A dark tale for darker times
Estelle Laure’s new book is first in trilogy for young adults
ESTELLE LAURE GREW UP in Taos. She studied drama at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces before returning home and meeting and then marrying, the father of her two children. After moving with her husband and kids to the East Coast, Laure went back to school, earning a Master of Fine Arts in literature.
With her marriage coming to an end, she returned to Taos with her kids and began to write in earnest. Her hard work and dedication paid off; now the successful author of young adult novels, has a new book out.
Tempo checked in with Laure last week.
Your new book is out, quite exciting, please tell us a bit about it?
It’s the first in a Disney trilogy called “City of Villains” (reviewed in this issue, page 10 of Tempo, by Amy Boaz.) Basically, picture Disney villains all together in high school, banded into enmeshed loyalty by difficult circumstances, living in the Scar which used to be a magical hub, but since magic died 13 years ago has become a depressed party neighborhood. The kids hang out in a bar called Wonderland and cling to the traces of magic that still exist, like constantly perfect weather, clouds that react to their observers’ emotions, and Miracle Lake, which is so poisonous touching its water causes instant death. Mary Elizabeth is a student by day and has an internship at the Monarch police department at night, so when girls start disappearing from her Scar high school, she gets sucked into the case.
Your chosen literary genre is ‘young adult’ novels, why did you decide to go this route?
While I personally feel like a mature human, I have a very clear recollection of being a teenager. I do have two picture books coming out with HarperCollins and Two Lions/Amazon in the next year or so, and I would also love to write middle grade at some point, but young adult calls to me consistently. I think there’s part of me that wants to reflect the teen experience in a realistic way
(even when there’s magic involved). Writing about adolescents is thrilling because they’re also just beginning to understand the world they’re inheriting. There is a lot of opportunity for exploring the ways in which the behaviors, expectations and limitations placed on the adolescent intersect with the indignation, resentment and occasional panic that come along with that discovery as filtered through their new skins. It’s complex and endlessly fascinating to me. And also, first love, first heartbreak, first betrayal, first death. Lots to work with.
As a mother of a teenage daughter and son in these fraught times, what do you see your kids doing differently than you did at their age?
I often think about what it would have been like for me if the pandemic had happened when I was a teenager (bad). My kids seem to have worked it out, partially because they’re totally comfortable with online communication and because I’m able to be home with them. In a way they seem more resilient than I was, capable of adjusting and balancing being home and getting what they need socially, even restricted as they are. I do generally see more disdain than I had for politics and overall disgust with the way adults conduct themselves and around issues like global warming. They’re way more outspoken than I was about things they care about, and I’m proud of them for that. I don’t blame them for seeking refuge in TikTok, but I don’t envy them their social media experience. We’ll just have to see what comes of it.
You are also a teacher constantly in the company of children other than your own, how do the kids impact and inspire your creative writing?
My students, both at Taos Academy and through the SOMOS Young Writers Program, are always inspiring to me. Whether they’re wrestling with an issue or making me laugh, they always have unique and enlightening perspectives. I feel very lucky to be a teacher, as I write books I hope will give them something back and let them know that they are seen.
What’s next?
The next book I have coming out is called “Remember Me” with Wednesday Books/St. Martins in the fall. It’s a high concept speculative story about a girl who tries to have all unpleasantness erased from her life in order to create a perfect one. As you can imagine, this effort does not go well. It’s romantic and a little trippy and hopefully touching. I know I can’t get through reading it without crying.
‘My students, both at Taos Academy and through the SOMOS Young Writers Program, are always inspiring to me. Whether they’re wrestling with an issue or making me laugh, they always have unique and enlightening perspectives.’
ESTELLE LAURE