An Interview with Shannon Hale, Author of Kind of a Big Deal

August 5, 2020 | 9:30 PM

An Interview with Shannon Hale, Author of Kind of a Big Deal

By Team Fierce Reads
An Interview with Shannon Hale, Author of Kind of a Big Deal

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself inside your favorite novel? Like, literally inside your favorite novel. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Josie Pie in Kind of a Big Deal. If you’ve ever dreamed of that happening to you (TBH, who hasn’t had a self-insert fanfic dream?), we’d recommend picking up Shannon Hale’s latest when it comes out on August 25. And, while you wait, be sure to check out this interview with the author!

What makes Josie fierce?

Josie leaves home at age 17 and moves alone to New York City to try to make it on Broadway. Yeah, maybe she ended up regretting it, but what an incredibly fierce thing to do. And even though she gives up on herself for awhile, she finds a way to keep living, keep hoping. That alone is pretty fierce.

If you could give Josie one piece of advice, what would it be?

She wouldn't listen to anything I'd tell her. I trust she'll figure it all out eventually.

What's the most interesting thing you learned while researching Kind of a Big Deal?

The award for shortest Broadway run goes to Dance a Little Closer, a musical that closed after a single performance. It earned the nickname Close a Little Faster.

If you'd met Josie as a teen, would you have been friends and why?

I think so. Drama geeks were some of my closest friends in high school. And my BFF was very popular, like Josie—we'd walk down the hallway and everyone would shout hello to her and maybe occasionally greet me too, so that part would feel very familiar.

What's one fun fact most people don't know about you?

At age 19, I tagged Henry Winkler "it" in an ongoing game of cast/crew tag on the set of made-for-TV movie Detention: Siege at Johnson High.

What's your favorite part of being an author?

The snacks.

What's the most challenging part of being an author?

The writing.

Which bookish universe would you most want to visit?

All of them. I'm terrible at picking favorites. On the set of Austenland, I really did feel like I got to visit my story and characters. So surreal! And amazing! I'd love to attend Hogwarts. And summer at Green Gables. I do wish I could actually slip into some of my stories, like Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. After writing a series, I've lived with those places and characters for so long, it almost feels unfair that I can't just go there.

What 3 words would you use to describe Kind of a Big Deal?

Musical Comedy Fantasy

Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale

Josie Pie was born to be a star. So she dropped out of high school to pursue her Broadway dreams, but after months of failed auditions, she finds herself broke, beaten-down . . . and nannying in Missoula, Montana. Lonely and directionless, Josie checks out the local bookstore, looking for the ultimate escape.

And escape she does. Literally. She falls into the plots of her books, including a bodice ripper, a dystopian thriller, a YA romance, and more, all filled with swoony co-stars who just make her yearn to repair things with the boyfriend she left behind in NYC.

As her reality begins to unravel, what starts as a welcome break from her lackluster life soon begins to feel like a stifling nightmare—but is it too late for Josie to get back to the real world?

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