Joy L. Smith is an up and coming YA novelist. She writes characters as diverse as they are powerful and inspiring–Joy is one incredible human bean. You can find her on twitter @JoyJoyWrites.

What characters and themes do you like to write about and what inspires them?

I think the main thing about the characters I write is that they’re Black girls. They’re city girls like me. They have that one thing that really keeps them going. I love to write about family and friendship and love because it’s important to me that Black girls know that there isn’t one clear story to tell about those three things. It’s all a bit complicated. And I love simple things but also complicated things too. For me I like to give my characters a skill that I was obsessed with as a kid or still wish I had. So you’ll see my characters love their theater references, ballet, acting and BMX biking among other things that make me happy, but inspire them.

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