reader. Like I am reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but I'm only on book three and eight are already out and by the time I get to eight I'm sure nine ten will be out because I just I
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: I won't remember anything. So I typically will just read standalones for that reason. And plus I just like standalones, but yeah if it's like if if if I have to
eg young: I hear Dungeon Crawler is
Julia Bodwell: wait, you know
eg young: Dungeon Crawler is supposed to be so good and there's supposed to be a great
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: cat in it. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Yes. my gosh, Princess Donut. She's amazing. The whole the whole cast, but like she's probably, you know, the the the shining character. Like she's just she makes that whole, you know, series. I wasn't gonna read the whole series. I did read the first book. I was like, all right, I'm gonna check this out. It's you know, getting hyped out. and I really enjoyed it. And then I wasn't sure if I would keep going, so I took a break, and then I when I picked up the second one, I finished it and then the same day like came to the store, came to work, and I was like, Okay, I need book three. Like I'm I guess I'm committing to this ten
eg young: Wow.
Julia Bodwell: book series 'cause the characters are so great. yeah, so and and I I think Peacock is producing it so I'll be interested to see how they bring it alive on the screen. But
eg young: Yeah. I I just got the first book because I think it's time to commit. I feel like the whole book is the only one that you missed. I know. The peer pressure is really happening.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I feel like the whole world is reading it, so you know, you're the only one, E. G., that's not reading this book right now. The peer pressure, right? Not that you should have to read something you don't want to, but I think you'll enjoy it. The characters are great.
eg young: Yeah, there's there's no right way to be a person, but you do have to read Dungeon Crawler actually. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Correct, right? Th that is correct. so I love that. So, anything you wanna leave our listeners with before we go? Any last thoughts?
eg young: Yeah, go to the Gilded page and get your copy because it's signed in in Vista Blink and you get a little tarot card and it's gonna tell you whether you are a ghost, a demon, a snake named Horse, an artist, or best of all, a hot dog.
Julia Bodwell: A hot dog. I got the hot dog card. real quick before we go for listeners that are not local to Gilded Page and the Tampa Bay area, are you going on tour at all for the book? Will you be going out of state?
eg young: I have a couple of festivals I'm going to and one of them is out of state, but I can't say where it is yet because it hasn't been they they have to announce it first. But
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: I am going to be at Comic Con the weekend of September 4th.
Julia Bodwell: Okay, excellent.
eg young: and I might be going up to Philadelphia and New York at some point, but who knows. So this is super helpful for listeners. You might see me in a state possibly
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: at some point.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. And if not you can you c yeah,
eg young: But you can you can go to my
Julia Bodwell: they they can go to your website. I was gonna say you can always follow her on online
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: and and check out her website for for any appearances where she might be. So but
eg young: Yes, I do have a page that says like events and you can go to my Instagram, EG Young Books, where I will also say where I'm going and show pictures of my dog.
Julia Bodwell: We we love that. We love animals. So
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: E. G., thank you so much for chatting with me and for putting this book out into the world. it's been a pleasure.
eg young: Thank you for having me.
Julia Bodwell: Yes. And readers, we'll we'll see you next time.
eg young: Thank you for having me. I love the Gilded Page. I literally went there like this week and spent way too much money because it's the most
Julia Bodwell: thank you.
eg young: it's the most magical bookstore. So thank you for chatting with me.
Julia Bodwell: Well, we we loved connecting and of course we loved having you come because you signed some books for us and it was a s more special than any author that's ever come sign books because you signed with a invisible ink pen. Of course we're like running around looking for a black light. Like, do we have a black light? Are we gonna how we how are we gonna read her message? So is that something that you
eg young: I did for like running around like a blacklight, like do we have a lightlight? How many of you have
Julia Bodwell: do in all of your signings?
eg young: Any independent bookstore I've been trying to do it. So Gilda Page, Tom Bolo, and the Book Lounge all have the invisible ink messages. This is thanks to my friend David who sent me a little package with invisible ink pens and I was like, my god, you don't know what you've unleashed.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Ha ha I love that. Well that and you left us some goodies. so you had the the tarot cards, which I mean that
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: that's very fitting. it makes perfect sense that you would do that to go with this book. and I have to say I love this book so much. It was equal parts funny, spooky, tender. I'm just I'm so curious, where did you come up with this idea for this story?
eg young: Hot Dog just kind of, you know, appeared to me, just like she does in the book, to Logan,
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: the human teenager. this was in twenty twenty one and I was asking myself, if I was a paranormal creature, would I be a werewolf, a ghost, or a vampire? Which one would you be, Julia?
