Interview with Charlotte Sullivan Wild, Author of “Love, Violet”
It’s clear that stories - especially the sharing of stories - is important to you. What does it mean to share Love, Violet with the world?
It’s inexpressible. To think that right now kids are cozying up to read Violet and Mira’s? They are starting their lives with stories that portray queer love as real and beautiful – it’s amazing! When I was young it was forbidden to even talk about people like me, unless it was to gossip about a scandal. And that’s still true in some places. It’s even school policy in certain U.S. states to never speak of LGBTQIAP2+ topics or people. Which is unspeakably cruel. Never seeing stories about queer people like myself as a kid truly hurt me. I hope books like Love, Violet will reach as many kids as possible, will show them that love is for everyone! Whether that’s friend love, family love, or crush love! PLP is helping to make that happen!
Since stories have been so large a part of your life, what stories (formal or informal) have impacted you or had a significant effect on your experiences, your writing, or your life?
Unfortunately, when I was growing up, I didn’t have children’s books that openly showed queer characters. So, I found myself latching onto stories that had characters that might be secretly queer-coded characters. These stories were like breadcrumbs dropped for me. I didn’t know what they meant at first. Just as I didn’t realize I was a lesbian until I was an adult.
I adored and found myself in Anne of Green Gables. Like Anne, I had passionate friendships, felt jealous when certain friends dated, and couldn’t seem to settle into a romantic relationship like my friends did. Anne felt like home. Later, in college, the top of my head opened when I read Virginia Woolf, as though she were speaking a language my spirit understood. I felt seen. (She was the first woman author I’d read in three years of studying literature, and I hadn’t noticed that fact until her voice transformed me.) There was also Nancy Garden’s Annie on my Mind, about two teenaged girls falling in love, which I read “out of curiosity, as a teacher” in the ‘90s - only to be shocked at how creative and playful Annie was, how similar she felt to… er… me. She was nothing like the twisted stereotypes of queer people I’d seen. All of this reading inspired me, sustained me, and in a way, served as breadcrumbs leading me gradually to accept others and ultimately embrace myself.
When I finally starting writing in earnest for my Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, at about age thirty, I kept writing about lesbian pastor’s daughters. I didn’t know why. I laughed it off. But before I knew it, I’d written my way out of the closest. Making art requires that we tell the truth, in whatever way we can—in code, in symbol, or directly. I’m thankful for the books that inspired me along my journey. And I’m so grateful I was able to write Love, Violet as an openly queer story. I hope it is more than a crumb, that it is a whole-hearted joyful celebration of queer love!
Throughout the book, Violet fears that Mira will not feel the way Violet does. Towards the end, Violet begins to question this thought, wondering if Mira feels exactly the same way she does. Why was including this change - or this moment of realization - important to you?
You have touched on one of the trickiest sections of the story to get right. That moment is essential because to have any relationship - with a friend or crush or even yourself - we must first understand our own worth. Many of us struggle with this. And if one has been told that they are not what people want, it can be even harder to feel loveable. Some people may hear abuse at home. Or from a world full of bias and rejection. And with so many bans on curriculum and books about people of color and LGBTQIAP2+ people, many kids are hearing over and over how something about themselves is shameful, distressing, or not appropriate for school. Not everyone feels worthy of love.
This story is about young love, but it is also about self-love. Too often the first journey one must take, especially if we have faced rejection, is out of self-loathing and into joyful self-acceptance. I hope that stories like Love, Violet will strengthen children, so when hate rains down, they stand firm. They know their worth. They accept and stand up for their peers. I hope Love, Violet will reach those who need it most, like a valentine full of love, bursting with acceptance.
What do you enjoy most about visiting schools and interacting with young students?
