What It’s Really About

By SM Webb
Graphic courtesy of usurnsonline.com

Sometimes a story comes to me out of nowhere, and I can’t pinpoint the trigger. But my debut YA novel, Spirited, was different.

It was spring of 2020 when my then 11yo son walked into the kitchen early one morning to fill up his water bottle. He looked at me and said, “I think God needs to bring more people to heaven because the world needs more angels.” Then he just… walked out. On with his day, on with his pre-teen life, leaving me with a gaping mouth and mind spinning in different directions. That night, I drafted a short story set in a dystopian world that I later shelved as too depressing. Depression is a well-saturated market. I wanted to write about hope—about the light at the end of the tunnel and beyond.

So, I embarked on the 2 year journey of writing Spirited between working full time and raising 3 kids. The story spawned from one insightful comment and a whole lot of what ifs. What if the world just needs more angels? What if those angels need help and that help comes in the form of spirit guides? Ohh what if there are spirit warriors, too? What if 2 teens who don’t like each other on earth had to learn to work together as spirit guides in the afterlife? What if the reason those teens don’t like each other is because they have made assumptions about the other, as people tend to do. What if there are secrets that come out in the afterlife? What if, what if, what if…

Last spring, I attended a writer’s conference where a speaker discussed elevator pitches and encouraged writers to follow up their elevator pitch with a statement that begins with “It’s really about…” This exercise brought me back to my son’s comment. I could have just posted it on social media, collected a handful of “Awws” in the comments, and moved on. Why did I feel compelled to write this story? What am I trying to accomplish?

Here is what I ended up with:

Spirited is a young adult series about the afterlife where two teenage girls who annoy each other die in a crash and must learn to work together as spirit guides.

It’s really about bringing comfort and hope to people who fear death or are stuck in grief.

That’s a heavy lift for a teen fantasy novel, I know, but I personally find solace in fantasy. What if I can provide readers with a dreamy alternative to loss? What if something in Cassidy’s or Sienna’s story resonates with readers on a personal level? What if Spirited distracts readers from grief or fear just enough to make room for hope? What if, what if, what if…

What about you? What is the It’s really about… statement for your WIP or most recent book?

I will be releasing Advanced Reader Copies of Spirited in December in exchange for honest reviews by people interested in reading it. Please let me know if you or someone you know has an interest.