Julia Bodwell: Gosh, that's such a hard question because I love all of them. I'm I'm just like you, I love all the spooky things. I think
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: being a ghost would probably be my top choice, but I also would really
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: love the idea of being a vampire and like being immortal and although I would
eg young: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: it would be sort of like the Twilight Vampires where I couldn't I I wouldn't be able to kill people unless they were like bad. Like almost like a Dexter vampire, you know, like a vigilante. You know, you you can kill the serial killers.
eg young: totally. I feel you could you could you could totally rock a Dexter vampire. Yeah. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Okay, okay, I like that. But I also I love the go like I feel like a ghost is like OG spooky. but I I
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I like the idea of a of a like a Dexter vigilante vampire as well.
eg young: Yeah. It reminds me of the book, my gosh, what is it called? Is it Woman Eating? It's such a good vampire book and she tries it it it's it's
Julia Bodwell: Okay. I I don't know that one. But that sounds very I like the title, Women E
eg young: great and the the audiobook narrator is so good because she's British and
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: I'm gonna look it up right now. but anyway,
Julia Bodwell: I love that.
eg young: so I was asking myself what would I be? What would I wanna be would be Werewolf, but I I
Julia Bodwell: So would you be a ghost? okay, a werewolf. Okay. Okay.
eg young: I I would be a ghost. and so then I was like, all right, what what kind of ghost would I be? I would probably be a ghost who just like wanted a hot dog and a friend. Because this was during
Julia Bodwell: Is that your favorite food, hot dogs?
eg young: you know what? It's it's not okay,
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: yeah. Woman Eating by Claire Coda.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: she's trying to figure out how to be a vampire. I can't remember in the end if she actually does only go after bad people or if she's just like You know what? I deserve a treat. Either way, it's a great book.
Julia Bodwell: I'm gonna embrace being a vampire and do whatever I want. Okay. I love it. I'll have to check that out.
eg young: Yeah. So this was like during the pandemic and I was, you know, isolated in my house, missing my friends, missing New York City where I had spent a lot of time and thought I might move before the pandemic. And so I was thinking about like the hot dog stand outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and how cute it was. And although I don't eat hot dogs, hot dog the ghost came to me and was like, I really want a hot dog probably 'cause I sh she's yearning for a hot dog. She does.
Julia Bodwell: She just she she's yearning the whole time. She just wants that hot dog and she can't have it. I feel like that's something, you know, relatable to any any person reading it is just like the thing that you want so badly and you just you can't have it for whatever reason. It's just like that I want it. Like the more you can't have something, the more you want it. I just felt so bad
eg young: Yeah. Yes.
Julia Bodwell: for her.
eg young: Yeah, it's like that writing advice. It's like the characters can want anything, even a glass of water, but in her case it's just a hot dog. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, she just wants a hot dog. But I love that, you know, you you forced her like into a different situation where all she wants, like her main goal in her afterlife, I guess you could say, because she's she's undead, she's not living, but she just
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: wants that hot dog. And so you sort of force her out of that in into an a new situation, you know, maybe she's a little uncomfortable 'cause she's like, I just want the hot dog. What am I doing here? so I love that. And and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: just the characters, you know, it's so tender and there was so much depth to it and you know, you look at it and you think it's just gonna be this kind of spooky book, which it is, but it just it has so much
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: so many layers to it, which I thought was so beautiful. and so yeah, I was just so curious how you came up how how you came up with the idea and and why you chose to make it young adult.
eg young: That's a good question. I mean, my MFA is writing for young adults. So I I I tend to gear towards that anyway. But also I feel like the themes of the story are very YA. Like she's trying to find who is she in this world? And how do you be a human person? And that's a big theme of the book. She also has a friend who's a hot demon and he's, you know, in a possessed body, and he's like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: I don't know, like what does a person smell like? So he just carries around a backpack with like Deodorants with wacky names. They're sort of like the old spice deodorant names, but wackier. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. Yeah, I love that sort of like quirk about his character that he just had all these deodorants with him. Because he like
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: you said, like he's trying to figure it out, he's he's not human, so he's trying to figure out how do I behave like a human and same with with hot dog, you know, she just wants so badly to be
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: seen as a human girl, so she's trying to emulate that.
