Interview with Nashae Jones, Author of As You Wish

Welcome to Smack Dab, Nashae. Please tell us a bit about As You Wish.

I’m so excited to do this interview with Smack Dab. Thank you for having me. As You Wish is a middle grade romance about a girl who after a fight with her best friend, makes misguided wishes to the West African trickster god, Anansi. It’s a story that centers around friendship, family, and acceptance and of course a touch of magic.

I love the way you incorporate the idea of “be careful what you wish for” throughout. Where did the initial spark of inspiration come from? How did you come to explore it through Birdie’s perspective?

I think the “be careful what you wish for” trope has been one of my favorite tropes from the time I was kid. One of my earliest encounters with the trope was when I read the Goosebumps book Be Careful What You Wish For, and I remember being absolutely fascinated with the concept of the duality of wishes, and how magic was never an adequate solution for your problems. So, I think it's always been a concept that’s been rattling around my head. It’s always been a trope I wanted to explore.

It was a lot of fun getting to write about using a magical solution from the point-of-view of a middle school girl because we get to see some very middle school type of wishes along with some more poignant, heartfelt requests.

What inspired you to incorporate the Anansi stories from Ghanaian folklore into a contemporary middle grade novel?

I adored reading trickster tales when I was younger. I was always interested in the intersection between slapstick humor and moral lessons. Anansi is one of my favorite folkloric characters, so I wanted to revamp him and make him come alive for today’s generation of readers.

I love that you’ve written an MG rom-com. You see the rom-com genre in YA, but so rarely in MG—those very first romantic feelings are not as frequently explored in MG. What made you want to explore it? Why MG instead of YA?

I think that there’s a real need for upper middle grade books. In the past, there weren’t many options for kids who were in that transition phase where they’re ready to move on from younger middle grade books but who aren’t quite ready for young adult books. When my own daughter was eleven, she was hungry for age-appropriate romance, but there wasn’t a whole lot available to her. So, I really want to write something to fill that need.

Nancy/Anansi is both helper and trickster. How did you balance these aspects of her character?

One of my absolute favorite parts of writing As You Wish was writing a middle school version of a morally grey character. Traditionally, trickster characters are neither good nor evil, and I really wanted to shape Nancy into that mold. I tried to balance Nancy’s mischievous and her innate desire for chaos with her underlying affection for Birdie.

How did you decide which aspects of Birdie's life would change or stay constant across the different realities? How did you develop the different versions of Birdie across the various realities while maintaining her core character?

Constructing the alternate realities in an authentic way was probably one of the most difficult tasks for me when I was writing this book. I wanted to create realities that really drove home the point that using magic as a solution to your problems is not only inadvisable, but dangerous. When creating the different worlds, I focused on each one of her core relationships. I brainstormed ways that those relationships would change as a consequence of her wishes.

Social media plays a significant role in one of the alternate realities. What prompted you to examine its impact on teen identity and relationships?

It’s hard to talk about the modern-day teenage experience without incorporating social media. Many teens not only have to navigate the complexities of their identity in the real world, but also in the virtual realm. With Birdie erroneously tying peer acceptance to popularity, I thought it would be helpful to show the influence social media has on teenage relationships.

Sign language and Mishti's character play important roles in the story. What inspired you to include deaf representation?

I think all types of kids deserve to see themselves in books. With Mishti, I wanted to write a character who was deaf, but who wasn’t necessarily defined by being differently abled. It was important to me that Mishti was a fully fleshed out character that didn’t perpetuate stereotypes about deaf culture.

The revelation about Birdie's Uncle Ty's death comes fairly late in the story, but it serves as a crucial piece in understanding her mother's anxiety. How did you balance keeping this emotional backstory hidden until the right moment while still making the mother's overprotective behavior feel authentic throughout the book?

Birdie spends most of the story trying to find a way to be “normal”. A big part of what Birdie feels like makes her abnormal is her mother’s anxiety and how it spills over into an almost smothering overprotectiveness. I think it was necessary to keep Ty’s backstory hidden for a while, because the reader needed to grow along with Birdie to be able to truly be able to empathize with Birdie’s mom.

How did your experience as an educator influence how you wrote about middle school dynamics and relationships?

I think being a teacher has given me a unique insight into the middle school experience, and not just because I can translate phrases like skibbidi toilet. Ha! Because I’m a teacher, I’m able to get first-hand knowledge on how teens interact with each other and the adults in their lives. Surprisingly, I find that the way teens build and maintain relationships is timeless. Teens today go through some of the same triumphs and struggles that I went through decades ago.

The book deals with themes of identity and authenticity. What message did you want to convey to young readers about being true to themselves?

I wanted readers to know that being “normal” is subjective, and everyone, no matter how perfect is dealing with their own insecurities. So, it’s important to be the person who makes you happiest.

What’s next?

I am currently working on my young adult debut. I can’t wait to share it with the world.

Where can we find you?

I have a contact form on my website: www.nashaejones.com. I’m most active on Instagram at @nashae.jones.