Memory Mash-Up: A Novel of Randoms That Somehow Came Together, a guest post by Christine Webb

Some say their brain works like a filing cabinet. Every fact and memory is neatly sorted and accessible at the moment they need it. I’m not organized in much of anything in my life, so why should my brain be any different?

If my brain is a filing cabinet, this is how I wrote my latest book with Peachtree Teen, Shooting for Stars: I took out all the files, dumped them on the floor, mixed them up a bit to make sure they were fully shuffled, then took a piece or two out and said, “Huh. Could that make a story?” Then, when I needed a plot twist or some character development, I jumped back into the jumble and picked another file.

Some people say, “Write what you know,” and that’s perfectly fine advice. How can you write about something if you know nothing about it? I took that old “write what you know” and interpreted it a bit differently for this book. Instead of picking one thing in which I’m an expert, I sewed together a conglomeration of memories to create characters and a plot that ultimately became a charming (hopefully) mix of all the weird stuff blobbing around in my brain.

Here is a sample of some of the “files” that made it into the book:

1. Stargazing for my high school astronomy class: 

I took astronomy in high school, not because I had any interest in astronomy. The teacher seemed cool, and also I think the guy I had a crush on was in that class. I remember sitting through a lecture thinking, “Okay, I will learn about the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram because I have to. But I am never going to use this in life.” Well, here is my formal apology to the astronomy teacher, because I did use it. Sure, it was used in a novel and not actually to make a scientific discovery or anything, but it did come in handy. I remember stargazing assignments for that class, which were always at night (because duh). Now that I’m an adult, I’m wondering whose bright idea it was to trust a bunch of teenagers to take expensive telescopes and troll around town far after midnight. One time the police were called on us while we were stargazing in a farmer’s field (we had permission from the farmer). The officer came to see what was going on, and we said we were doing homework. In the middle of a field. At two in the morning. I’m lucky I didn’t end up in jail.

• That one time when my friend’s dad geeked out about pasta: 

I was at a friend’s house for dinner. Her dad is a chemist, and he has a little bit of a mad scientist vibe to him. As we started eating our pasta, he said, “Do you understand what makes the pasta noodles go from hard to flimsy?” Then he went on to explain it to us in great detail. He said it had something to do with vacuoles bursting, or cell walls, or maybe both. I kind of tuned out after a while. When it came time to picture my protagonist’s scientist dad for this story, though, I knew immediately who it was. It’s Bri’s dad! Sure, I haven’t seen him in 20ish years, but I remembered enough to include a pasta anecdote in the book. Who knew I would need to remember the vacuoles thing?

• Keeping a contraband pet rat: 

My sophomore year of college, I picked up a small animal cage that was out by the side of the road after a garage sale. I admit: I was feeling kind of lonely, and I thought a furry friend might help. Plus, the cage was free. I went straight to the pet store, brought the cage inside, held it up, and said, “What kind of pet would be good in this?” After asking a few questions, the pet store lady suggested a rat. Umm…a rat? Like, the nasty sewer creatures with the red eyes? She assured me that rats are actually very “cute” and “smart.” I must have been feeling really desperate for a friend that day, because I said “okay” and took home a rat. Fast forward a few months: by the end of sophomore year, my rat Cindy was a total genius (she could jump through hoops, turn pages for me as I studied, come when I called her name, etc.). I even brought her to class once (which inspired the first scene of this book). I bred her with a rat that a guy down the hall owned, and we sold the adorable baby rats as pets to other people in our dorm. Oh, and then later I married that guy. But that’s really a separate story.

• Stroller flipping as an actual hobby: 

I was in Boston, taking a writing class and working on the manuscript for Shooting for Stars. I was hanging out with a friend there, and he mentioned that his wife enjoys flipping strollers. Naturally, I had all the questions. It’s “just like flipping a house,” he said, “but with a stroller.” Right. Like that answered anything. Anyway, my manuscript was stalled a bit, so after he finished explaining it I thought, “Brilliant! I’ll flip some strollers!” That ended up in the book, too–admittedly one of my quirkier subplots.

• Owning a flock of pigeons: 

We have a flock of pigeons that lives in a coop in our front yard. They’re white and look like doves, and my husband cares for them diligently. They’re lovely but also perhaps a bit useless. His dad owned pigeons, so this is a generational hobby. When I needed to give Cooper’s family a detail to make them memorable, I decided to give them pigeons. Because who doesn’t remember the weird family who owns a flock of pigeons?

A writer once told me that when I’m not feeling inspired, I should go out and collect life experiences so I would have things to “add to the pile of stuff” I could write about. I thought it was odd advice at the time, but now I get it.

When I meet a fascinating person, maybe a barista in a coffee shop with neon green hair and old-lady pearl earrings, I tuck that information away and think, “She could make a good character.” I saw someone selling rabbit turds online as “organic fertilizer,” and I immediately locked that information away. How will it be useful in the future? No idea. But I’ve become a collector of odd memories.

As I age, I’m sure I’ll collect more and more weirdo moments. By the time I’m 100, who knows what kind of outlandishly eccentric novel I’ll be able to write? We each leave a little of our creative DNA on the stories that come from our minds, after all. Until then, I’ll have my stories about stars, rats, and pigeons.

Shooting for Stars follows aspiring scientist Skyler Davidson as she teams up with Cooper, a guy from film club, to video a submission for a NASA internship. But with Skyler’s dad determined to send her off to college after graduation, they’ll both have to keep it on the downlow. Unfortunately for Skyler, her dad’s new girlfriend is a hot make-up influencer eager to make friends and put her nose where it doesn’t belong. Will Skyler’s dream of stars collapse and explode, or can dad and daughter find common ground on her trajectory? Order your copy of this romantic dramedy wherever books are sold.

Meet the author

Christine Webb is a middle school teacher from Kalamazoo, Michigan. When she’s not writing or teaching, you can find her hanging out with her zoo (three goofy dogs, an evil cat, and twenty nameless pigeons) or spending time with her husband and son. She also loves studying British history and laments the fact that she will never be Queen.

About Shooting for Stars

A charming romantic dramedy from the author of The Art of Insanity

High schooler Skyler Davidson spends most of her time with her pet rat, Five. The daughter of scientists, she’s determined to finish her late mother’s research on neutron stars. So she teams up with aspiring videographer, Cooper, to film a submission for a NASA internship—all while keeping it a secret from her dad, who doesn’t expect any trouble from his obviously college-bound daughter. As Skyler and Cooper grow closer, it turns out that Skyler’s dad has a new love interest as well: a hot makeup influencer who likes to put her nose where it doesn’t belong. She’ll keep hush on Skyler’s NASA plans, if Skyler agrees to get to know her. Now Skyler’s tangled up in a budding romance, an unexpected friendship, and the stress of having to retake her SATs. Will Skyler’s dream of stars collapse and explode, or can dad and daughter reconcile and change their trajectory?

ISBN-13: 9781682636015
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 05/21/2024
Age Range: 14 – 17 Years

Filed under: Guest Post