eg young: Yeah, and I feel like that's something that like I mean, I still have those questions. How do I be a person? How do I make friends? How do I stand in a room normally? But if you're a ghost, you know, and you maybe like hover a little bit, and maybe
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: you can only communicate via Ouija board, that's even tougher. And I feel like for teens, that's when you're first trying to answer those questions, even if you never are quite sure. that's when it's hardest when you're like, How do I find my people? How do I be who I am? And so that really fit for it being a YA book.
Julia Bodwell: Which I think is so important, you know, especially to teens and two kids that age, you know, is like you said, they're they're trying to figure out who they are, they're trying to find their way in this world and you know, books are so important in such an important way for them to see themselves in other characters and and s you know, get
eg young: Okay.
Julia Bodwell: to know people th through the characters that they might not understand their perspective and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: That's why, you know, I'm I'm so adamant a against, you know, book banning. It's like you need to let these books be in the hands of these kids. They need to be able to be exposed in a in a safe way, to to s situations and perspectives. Yeah.
eg young: Yeah. It's super important. Yeah, and living in Florida living in Florida, we both have strong feelings about this 'cause Florida's like I think like number
Julia Bodwell: yes. yes.
eg young: one for book banning.
Julia Bodwell: We're we're up there. It's like we're trying to be number one but for the wrong thing.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: so yeah, that's that's a little scary. so you said yes, you
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: you do have your FA in writing for children and young adults. So do you see yourself only writing young adult? Are you ever planning to write like middle grade, or will you ever go into adult?
eg young: Yeah, I'm actually co writing a vampire book with my friend that's an adult vampire book.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Okay.
eg young: and so I will probably always write in like YA and adult and maybe middle grade if I'm brave enough. That's like that's such an incredible like genre because you have to you have to you have to be so good at what you do to write
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: for middle grade, I feel.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. That's probably probably the hardest, you know, age to write at, you know, 'cause you really have to nail it.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: so who who when you were writing the book, were there any, you know, favorite characters or do you just kinda love them all equally?
eg young: I loved them all equally, but I I am an animal person, so I really loved Hor, who is
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: the little he's a little demon snake, and he came down to earth with Damon, the hot demon, and Damon ended up in the body of a teenage boy. Horse ended up in the body of a snake. But like before this, he was just kind of like a spirit, and he was like hoping he would end up in the body of a horse, not a snake. So he he he really identifies with being a horse, so he calls himself horse and he's just like he's just such a cute little friend. He can't speak because I mean it's a fantasy, so I guess he could speak, but for whatever reason he can't speak, but he does like communicate with the demon and then the demon will like translate. Like he just really wishes that he had like a margarita right now. Because Horace
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: loves a margarita.
Julia Bodwell: He was probably my favorite character as well. He just he was so adorable. I think I like that you made him this little tiny snake 'cause that made him so cute
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: and like cuddly. But I love the idea that he he wanted to be like larger than life. He wanted to be a horse, and it's like, no no, you have to be
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: this tiny, adorable little snake creature. So
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: that was that was very endearing. so you actually have hi I hope I get this right, hyper mobile spectrum disorder, is that right? Okay. So
eg young: Mm-hmm. I do.
Julia Bodwell: and that does that mean that you have like problem with with your hands with writing and and typing.
eg young: Yeah. So hypermobile spectrum disorder is basically like your connective tissue is just wacky and so it doesn't hold up your structures correctly. So that means
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: like your your joints often aren't held in place correctly. So typing, writing by hand, now I've found even dictating, like even using my voice. So like before
Julia Bodwell: Really?
eg young: before this, I used a little vocal mist inhaler. I did
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: voice exercises. But even that, because like there's connective tissue all through your body.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: and so when I was first writing this, I did not know that I had this. I just knew it hurt a lot when I typed.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish writing it physically because it was really painful. So that's when I ended up learning dictation and I dictated most of this, literally just speaking it. into the software that translates it into words on the computer screen.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, well ha I'm I'm I'm so curious about that. You know, you said that you you dictated the whole book. It's I'm I'm not thinking of it as like, you know, when you you talk into a voice memo or like you do it like an audio
eg young: Right.
