I hope they can see characters like Selah and go-hey, that’s me! Books are what brought me to discover my autism in the first place, and I hope that my books in turn can help others. I hope neurodivergent readers can see a place for themselves in the world. What do you hope readers will take away from this story? I think if there wasn’t a challenge, I’d find it boring, to be honest.

It makes every victory all the more meaningful. That uncertainty is awful, but also weirdly exciting. You could do everything right yet still not sell anything. But it’s also very unpredictable-you can do your best work, have a really productive year, and people can say no to your books. Being a writer plays to my work strengths. I’m a hard worker but I burn out pretty quickly in the traditional workplace. I’m intrinsically motivated, but also don’t know how to keep up with the typical 9-5 pace. I love the flexibility and that I’m able to set my own schedule. What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging? I feel like I’m able to reach out to awkward, young Meg and tell her it’s going to be OK. I didn’t think I’d want to live in that space of being eleven, twelve, thirteen years old, but I’m finding it incredibly cathartic and healing.

MG is scary at first-it’s about mining what’s for many of us our most awkward, vulnerable, confusing years of change. And because it was middle grade, I soon realized I’d probably be expected to write more in that age category…so I was going to have to figure out how to be a “middle grade writer.” But as I read more middle grade and played with new ideas, I realized I loved this category more than any other.

I never set out to write middle grade! GOOD DIFFERENT sort of popped out, and I knew it wasn’t YA like I usually wrote at the time. What drew you to writing middle grade fiction? Selah is an autistic girl who wishes she was powerful like a dragon, but learns to find strength through advocating for her needs by writing poems. Welcome, Meg! Please tells us about GOOD DIFFERENT. Book Genre: Middle grade, Contemporary, Novel-in-verse

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt