Of how the lies a person tells might reveal their deepest truths. Of how well you can really know someone else, or even know yourself. Questions of how our friendships shape who we are. Those things I had to learn as I wrote, letting the characters-and my questions-lead the way. Not who these friends were, or what had come between them. Other than that, I knew nothing-not what the secrets would be, or why the letters would go unanswered. (The sections where other campers and counselors talk about Lainie, Kayla, and what happened that summer were my favorite sections to write.) I knew the letters would be interspersed with news clips, text messages, a court transcript, and social media posts to reveal other secrets and perspectives. I knew the other friend would not write back. (Complex and essential friendships are my jam I will write about them forever.) I knew the story of that friendship, and the secrets held within it, would be told in the form of letters written by one friend to the other after their summer was over. I knew the book would involve a brief but life-changing friendship-a deep, intense bond formed across a single summer.

When I started the first draft, I knew only a few things about it. Hi! I wrote this book and had a lot of fun doing it. Anica tweets about bookish things at which is also her handle on Instagram.Īnica teaches in the Writing for Children & Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts and is available for in-person and virtual writing workshops and presentations with groups of all sizes and ages. Her essays have been published by The Writer magazine and the New York Times, and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves.

As a former book editor turned writer and storyteller, Anica has spoken with kids and adults across the country about all pieces of the writing process. She now tells and collects stories, makes up songs on her violin, and eats cheese with her friends in central New Jersey, where she lives with her dog, Sweet Potato. Fan of dogs and ice cream.Īnica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, where she read a lot of books and loved a lot of pets. Author of picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA.

Not Yours but Forever by Ruth Morse