Julia Bodwell: audio text to talk, so like it doesn't get any of the you know, sometimes it spells the word wrong or it gets the wrong word or or it has no punctuation. So is it kind of like that or is it a more advanced program where it can kind of pick up some of that? Okay.
eg young: It's it's definitely better than that. I tried like just the phone in app dictation
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: tools for a while and that did not work. And then I talked to one of my former professors who has had to use dictation before for mobility issues. And he was like, You have to try drag and nuance.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: so that's like it's a it's a higher functioning dictation. It learns your vocal patterns, it gets most things right, and you can train it to get certain words right. It still makes mistakes, but it's way, way, way better.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. And do you find like, you know, versus you I know you said it's now kinda causing you some problems too, but still compar
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: compared to typing or writing, like it was much easier and less obviously you don't want it to be painful when you're trying to write your books.
eg young: Right. Yeah, it's definitely helped a lot. And now I like to mostly dictation, but then I'm doing some typing when my voice gets too tired. So they they they take turns. Like whichever part of my body needs a break, I use the other thing.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, that's fair.
eg young: yeah. But it was really interesting, like learning to write by speaking is super different, like psychologically than like writing or typing. So
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: that was like a that was a whole journey for me.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. That's crazy 'cause yeah, you're you're you're just saying it all out loud. when you
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: when you write, like did you do you do like a lot of outlining first? You just sort of have the idea in your head and then you just like jump right in and start writing? Like what's your process like for writing?
eg young: I used to be no outlines, but then I realized nothing I wrote ever made sense. So
Julia Bodwell: He
eg young: I did I did switch to using outlines. And so for this book, I started just experimenting, like hanging out with the characters, writing a little bit of the first like chapter or two. Then I outlined using Save the Cat Writes a Novel.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: And Lisa Kron's books, Wired for Story and Story Genius. And I kind of used those two models together. So got like the major character beats and the major plot beats through the midpoint. And then
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: once I reached the midpoint, I did like the major beats to the end. But I always kind of knew what the character arc would be. I just wasn't completely sure how things would would would get there.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Well sometimes that's nice, you know, not not having all the answers. You have to let your characters guide you a little bit and and speak to you and tell you what they want too, I'm sure.
eg young: Yeah. What about you? Do you do you write?
Julia Bodwell: I do, yeah. So I I say that loosely. I mean I I somebody asked me the other day what my process like what my writing process looks like and I'm like, Well, I usually have an idea in my head. Usually I I know the ending.
eg young: Mm.
Julia Bodwell: Like I know exactly what I want how I want the the story to end. And I don't really outline. I'm more of a a a pantser, maybe a little bit of a
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: plancer. I might type some things down. But then, you know, I'll
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I will write for a few like days or weeks and then I won't write again for like six months. So it's a terrible it's a terrible
eg young: That's so fair.
Julia Bodwell: process. I have a really bad like schedule. I I don't recommend it to anyone who's trying to write. You need to, you know, I'm sure you can s attest to that. Like you have to write more regularly. And so, I just get so busy with other things that I don't make it a priority like I should. And then when I do sit down, I'm like, okay, what was I doing? 'Cause that was six months ago and I have to go back and like reread everything and so so much time is wasted like revisiting what I was working
eg young: That happens to me. That happens to me too.
Julia Bodwell: on and I also get stuck. So if I get stuck and I'm like I don't know what's where it's going
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: or or what we're doing, then I'll I'll take like a prolonged break. So that's kind of where I'm
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: at right now is like I don't know what I'm doing. So I'm gonna take a break and maybe lightning will strike and I'll get an idea back.
eg young: Yeah, I mean that's fair 'cause you're running a whole bookstore.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: It's definitely it's definitely not the the priority is running the the bookstore, not writing. I look at it more
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: of like a hobby for me right now. so maybe one day that'll change. But it's it's just for me personally as someone who doesn't like the spotlight, I love to be able to spotlight other authors and like chat with, you know,
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: other authors about their books and and hand sell those in the store. So
eg young: Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: I'm sure I'll probably always write, but I I like to just exist quietly in the background.
