Q&A with Eric Smith, author of "With or Without You" (also my agent!)!!!
All about reality TV inspiration, a food truck book tour (!!), and his new YA rom-com
Welcome to the interview 🗣️
Happy Sunday, folks! Today I’m so thrilled to have a Q&A with the one and only Eric Smith! If you don’t know Eric, he’s an incredible YA author whose novels like Don’t Read the Comments1 and anthologies like Battle of the Bands2 (co-edited with Lauren Gibaldi) are fantastic in every way. On top of being an author, he’s also an incredible agent and I know that from personal experience because he’s my agent!
I actually had the chance to interview Eric back in early 2020 for the release of Don’t Read the Comments, and I’m really stoked that he has a new book coming out THIS TUESDAY called With or Without You3 that’s all about two teens in love having to fake hate each other for the sake of their families’ competing food trucks. It promises all the hallmarks of a great Eric Smith novel™️, like expertly crafted descriptions and a palpable love for Philly, food content, and a great romance.
Buckle in, my loves, and read on for this fun Q&A!
Karis Rogerson: Can you share the inspiration behind With or Without You?
Eric Smith: So, my wife watches a lot of reality television. She finds a lot of joy in the hijinks on the screen, and over the course of the pandemic and staying inside a lot, I started watching a lot of those shows with her. Married at First Sight, Love is Blind, and the like. I found myself asking a lot of questions whenever she had a Real Housewives episode on, about who the people were, why they were famous. I fell down Reddit rabbit holes learning about the people on the screen. It was all pretty fascinating, and it was also a way to spend more time together. If she's invested in something, I want to be too.
At the same time, I'm someone who always finds myself wanting to know where the drama is, in real life. There's a Dollar General and a Family Dollar not too far away from my house, and I always wonder... do the managers have some kind of rivalry there? Do the people who work at nearby bookstores go on paintballing trips? I like to imagine playful competition wherever I go, because I don't know... there's something about playful rivalries that are just so much fun. My best friend and I competed for first chair in high school band all the time. All it did was bring us closer together.
Combine all of that with living in Philadelphia, a city where the cheesesteak rivalries are famous... and well, the setting and the plot were there. The characters came later.
KR: What was the most fun part of the writing process for this book?
ES: For sure the excerpts from the actual show, and having them reflect the opposite of what is going on in the plot. Readers will see. At least I hope! It was a fun structure experiment.
KR: Was there an especially joyous moment on the road to publication for this book that you can chat about?
ES: One of the very first people I shared this book with was Rachael Lippencott, who a lot of readers know from her novels Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl. Rachael knows the Philly area wildly well and still lives in Pennsylvania, and well, I was a bit nervous! I hadn't had a ton of beta readers on this one, but her live response while digging into the book brought me so much joy. She firmly got it, and even slipped in her Philly accent in the blurb.
KR: What challenges did you face in the writing and publishing of this book?
ES: Honestly, just trying to write it while juggling so much? It's the same stuff all of us wrestle with. Day jobs, families. It can be tricky to find the time. But the biggest one had to do with the ending, which just a few months before the book was due, I STILL DIDN'T QUITE CRACK. I went on a writing retreat with a bundle of wonderful author pals, and it was Miranda Kennedly who pointed out a potential ending idea... and that's the ending of the book. It was the most casual, off the cuff remark, and it left me rewriting maybe a third of the novel to make it work. Thank you Miranda!
KR: How, on a craft level, do you evoke your settings and bring them to life so fully?
ES: Oof, I feel like I cheat? Hahah. My books are set in Philadelphia. Almost all of them. I think if I write another YA, it'll be set where I grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but setting my stories in places that I'm from and know makes that process easier.
KR: Is there a special dream you hold in your heart for this book that you’re willing to share?
ES: Maybe when the paperback comes out, I can go on a book tour in a food truck. THE DREAM.
KR: What about this book may surprise readers?
ES: That it's technically a COVID novel? A big part of the plot is that the one character's family lost their diner due to the pandemic. I hope we start seeing more COVID stories in kid-lit, because these kids have lived through a rough time, and need to see it reflected back4. Also, a core part of the story is that college isn't for everyone, and that's okay! I want more of that.
KR: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
ES: Patience. That's the biggest ones. Books take a while to write, a while to find a champion, and then an eternity to sell and come out. You have to have patience in this business if you want to push ahead through it.
KR: Can you share 1-3 books you’d like to recommend?
ES: My recent favorite reads have been Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake, Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow, and Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. A WILDLY DIFFERENT bundle of recs, but you'll love 'em.
Alla prossima 👋
That’s all from the Q&A! Honestly I loved this — thank you so much, Eric, for taking the time to answer my questions! Everyone else, your job now is to order yourselves a copy before it comes out Tuesday! Or catch Eric on tour and tell him hello for me!
In world news, the UN has called for a ceasefire, and our role now is to put pressure on our electeds (namely, Joseph R. Biden, the president of this country, who has so much power and insists on just, like, not doing the right thing) to call for said ceasefire. I pulled this wording from Twitter and it took me all of 15 seconds to go to whitehouse.gov/contact and type it in:
"I am writing to demand a ceasefire. The UN has voted for a ceasefire resolution yet nothing has been done to save the Palestinians under siege. As your constituent, I am holding you accountable for putting a ceasefire into action immediately."
It feels so small, so feel free to also call your reps daily, post on socials, go to protests if you can and if it feels safe, and use your voice to advocate against genocide.
I’ll be back next week from South Carolina where I’m going for Yallfest to reflect on some ~personal things~. All my love to y’all!
Bookshop.org affiliate link alert! If you use this to buy a copy of the book, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you!
Same as above, also a Bookshop.org affiliate link!
A third! Affiliate link!
This take is great news for me, a client of Eric’s who has been toying with writing COVID stories and worried no one would want them, lmao