Newsletters
Q&A With Peng Shephard
New Information about Upcoming Book Related News
Q&A
With Peng Shepherd
I am so
excited about doing this Q&A with Peng Shepherd! Peng is the author of The
Cartographers, The Book Of M, & coming out on July 9th is All
This And More. The Cartographers was a USA Today, LA Times & national
Independent Bookstores Bookseller & a finalist for the LA Times Book
Prize. The Washington Post named The Cartographers Best Book of
2022 & it has been optioned for film. Amazon, Elle, Refinery29, &
The Verge all agree that The Book of M was the best book of the year
in 2018. The Today Show & NPR On Point called The Book of M the
best book of the summer!
Q: Peng,
would you please give a brief description of each of your books starting with
your upcoming release All This And More?
A: I’d
love to!
All This
and More is a speculative thriller
that weaves together mystery, romance, and a little bit of
darkness.
Marsh
has spent her whole life playing it safe, but when her careful, risk-free world
implodes anyway, she realizes she’s done it all wrong and missed
her chance at everything—until a mysterious new game show makes a miracle
possible. “All This and More” has figured out how to send contestants back to
specific moments in their past, so they can make different choices and
change their present lives. And when Marsh is chosen out of millions to be the
next contestant, she can’t believe her luck.
But
everything we do has consequences. Especially if the prize is happiness.
As Marsh seizes one dream after the next, she begins to worry that the show’s
promises might be too good to be true. Because while her life keeps getting
better and better, something seems a bit off…
The
Cartographers is a novel about mapmaking
and family secrets. It follows a young cartography scholar named Nell, whose
career was destroyed by none other than her own father after a fight over a
strange map he claimed was worthless. But when he dies, and Nell finds that
very same map hidden in his things, she discovers that it contains a deadly
mystery that involves her family—and so she sets out to uncover what both he
and the map have been hiding for decades.
The Book
of M is set in the near future, and it’s
about a mysterious phenomenon that’s causing people’s shadows to disappear all
over the world, with terrifying effects—those who lose their shadows gain
magical abilities, but at the cost of a memory every time they use that magic,
which plunges the world into chaos.
The
story follows a husband and wife, Ory and Max, who have survived unscathed for
two years by hiding… until Max’s shadow suddenly disappears too, and they must
decide whether to keep hiding or to confront the strange, unrecognizable world
outside in the hope of saving her.
Q: What
made you passionate about writing & where do the ideas for your books come
from?
A:
Writing has been a lifelong obsession. Ever since I learned to read as a child,
I have been fascinated with stories, and always knew that I wanted to create
them. But I wish I knew where my ideas came from, because it would make the
writing process a lot less terrifying! In truth, my books can take years to
develop. First, some tiny moment will strike a bit of inspiration, but alone
it’s not enough. I must hold the idea close and wait for more of those tiny
moments to come, until eventually, there are enough of them that they turn into
something book shaped. Sometimes, it feels like making a castle on the beach,
one grain of sand at a time.
Q:
Theres a saying that Nonfiction tells the truth with information: Fiction
tells the truth with imagination. What lessons do you hope readers learn
after reading your stories?
A: I
want to explore what it means to be happy in this world of nearly infinite
choices we all live in. Choice is wonderful up to a certain point—but none of
us were prepared to be connected to the internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year, looking at a never-ending stream of advertisements and photos of other
people’s amazing lives, all demanding our attention and desire.
Even if
we can’t enter the Bubble with Marsh and tweak every single thing in our lives
until it’s absolutely perfect, we all still face the same timeless questions
that our heroine does. When there’s more than one path ahead, how do you decide
which one is the right one? And when there’s always another option, how do you
stop seeking something better, and learn to live instead?
Q: How
does it feel knowing The Book of M was the best book of the year in 2018
& The Today Show & NPR On Point called the book, the best book
of the summer? How does it feel knowing The Cartographers was a USA
Today, LA Times & national Independent Bookstores Bookseller & a
finalist for the LA Times Book Prize & The Washington Post naming it
Best Book of 2022?
A: I
still can’t believe it most of the time. Writing is such a solitary pursuit—you
spend months or years toiling away at the ghost of an idea in your head,
desperately trying to craft it into real, solid words that somehow manage to be
both beautiful and true at the same time—and then it’s entirely out of your
hands. All you can do is hope that readers will connect with it, and experience
some of the same emotions and questions that you did while writing it. I’m just
so honored that my books have resonated with readers and made them feel
something. It’s the greatest gift.
Q: If it’s
not too early to reveal any details, what is the plot of the next book you are
writing?
A: I’m
partway through the first draft right now! I can’t reveal too much yet, but
I’ll say that it’s a mystery about body doubles secretly hired to impersonate a
famous, powerful person, and how—as they become more entwined with each
other—everything starts to unravel. It’s very dark and twisted, and I’m having
a lot of fun with it.
Q: Do
you know if The Cartographers movie is still happening? Did they get the
rights to The Book Of M & All This And More? The entertainment could
use more great book ideas for new content as most of us are sick of remakes,
reboots, sequels, prequels and spin offs.
A: It
really seems like a golden moment for book adaptations right now. There have
been so many great ones released lately! How Hollywood works is mysterious to
me because it’s very different to publishing, and so much happens that can’t be
announced, but things are still happening with my first two novels. It’s a long
road to the screen though, and a lot could change, so I’m just grateful for
each day.
But soon
I should have some very good news to share on this front about All This and
More… stay tuned!
Q:
You’ve lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mexico City & New York! I
can’t wait to travel someday! Which places were your favorites to see? Where do
you plan to travel next?
A:
Actually, I just got back from a trip to Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan about
a month ago, which was incredible. Turkey is one of my favorite countries, and
I took my mother with me, so it was really fun to show her around and share
such an amazing place with her. Georgia was incredibly picturesque (and the
food is great!), and Azerbaijan was so striking and different from its
neighbors. I loved them all, each for their own reasons. If you’re looking for
trip suggestions, I highly recommend them!
Next
year is Taiwan and Uzbekistan, which I’m really excited about. I can’t wait!