eg young: And sometimes it's really nice when writing is just an art for yourself. Like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: that's kind of how this book started. I was trying to finish another manuscript and I was really struggling and I was stuck. And then I was like, this is fun. Like this this ghost character is fun. But you know, I I should finish the other book. And then my friend Elliot was like, no, you should if you're into writing this, just write this. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: I kind of just wrote it like, it's such a weird book, probably no one will want it, but you know what? I'm just gonna do it for me. And then this is the book that that got picked up, so
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. And now this is your debut, correct? Okay.
eg young: This is my debut, yes.
Julia Bodwell: Did you finish the other book that you were writing, the other story? No pressure, but
eg young: You know, I haven't because I hadn't learned outlining. Hadn't learned outlining, but I am gonna go back to it. Plus
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Okay.
eg young: it was it was a dystopia and I feel like since recent events, living in Florida in the age of a second Trump administration, I could write a much better dystopia than I tried
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: to back in like twenty fourteen. What did I know back then? Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I mean, I feel like what do we ever know? We w as we do something more and more, we just get better and we learn more. so
eg young: It's true.
Julia Bodwell: for for this being your debut, what's been sort of the because it's fairly new, couple couple weeks, two weeks, right? Like it's still so new. Like it's not been out there very
eg young: Yeah, like two weeks. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: long. so what's been the sort of the most exciting part of the release so far?
eg young: It's been really fun to connect with the bookstores and obviously it's a dream come true for every author to go into a bookstore and see their book there. but also just meeting all of the people. I feel like it's really made me feel more connected to the literary community of Tampa Bay and it's forced me to drive a little farther and go visit bookstores I haven't been to before and find new favorite places. So I think connecting to people and now that it's out, like starting to be able to connect with readers is really cool. Like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: it's it's just fun that hot dogs exists now in a real book form. She's not just in my head. And
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, yeah.
eg young: it's cool to share her.
Julia Bodwell: Well, and I love the fact that you said, you know, she you were just writing the story for your fun for fun for yourself. And I
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: I feel like, you know, any art when it becomes a job, like, you know, you have to do it, but when you're doing it for yourself first and foremost, that really comes across through the page to the readers. You know, we can really feel the passion
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: and the love that you put into the story. and then now you get to share it with all of us and and we get to enjoy it, you know, just as much as
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: as your as you did when you were writing it and creating it.
eg young: Exactly.
Julia Bodwell: So what do you hope that readers take away from the book? 'Cause there's a lot a lot of really great messages, but what what were you hoping that readers get out of it?
eg young: Yeah, I mean, first I hope they have a good time with it. I hope they enjoy hanging out with Hot Dog. I hope Hot Dog becomes their new ghost BFF is what
Julia Bodwell: Mm-hmm.
eg young: I tell everyone. and like there's a lot of different things that they could take from it. I feel like one of the like for me, as I was exploring what does it mean to be human? the answer is anything, it it anything you want. there's no one right way to be a person. And that's something Hot Dog finds out throughout the book. Like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: Part of the reason she wants a hot dog is she feels like if she could just go up to this hot dog stand and order a hot dog with banana peppers, that would prove she's just like a real person. And then when she doesn't
Julia Bodwell: Which I love that she she she l she later like evolves and she wants to go to the Halloween party for the same reason. Like I love that. She's like, if I could
eg young: Yeah, right.
Julia Bodwell: just go to the Halloween party and show that I'm a re like I'm a real human girl
eg young: Yeah. Like her wants get bigger as her world gets bigger and also
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: her attempts at being a person. Like if I get this invite, if I drink a potion that makes me look more human, maybe maybe that's gonna be the thing. And at the end of the day, she already is a person. Just just because she's a ghost doesn't mean she's not a person. And every every one of her friends in this book, like a a demon snake who wishes he was a horse. a demon boy who's confused about how to be in a human body, a human girl who's also very different herself. they're all different flavors of weird. And like
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: she finds her people and her friendships and herself and realizes there's no one right way to be a person, which I feel is a lesson I've had to learn. As I have found
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. Yeah.
eg young: like my weird friends who are, you know, the perfect fit for me. And send me the send me the invisible ink pens.
