I love the sound of Wildergirls! Is this book set in a contemporary setting? Also, did you go to boarding school yourself? Where did you get your inspiration from?

Rory Power Thanks, Astrid! The book is set in present day, but given the illness the girls are suffering from, I think of it more as speculative YA than I do contemp YA.

The inspiration for this book came from a trip I took in 2015 to an island in North Carolina. Most of my inspiration comes from landscape, and this was no exception. I was absolutely taken with the island and decided I had to put it (or a version of it) in a book.

And yes, I did go to boarding school! The girls in WILDERGIRLS go to a standard boarding school, while I went to a co-ed conservatory for music, but I wound up drawing a lot on my own experiences nonetheless.

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