The Debut Dish, a bi-monthly Debut Author Challenge feature, is where you go for the scoop on some pretty awesome debut authors and their new books! Hopefully these interviews will inspire you to add many, many more books to your to-read list. Because, really, who doesn’t need more books in their lives?

This issue of The Debut Dish features Nikki Katz (The Midnight Dance), Caitlin Sangster (Last Star Burning), and Tristina Wright (27 Hours).

The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz
October 17, 2017 from Swoon Reads
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When the music stops, the dance begins.

Seventeen-year-old Penny is a lead dancer at the Grande Teatro, a finishing school where she and eleven other young women are training to become the finest ballerinas in Italy. Tucked deep into the woods, the school is overseen by the mysterious and handsome young Master who keeps the girls ensconced in the estate – and in the only life Penny has never known.

But when flashes of memories, memories of a life very different from the one she thinks she’s been leading, start to appear, Penny begins to question the Grand Teatro and the motivations of the Master. With a kind and attractive kitchen boy, Cricket, at her side, Penny vows to escape the confines of her school and the strict rules that dictate every step she takes. But at every turn, the Master finds a way to stop her, and Penny must find a way to escape the school and uncover the secrets of her past before it’s too late.

Describe your book in five words or less.
Gothic, historical, retelling.

Tell us about your favorite scene in your book.
This is such a tough one. It’s like choosing which of my three kids is my favorite! Two of my favorite scenes are actually cut from the published version of the novel, but one of my favorites is the first time Penny and Cricket kiss. Which is really funny, as I do not consider myself a romance author whatsoever! In the first couple of drafts, their first kiss came later in the novel, but I enjoyed rewriting it and setting it where it now takes place. Another favorite (see I can’t choose!) is the fight scene at the end of the novel. Fight scenes are my favorite to write.

Where were you when you found out you were being published?
I was at home and got an email from Swoon Reads saying they wanted to schedule a call. I had a feeling that it had to be good news! Then I was home when we had the discussion and they said they wanted to publish my novel as part of the current round.

What’s your favorite junk food?
Candy. Any type but usually a gummi or jelly bean kind!

What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A voodoo doll that my critique partner and very VERY good friend, Demetra Brodsky, gave me for my last birthday after her trip to New Orleans!

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Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster
October 10, 2017 from Simon Pulse
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Sev is branded with the mark of a criminal—a star burned into her hand. That’s the penalty for being the daughter of the woman who betrayed their entire nation.

Now her mother’s body is displayed above Traitor’s Arch, kept in a paralyzed half sleep by the same plague that destroyed the rest of the world. And as further punishment, Sev is forced to do hard labor to prove that she’s more valuable alive than dead.

When the government blames Sev for a horrific bombing, she must escape the city or face the chopping block. Unimaginable dangers lurk outside the city walls, and Sev’s only hope of survival lies with the most unlikely person—Howl, the chairman’s son. Though he promises to lead her to safety, Howl has secrets, and Sev can’t help but wonder if he knows more about her past—and her mother’s crimes—than he lets on.

But in a hostile world, trust is a luxury. Even when Sev’s life and the lives of everyone she loves may hang in the balance.

Describe your book in five words or less.
Chinese dystopian sleeping beauty adaptation.

Tell us about your favorite scene in your book.
I think my favorite scene in the book is near the beginning: Sev, the main character is hiding from something scary with Howl, and he tells her a story about the stars in order to distract her.

Where were you when you found out you were being published?
I was sitting in my kitchen, feeding my children french toast.

What’s your favorite junk food?
Kettle-cooked potato chips. With no weird flavorings!

What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A terracotta warrior themed chess set.

27 Hours by Tristina Wright
October 3, 2017 from Entangled Teen
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Rumor Mora fears two things: hellhounds too strong for him to kill, and failure. Jude Welton has two dreams: for humans to stop killing monsters, and for his strange abilities to vanish.

But in no reality should a boy raised to love monsters fall for a boy raised to kill them.

Nyx Llorca keeps two secrets: the moon speaks to her, and she’s in love with Dahlia, her best friend. Braeden Tennant wants two things: to get out from his mother’s shadow, and to unlearn Epsilon’s darkest secret.