Julia Bodwell: Yes, I love that. Like I I'm I love that for you. You have friends that send you invisible ink pens and
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: encourage you to write messages with with them so that people have to have a black light to read your message. I love that. So you you will you will need
eg young: Exactly. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: if you if you find a a signed copy of a dead thing like me in any of the Tampa Bay bookstores, you will need to procure a blacklight pen because or a black light,
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: because it's invisible pen, which is awesome.
eg young: Correct. Any of the any of the any of the indie bookstores, I haven't I haven't signed all of them at like Barnes and Noble yet.
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: and the one that I did sign, I was in a rush and I forgot my invisible ink pen. So but but if
Julia Bodwell: no.
eg young: it's I know it might have to go back. But if it's at the gilded page or an indie one, then for sure.
Julia Bodwell: Not the invisible ink pen. You'll definitely have to go back. Yes, awesome. That's great. so what are you working on next? Are you working on anything? Are you just sort of enjoying the release of this book?
eg young: Yeah. No, I have one last chapter to write of the co-written vampire book and I am yeah,
Julia Bodwell: you did say that, sorry, yes, yeah. Mm-hmm.
eg young: no, but I didn't tell you like where I was in the process.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: so now I'm getting imposter syndrome because I've
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: been, you know, doing debut things and just like you said, I have to go back and reread this book and be like, Who wrote this? Who are these characters again? So
Julia Bodwell: What were we doing?
eg young: yeah, so that's what I've been doing. Luckily my friend Elliot is there. be like Emily calm down. It's it's n in a nice way, not in a patronizing way. in like a way of like,
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. He he's just being a good friend.
eg young: yeah, like you've you've totally got this. Like just just write something. So together we're gonna we're gonna get to it. He's the co writer, yes. And and is the one that
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I love that. So is it so that's he's the co-writer? Okay. And is there
eg young: is the one that told me to write this book. He's a genius.
Julia Bodwell: Yes, which I lo I love that. He's the one that sent you the invisible pen okay. Invisible ink pen. that's David. I'm sorry. Okay. Okay. Ellie told you to write it. Okay. Well you've got a you've got a good
eg young: Nope, that's David. Nope. David sent me the pen. Elliot is co-writing and absolutely. And Marianne.
Julia Bodwell: a good a good group, you know, supporting you behind you.
eg young: Yes. Marianne designed the tarot cards that you'll get if you go to the Gilda page and get some swag with your book. Yes.
Julia Bodwell: Which are amazing. They're awesome. I love them. so is there like a is it far enough along where you guys have a pub date for that one, or are you just still working on the manuscript?
eg young: No, we're still working on the manuscript, so that's exciting. 'cause
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: who knows?
Julia Bodwell: That's awesome.
eg young: I'm pi I'm pitching some young adult scripts to my editor in hopes that
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: like I can move forward on one of those too.
Julia Bodwell: So now that you've got, you know, one book behind you, are you sort of having to write the full manuscript again or can you just sort of pitch the ideas to the publishers, like have your agents pitch the ideas? Like how does that work?
eg young: that's something that's so interesting about the publishing industry is I feel like I'm constantly finding out new things. but right now we're pitching like sample pages outline. And
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: hopefully if they like it, they can move forward just with that. but yeah, it's
Julia Bodwell: Okay. So sort of just like this is the concept, not necessarily like I've written an entire manuscript, here it is. Okay.
eg young: Right. Like the the vampire book is different because it's adult and so I don't
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: have an adult editor or publishing house that I already have an established relationship with. But I love the editor that I worked with for this. Like Cade Dishman is so smart, so kind, made this book better in ways that I didn't think were even possible I never could have dreamed of. So I
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: really want to work with them again for sure.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. Is that something that realistically could happen, you know, for your for the future for your next books? Okay. Okay. Fingers crossed, yes. Put the energy
eg young: Yeah. Yeah, if they like the pitches, so put good energy out.
