About the Book:
1. How did you come up with the story of Accidental?
I’ve read so many devastating headlines and stories in the news about children finding unsecured guns and accidentally firing them. Understandably, there is little follow up on these stories because the children are minors. As a parent, I can’t help wondering what happens to the children involved in these horrific accidents. Do they grow up knowing what they did? In some cases, were they young enough to forget over time? Johanna’s story is just one hypothetical example of what could happen in the aftermath of an accidental shooting, and I wrote this book in hopes of making people think about gun control from a different perspective.
2. Who is the main character(s) in Accidental?
The main character is Johanna Carlson, a 16 year old girl who has been living in Santa Fe, NM, with her grandparents ever since her mother died in a car accident. She loves to sew her own funky clothes, she loves her loyal best friends, she loves music. It’s not until her absentee father comes into the picture that she learns the truth about her past -- when she was 2 ½ years old, she found a gun and accidentally shot and killed her own mother. Now that she knows, Johanna is forced to face the truth and find a way to come to terms with her guilt.
3. What part was the hardest to write? The beginning, middle, or the end?
Probably the middle? The set up was a lot of fun, introducing the characters (especially the meet-cute scenes with Milo), but the middle is where Johanna really grapples the most with what she has done. She feels lost, alone, grieving and guilty. I both loved and struggled with the challenge of writing a character going through something so heartbreaking.
4. What is the key message that you are trying to send to readers?
Awareness. The heart of this book is about a girl who accidentally shot and killed her mother with an unsecured gun. According to Giffords Law Center, 4.6 million children live in homes with guns that are loaded and unlocked. That is a horrifying statistic to me. I hope this book might serve as a reminder or a wake up call to the importance of gun safety. We need gun reform in this country, we need change.
5. Where can readers purchase Accidental?
Lots of links to buy on my website! https://alexrichards.nyc/
About You:
1. If you won a prize for something, what would it be and why?
Karaoke, because I always bring my A game! (Go-to’s include Let’s Hear It For The Boy and Ice Ice Baby). More seriously, winning some kind of writing award for young adult fiction like the Printz Award or the Edwards Award, both of which have been awarded to some of my all time favorite authors, would be beyond incredible.
2. If a director wanted to make Accidental into a movie and wanted you to act in it, who would you be and why?
Ooh, such a fun question! And totally hypothetical because I am way too shy to act (despite having studied acting in high school and college and vowing to become a famous actress). That being said, I would definitely opt for the role of Leah, despite being, oh, 20-ish years too old. Leah is a fun and spunky sidekick who wears her heart on her sleeve. She provides some much needed optimism and comic relief in this fairly heavy book.
3. What are some of your favorite tv shows or movies?
I am a sucker for teen dramas, but it’s always hard to find shows my husband and I can agree on! I am (was? No, am) obsessed with Veronica Mars and Buffy. Also Riverdale, Normal People, Sex Education, Stranger Things, even my guilty pleasure The OC. Oh, and Schitt’s Creek (which I still haven’t finished. I never want it to end!), The Good Place, Broad City (gah, why do all the best shows end?!).
4. If you could have dinner with any 3 people (fictional, real or dead), who would it be?
I love this question! And it is very tough to pinpoint three people, but I would choose Veronica Mars because she’s smart and snarky and it would be so fun to solve a crime with her. I would love to have dinner with a young activist like Emma Gonzales or Marley Dias. Someone who is fighting for change -- from gun violence prevention, to diversity and inclusion or climate change -- because young people have the most energy and innovative ideas. Lastly, I’d choose my grandmother. All of my grandparents died when I was young, and I would love to hear all of their stories and voices, but the romantic in me would like to hear from my father’s mother, who travelled, married and divorced (in a time when divorce was less common), and became the love and collaborator of a brilliant environmental sculptor.
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