C.L. Montblanc grew up loving coming-of-age teen comedies and wanted to write a story that included queer characters and solving mysteries.
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
I grew up loving coming-of-age teen comedies like "Superbad," while acknowledging that they reflected a very specific “straight dude” experience that I would never get to have. Most of the queer media available to me at the time was very homogenous and loaded with melodrama. So I really was just like, “Why can’t queer kids be doing all the goofy shit, too?” That was the heart of it. And the premise came to me around 2021, when the big YA books were like, "One of Us Is Lying" and "A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder." Those mystery titles leaned serious and traditional as opposed to “cozies,” which were popping up a lot in film and TV and adult literature but scarcely in YA. So I started my Google Document with what I wanted to see in a book, which was “like American Vandal but gayer,” and went from there.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
Frankly, I was terrified to read queer books as a kid. They were either so notorious that I was afraid to even be seen near them without punishment — for context, this was Texas, pre-“Legalize Gay” — or the queer content mostly consisted of barely-there crumbs within a cishet character’s story. And though it’s many years later, I do think it’s very reasonable for some to still feel wary of expressing pride, given the backwards, worsening political climate. So on one hand, I’ve gone as far as to ensure the outside of "Pride or Die" looks “take-home safe” — aside from a wink from the word “Pride” itself — because I’m of the opinion that externalizing pride shouldn’t be seen as a requirement for everyone. I hate to pressure people, especially kids, who are just doing what they need to do in order to survive right now. But my hope is that Reading Rainbow can mean, at the very least, self-acceptance. Feeling like you’re not alone. Like you’re proud of who you are on the inside, and gladly engage in that part of your experience through storytelling.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
I would suggest a variety of representation is most important to keep in mind when you’re choosing a book, whether you’re someone with major influence or a regular consumer. While I always try to write diverse narratives, especially considering how I’m writing contemporary stories based on my personal experiences living in the real world, I don’t feel that I (or any singular writer) should be representative of “variety.” As a reader, I prioritize reading diversely from authors who write characters who share their own backgrounds. As a writer, I do my best to represent a singular experience (one that I feel equipped to depict) through the main character’s point of view. Representation is important beyond what I can explain in a brief article, but ultimately I just hope that people can take the time to dig past the bestseller lists and the front tables of book stores to make conscious, mindful choices about what kinds of books they hope to support and what types of perspectives they might benefit from learning from.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
The story of "Pride or Die" is about Eleanora, a lesbian, who runs an LGBTQ club at her high school that gets accused of attempted murder due to a series of unfortunate circumstances. She and her friends have to find the real culprit and clear their names. Shenanigans ensue. I covered a lot of the “why” above, but another reason for writing this is that I’ve always struggled with identity and self-expression. Even now, I often feel like I have this “true self” that gets suppressed by my neurodivergence and mental health struggles during my everyday interactions with others. What I did in "Pride or Die" was share different parts of myself through the characters. With ample time to think of the right words, and with the social barriers gone, it felt like I was practically able to print myself onto the page. It’s definitely the most selfish reason I had for writing, but it’s also one that I don’t hear others talking about so often.
What can fans expect from your book?
“Be gay, solve crime,” while also maybe doing a couple of misdemeanors along the way, but like, sometimes you’ve gotta. I would call it "Bottoms" meets "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" meets "Do Revenge." It’s fun and kind of campy, with some more serious moments and messaging as well. It’s like, someone will be a victim of homophobic bullying and worried that their existence is a burden, but then moments later they have to use a Crazy Frog flash mob to solve a murder mystery. I don’t know — I’m also kind of chronically online and snuck a bunch of niche references in there. So if you know what an SCP is (as nobody on my entire publishing team did, and bless them for that), "Pride or Die" might be perfect for you.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I’m going a bit more mature for my next ones. Less high school silliness, and lots more murdering. But I’m forever-passionate about writing lovable characters and having at least a good amount of humor amidst the darkness, so that can still be expected to carry over. And, of course, everyone in my books will still be super gay — my next main character is non-binary, so expect more discussion of gender there than in "Pride or Die."
