If you're a huge fan of Dark Academia and demons, then check out "Unhallowed Halls" by Lili Wilkinson.
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
YA author and friend Ellie Marney (None Shall Sleep) shared an article with me about a (now closed) US boarding school for gifted but troubled children. The place looked like a castle, with an actual moat, but held some very dark secrets. It immediately sparked an idea in my mind (what if this, but also demons?), and it just sort of grew from there.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
When I was a teen, I didn’t encounter many queer characters in my books or on my screens. And the ones I did encounter were often tragic or tortured. For me, reading with pride is about experiencing queer stories of all kinds - cosy and romantic and joyful as well as the sad ones. It’s also about seeing every day, incidental queer characters in stories that aren’t necessarily about queerness. It’s about reading and learning about people whose lives and experiences are different to mine. It’s about expanding my world to encompass more ways of being and understanding all the beautiful and messy ways there are to be a person.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
I visit a lot of schools as an author, and talk to a lot of young people. I’m a white, middle class, neurotypical, cisgendered woman who presents as straight (although I’m not). And I don’t want those kids to come away from my talks, or my books, thinking that only stories about people who look like me are important. I want my stories to reflect my life - and the people in my life don’t all look or think like me. I t think it’s vital for diverse young readers to see themselves represented in stories, and it’s just as vital for everyone to experience stories about people who aren’t like them. That’s how we build empathy, and celebrate difference and diversity instead of fearing it. This is a big responsibility for me as an author, so I strive to make sure this representation is authentic and respectful, by doing my research and consulting with people from the backgrounds/identities that I’m writing about. I’m always trying to listen and learn.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
The book is about Page, an introverted Florida teen who finds herself at an exclusive, eccentric boarding school on the remote moors of Scotland. Everyone at Agathion College is an outsider, but as one of the only students who doesn’t come from a privileged or wealthy background, Page is an outsider to the outsiders. At the beginning of the book, Page has cut herself off from the world, because of something terrible that happened at her old school. She’s convinced herself that she doesn’t need to feel anything, that she doesn’t need friends. All she needs is books and ideas – a life of the mind. But underneath all that she is longing to be a part of something – to love and to be loved, and she finds herself drawn into a friendship group of diverse, loveable weirdos. For the first time in her life, Page really feels like she belongs. But her new friends are keeping secrets, and there is a twisted ancient magic deep beneath Agathion that threatens to destroy everything.
What can fans expect from your book?
Squad goals. Dark academia. Demonic rituals. Boarding school tropes. Fey genderqueer boys who knit and wear kilts. Standing stones. Banter. Chaos Chess. Plant magic. A pig mascot. And just a touch of eldritch cosmic horror...
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I have a junior fiction series called Bravepaw that is already out in Australia, coming soon in the US. It’s a classic fantasy adventure about bravery and friendship, starring mice, that is gorgeously illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. And I have another YA fantasy coming in 2026 which I’m currently working on, a high fantasy inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle that plays with the idea of good versus evil.