Julia Bodwell: out. so you you know, you're you're writing a lot, you're working on a lot of things. What are you currently reading? Yeah.
eg young: I just finished The Dead of Summer by Ryan Lasala, which you know 'cause I entered your I entered your bookstore and I saw it on the
Julia Bodwell: Yes, you were yep. You were telling me.
eg young: shelf. And it has the paperback has the cool sprayed edges that look kind of like octopusy. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah, they did a nice job. Which you did say that that was a a good comp for your book, right?
eg young: I yeah, probably more The Honeys,
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: which is one of Ryan's earlier books. The Honeys would be a good comp for my book because it's like
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: campy, horror, but also very poignant and also funny. but yeah, I'm I'm obsessed with the Dead of Summer and the sequel doesn't come out until April, which is my birthday. So that's nice
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: for future me, but but for current me. Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: Excellent. That's that's like your you know, your your your birthday present, like you know, future birthday present. But yes, current you is probably frustrated as as most readers
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: tend to be when there is any sort of a sequel or if it's a a series and they have to wait. That's why I I don't typically read series, unless if it's already finished or there's enough out, 'cause
eg young: huh
Julia Bodwell: I'm such a slow reader. Like I am reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but I'm only on book three and eight are already out and by the time I get to eight I'm sure nine ten will be out because I just I
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: I won't remember anything. So I typically will just read standalones for that reason. And plus I just like standalones, but yeah if it's like if if if I have to
eg young: I hear Dungeon Crawler is
Julia Bodwell: wait, you know
eg young: Dungeon Crawler is supposed to be so good and there's supposed to be a great
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: cat in it. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Yes. my gosh, Princess Donut. She's amazing. The whole the whole cast, but like she's probably, you know, the the the shining character. Like she's just she makes that whole, you know, series. I wasn't gonna read the whole series. I did read the first book. I was like, all right, I'm gonna check this out. It's you know, getting hyped out. and I really enjoyed it. And then I wasn't sure if I would keep going, so I took a break, and then I when I picked up the second one, I finished it and then the same day like came to the store, came to work, and I was like, Okay, I need book three. Like I'm I guess I'm committing to this ten
eg young: Wow.
Julia Bodwell: book series 'cause the characters are so great. yeah, so and and I I think Peacock is producing it so I'll be interested to see how they bring it alive on the screen. But
eg young: Yeah. I I just got the first book because I think it's time to commit. I feel like the whole book is the only one that you missed. I know. The peer pressure is really happening.
Julia Bodwell: Yeah. I feel like the whole world is reading it, so you know, you're the only one, E. G., that's not reading this book right now. The peer pressure, right? Not that you should have to read something you don't want to, but I think you'll enjoy it. The characters are great.
eg young: Yeah, there's there's no right way to be a person, but you do have to read Dungeon Crawler actually. Mm-hmm.
Julia Bodwell: Correct, right? Th that is correct. so I love that. So, anything you wanna leave our listeners with before we go? Any last thoughts?
eg young: Yeah, go to the Gilded page and get your copy because it's signed in in Vista Blink and you get a little tarot card and it's gonna tell you whether you are a ghost, a demon, a snake named Horse, an artist, or best of all, a hot dog.
Julia Bodwell: A hot dog. I got the hot dog card. real quick before we go for listeners that are not local to Gilded Page and the Tampa Bay area, are you going on tour at all for the book? Will you be going out of state?
eg young: I have a couple of festivals I'm going to and one of them is out of state, but I can't say where it is yet because it hasn't been they they have to announce it first. But
Julia Bodwell: Okay.
eg young: I am going to be at Comic Con the weekend of September 4th.
Julia Bodwell: Okay, excellent.
eg young: and I might be going up to Philadelphia and New York at some point, but who knows. So this is super helpful for listeners. You might see me in a state possibly
Julia Bodwell: Yeah.
eg young: at some point.
Julia Bodwell: Okay. And if not you can you c yeah,
eg young: But you can you can go to my
Julia Bodwell: they they can go to your website. I was gonna say you can always follow her on online
eg young: Yes.
Julia Bodwell: and and check out her website for for any appearances where she might be. So but
eg young: Yes, I do have a page that says like events and you can go to my Instagram, EG Young Books, where I will also say where I'm going and show pictures of my dog.
Julia Bodwell: We we love that. We love animals. So
eg young: Yeah.
Julia Bodwell: E. G., thank you so much for chatting with me and for putting this book out into the world. it's been a pleasure.
eg young: Thank you for having me.
Julia Bodwell: Yes. And readers, we'll we'll see you next time.
