Author Confessions: Zibby Owens

The bookfluencer has a new novel.

I met

Zibby Owens

when my first novel Summer Darlings was coming out in the middle of the pandemic in May 2020; she was the very first person to interview me and I was so nervous I had to tuck my sweaty hands under my thighs so no one could see me trembling. Then I saw Zibby’s giant smile. She immediately put me at ease as we connected as moms and launched into a fun conversation about my book.

For so many writers, Zibby has been a champion/savoir/hero in the world of book promotion, posing for social media with novels (like she did on the beach with Summer Darlings) and sharing tidbits about her reading life to inspire others to read, read, read. So it’s been neat watching the bookfluencer become a memoirist and now a novelist. Here, Zibby stops by to answer questions about her new novel, Blank, which is out on March 1.

First, let’s discuss the premise: A former NYT bestselling author who is struggling to think of her next novel idea decides to publish a blank book. Chaos ensues, both in and out of the publishing world. Where did the idea for this novel come from? Were you, in fact, BLANK yourself?
My husband AND my son take credit for this, but one of them suggested I just write a blank book and I thought that would be a genius idea for a novel. I worked with my memoir editor, Carmen Johnson at Little A, and we refined the idea, she bought it, and then I wrote it!

You write really honestly about rejections in your acknowledgements. What gave you the courage to write after you've been told “no” so many times?
I have had this deep conviction since I was a little girl that I was an author even when I wasn’t. I just couldn’t seem to get there. But for so long, I just kept pursuing it. That said, I waited about a decade after my own first horrible rejection to try writing a novel again. But eventually I picked myself back up and just kept trying. It took me a while to find my writing voice until I finally decided to scrap trying to write a certain way or to impress anyone and just write to have fun, make myself laugh, and enjoy the process. If I wasn’t enjoying it, why on earth would I spend time doing it?!

What part of the book was the most challenging to write?
I always struggle with physical descriptions of characters. I’m like, “She had shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes.” It’s like I’m a pre-schooler! So I have to go back and do a better job later.

How much of Zibby the Mom is in this novel? I kept imagining that the main character was you whenever she was with her kids.
Hahaha. I read my kids the first couple pages and my daughter was like, “You didn’t tell us it was about US!” I compiled a lot of things about my four kids into these two kids, although a lot was made up. It was heavily inspired by my own #momlife.

You really went there in one of the sex scenes in the book. I blushed reading it! What made you get a little spicy at that point in the novel?
Ha! I don’t know. I just kind of saw the whole scene playing out and just wrote it as it was unfolding in my head! No, there were no other sex scenes.

As you embark on a tour for this novel, what do you hope readers will ask you about? What are you dying to talk about?
Honestly, I’m excited to hear about the readers, not talk more about myself!

When writing your second novel, what advice are you giving yourself?
For me, it’s really helpful to have character outlines with descriptions in a separate doc so I don’t keep forgetting what I’ve said about everyone. Also, to just try not to edit myself until the end and just see where the story ends up going. It has already surprised me!

Thanks, Zibby. My novels always surprise me when I’m writing, too. I have one book in mind, and when I’m done with a draft and re-read it, I always realize I’ve written an entirely different story. Btw since this interview was conducted, Zibby announced her next novel, Overheard, will be out next year. Congrats!