Good morning, readers! Today kicks off the CAKE Literary Blog Tour for Meg Cannistra’s debut novel The Trouble with Shooting Stars! And I’ve super excited to welcome the author herself to NovelKnight for an interview!
Keep reading for more on Meg Cannistra and her new book!
All About Meg
You wrote a book! That’s pretty awesome. Why don’t you tell us a bit about what inspired The Trouble with Shooting Stars?
Thank you! It’s super awesome! My family was a huge inspiration for the book. I come from a big Italian-American family that’s always in each other’s business and Luna’s family is exactly like that. I’m also in love with nighttime. I grew up on an island just off the coast of Florida and one of my favorite things was to sit on the beach at night and just stare up at the stars. Being able to go up into space and talk to stars and take care of the moon would be an absolute dream.
Introduce us to your main character!
Luna Bianchini is a twelve-year-old girl who is always drawing the world around her. She loves her friends and family, but withdraws from them after the car accident that left her and her father injured. Prior to the accident, Luna was sure of herself and happy. But the start of the story finds her hiding away a bit – unconfident and shaken by what happened. Her family tells her she’s a fighter, that she’s brave and strong. She doesn’t feel that way at first. She just wants to wish her troubles away. But she soon starts to find that strength in herself and, through her relationship with the magical spazzatrici next door, she begins to heal.
I love Luna! She’s funny, smart, and just needs to find a way back to herself. I hope my readers love her too.
Walk us through a day in the life of Meg Cannistra.
Right now, I work a day job as a content strategist, so usually my day starts early. I work from home so that gives me time to write during my lunch break and before/after work. When I’m not working, I like to go to coffee shops to write. I need background noise to focus. I also like taking walks to regroup before any major writing time. We have a beautiful greenway behind our house that I’m obsessed with. It’s so lush and full of life. The perfect place to get the juices flowing.
If I’m not working or writing, I’m usually wandering through dusty antique shops or grocery shopping and making up recipes. Always listening to a podcast or have a movie playing in the background!
Lots of aspiring authors out there. Any advice for them?
Keep writing! You don’t have to write every single day but make a habit of writing at least a few times a week. Don’t worry about your story being bad because more than likely it isn’t and there’s always revision. Just get that first draft out. Also get a writer buddy! Having that accountability helps with productivity!
I know asking someone’s all-time favorite book is a loaded question so what’s your current favorite read?
Oh, this is tough. I’m reading Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake right now and wow. She’s such a phenomenal writer. I’m constantly blown away by her talent. I highly recommend the series if you want a spooky story about magical queens and dark mysteries.
Alright, the ultimate question: why should we read your book?
Because at its heart, The Trouble with Shooting Stars is about healing. It’s about finding yourself after a life changing event that sends you into a tailspin. It tackles the question of if you can go back in time before something terrible happens and make sure it doesn’t, would you? It may seem like an easy answer, but it isn’t. And Luna has to figure out if it’s best wishing away her grief at the risk of losing her new friends and renewed inner-strength. Rooting for Luna is easy and her adventures up to the night sky bring hope.
Plus there’s so much magic and fun and FOOD! You can’t not like a story with all that!
Fun Stuff!
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Thoughtful. Funny. Tired.
What is your most embarrassing memory?
There are so many. My life is just one embarrassing moment after another. I broke my two front teeth after shouting at my sister’s high school boyfriend. Bam. Right on the tile kitchen floor. It didn’t hurt anything except my ego. And now my two front teeth are fake and I have to get them fixed every few years.
What is your Hogwarts house?
Ravenclaw/Slytherin!
Your characters are sent into the Hunger Games. Who wins?
Chiara. She’s the smartest character in the book.
A famous movie producer wants to make your books into movies and they want you to cast your characters. Which actors/actresses make the cut?
This is a tough one since I don’t know many child actors nowadays. My Aunt Therese keeps telling me she wants to be in the movie if it ever becomes a thing, so I’d likely have her play the Aunt Therese in the book (it’s only fitting).
You just won America’s Got Talent. What’s your talent?
Cat wrangling. My day-to-day is filled with chasing my cats around the house.
Radioactive space rock fell from the sky and turned you into a superhero/villain. Tell us your new name, describe your powers, and what does your costume look like?
Megalodon. I turn into a giant half-human/half-prehistoric shark and can now live under water and destroy ships and submarines. I look like a shark/mermaid maybe? The only person who can stop me is Jason Statham.
This morning you woke up with the ability to time travel to only one time period. Where (or more accurately “when”) would you go?
I’m boring so probably Victorian England. I want to find out who Jack the Ripper is and then solve the case once and for all. But then I’d want to come back to now. I wouldn’t want to live in that time period.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Best ice cream flavor ever?
Butter pecan
Your theme song/personal anthem?
The same as everyone else’s in 2019 – Truth Hurts by Lizzo.
Favorite quote?
This exchange from Coraline:
“What’s your name,’ Coraline asked the cat. ‘Look, I’m Coraline. Okay?’
‘Cats don’t have names,’ it said.
‘No?’ said Coraline.
‘No,’ said the cat. ‘Now you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.”
What is one piece of advice you would tell everyone?
Write the email, then take a walk or a nap before pressing send when responding to any bad/frustrating news. Reread the email and see if you still feel that way. By then you’ve got some distance and the emotions have cooled. For someone like me who has limited patience this has saved me a few times throughout my life.
About the Book
by Meg Cannistra
Published on August 20, 2019 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Wonder meets Mary Poppins in this heartfelt debut novel about magic, healing, and the importance of family.
Twelve-year-old Luna loves the nighttime more than anything else. It’s when no one gives her “that look” about the half mask she has to wear while healing from a disfiguring car accident. It’s also the perfect time to sit outside and draw what she sees. Like the boy and girl from the new family next door…zipping out of the window in a zeppelin and up to the stars.
At first she thinks she’s dreaming. But one night they catch her watching. Now Luna spends her nights on adventures with them, as they clean full moons, arrange constellations, and catch jars of stardust. She even gets to make a wish on a shooting star they catch.
But Luna learns that no wish is strong enough to erase the past—as much as she may hope to.
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
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