They’ll both have to commit treason to find the truth.

During one twenty-seven-hour night, if they can’t stop the war between the colonies and the monsters from becoming a war of extinction, the things they wish for will never come true, and the things they fear will be all that’s left.

27 Hours is a sweeping, thrilling story featuring a stellar cast of queer teenagers battling to save their homes and possibly every human on Sahara as the clock ticks down to zero.

Describe your book in five words or less.
Queer teens in space.

Tell us about your favorite scene in your book.
When Rumor and Braeden out-banter each other and bring down a massive dragon threatening their home.

Where were you when you found out you were being published?
Washing dishes!

What’s your favorite junk food?
Donuts.

What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A headless Cinderella doll (my kids broke it, don’t judge me)

The Debut Dish, a bi-monthly Debut Author Challenge feature, is where you go for the scoop on some pretty awesome debut authors and their new books! Hopefully these interviews will inspire you to add many, many more books to your to-read list. Because, really, who doesn’t need more books in their lives?

This issue of The Debut Dish features Lisa Rosinsky (Inevitable and Only) and Gwen Katz (Among the Red Stars).

Inevitable and Only by Lisa Rosinsky
October 10, 2017 from Boyds Mills Press
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What if you suddenly found out you had a sister . . . and she took over your life?Cadie is close to her father. They are so much alike—same temperament, sense of humor, and love for the theater—and Dad always knows how to comfort her . . . until the day he announces that he has another daughter. Suddenly, Cadie has a sister, Elizabeth—a sister who is six months older than her, a sister who is about to move in with them, a sister whose very existence means that Cadie’s beloved father cheated on her mother when they were already married. What other secrets might he have? Can she still trust him? Does Cadie really know her father at all? And when Elizabeth arrives, Cadie’s worst fears come true. Elizabeth looks just like Dad; not only that, she seems all too perfect. Until she begins stealing Cadie’s place in the family and even Cadie’s one true love . . . But Elizabeth has secrets of her own. This deeply emotional coming-of-age story explores the choices you make when your family—and your life—changes overnight. Are these choices the inevitable and only ones? And will they ultimately bring your family back together or push you further apart?

Describe your book in five words or less.
Secrets, sisters, and Shakespeare.

Tell us about your favorite scene in your book.
This is tough! I loved writing the scene where my main character, Acadia, starts falling for her co-star during auditions for her high school production of Much Ado About Nothing (though she doesn’t realize it yet). They have instant chemistry onstage while speaking Beatrice and Benedick’s lines. I’m a huge Shakespeare and theater nerd, and that scene just wrote itself!

Where were you when you found out you were being published?
Sitting outside a coffee shop on a beautiful warm day in June, about to go teach a creative writing class at Boston University. I couldn’t tell my students that same night because it was still confidential–hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep!

What’s your favorite junk food?
Berger cookies–a Baltimore specialty. It’s a thin, soft vanilla cookie hiding under a whopping helping of fudge.

What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A large hyacinth plant named Helga and a tiny succulent named Sharon. Look, I get lonely when I write, and I need someone to tell all my terrible jokes to!

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Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz
October 3, 2017 from HarperTeen
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World War Two has shattered Valka’s homeland of Russia, and Valka is determined to help the effort. She knows her skills as a pilot rival the best of the men, so when an all-female aviation group forms, Valka is the first to sign up.

Flying has always meant freedom and exhilaration for Valka, but dropping bombs on German soldiers from a fragile canvas biplane is no joyride. The war is taking its toll on everyone, including the boy Valka grew up with, who is fighting for his life on the front lines.

As the war intensifies and those around her fall, Valka must decide how much she is willing to risk to defend the skies she once called home.

Inspired by the true story of the airwomen the Nazis called Night Witches, Gwen C. Katz weaves a tale of strength and sacrifice, learning to fight for yourself, and the perils of a world at war.

Describe your book in five words or less.
Teen girls fly in WWII!

Tell us about your favorite scene in your book.
Action scenes! I love all the scenes where I got to write dogfights and “dangerous tricks in the air.”

Where were you when you found out you were being published?
Walking home from the library, which is somewhat apropos.

What’s your favorite junk food?
Candy. It’s my weakness.

What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A habitrail tube.