Oh, this is a heartbreaking question for me. One of the best parts of writing for kids is getting to visit with them at story times or in the classroom. Unfortunately, days before my debut picture book The Amazing Idea of You came out in 2019 (Lundquist, Bloomsbury), I became very ill with ME/CFS, a chronic illness that I’ll likely always have. (Many people with Long Covid now have ME). I can no longer leave home or do any live calls—so, no more school visits. Which I really miss. But all is not lost! I figured out a way to still connect, perhaps differently, with kids. I recorded an author story time for Love, Violet, which PLP is sharing today! And illustrator Charlene Chua and I created a video presentation about how and why we made Love, Violet, our first crushes, and queer childhood. Several children’s authors and friends have also pitched in to talk about their young crushes, too. So, I’m very thankful to be able to share these things with you! You can find all these on my website: www.charlotteswild.com/books/love-violet/
But what do I love most about working with students? So much! There’s a magic that fills the air when we share a story, or open our notebooks and sketchpads together. When we wonder and explore ideas. I’m endlessly curious about what kids are thinking, noticing, and creating. I also appreciate how kids are often more honest than adults. Sometimes it’s hard to hear the truth. I find kids to be very courageous and curious, and sometimes more open to new ideas and perspectives. And I always learn from students. They inspire me, too, especially when I am discouraged about my work or how unpredictable publishing is. Kids are the best audience. I will write for them as long as I am able!
In the story, Violet is simply Violet - readers do not know exactly how she identifies or labels herself. What was behind the choice to introduce Violet in this way?
This is how I experience the world first – just as myself, not as a category. And it’s how I fell in love with my spouse! (Fun fact, we began dating fourteen years ago today, when she brought me chocolates and a homemade valentine!) It was wonderful! Though, outside my apartment, our labels definitely mattered. We had to hide our relationship in public to protect her career. But inside, it was just us in love! I hope kids reading Love, Violet will connect with that inside experience of love, the ups and downs, the humanness of it. They have their entire lives to learn about the ways the world uses labels to oppress people. I also suspect Violet and Mira might not have labels yet for themselves. Young people, like all people, deserve the freedom to explore who they are on their own timeline. For some people sex, gender, and orientation are fixed; for some these are fluid. And that has nothing to do with the experience of adventuring with someone special.
Of course, labels and identities matter. Labels can be empowering if you’ve never had words for who you are. Claiming the label lesbian was liberation! But categories fall short. Both my wife and I are cisgender lesbians, but our gender expression is quite different—which has made life easier for me and harder for her. And not everyone fits easily into categories. Most problematic, categories are often used to lift up some and oppress others. It’s important to look at how labels affect us in the world and how we use them ourselves in ways both freeing and oppressing. We need stories about labels, too. And the experience of being “othered.” But for this book, a first picture book to openly show a crush between two girls, the thing I most wanted to say was: This is love. Let’s celebrate!
You have mentioned that you were a late reader and writer, that spelling was (and is) challenging for you, and that your writing process can look messy! What advice do you have for readers and writers whose journeys may fall outside traditional or stereotypical expectations?
It is hard when we learn differently or at a different pace than others. I remember always being last one to finish tests. Writing essays for school made so nervous! I hated it! I never knew how to start or organize my thoughts. I got so overwhelmed! My work was often late. And this embarrassed me. Especially because I wanted to be a Language Arts teacher. And I did become one! But I had to work maybe harder and longer than some people. I’m book smart, but still a slower reader than most of my friends and I struggle with organizing my thoughts. That hasn’t stopped me from writing stories, but I’ve had to learn some tricks.
What helped me? Lots of practice. Hanging in there. I’ll never be a great speller, but I’m much better than I was! I also learned to pay attention to how my brain likes to work. Details are my strength and weakness. I always think of too many details, and I get distracted by every little thing when I read. But then, I figured out that if I can see something in blocks, I can organize it more easily. So now, when I’m thinking about a story, instead of just writing lots and lots of words and getting lost, I write ideas on scraps of paper. Then I organize them on a table like playing cards. I can move them around, like a game, add or cut easily. It’s still hard, but it makes my happy because it’s how my mind likes to work. Maybe you have something that comes naturally to you. Consider how you might use that to help you in other areas.
But most important, your value is never based on what you can or cannot do. You are valuable because you’re you! Remember that. Your friends might need to hear that, too. Some of the most important things in life we never get a grade for – like being a good friend or being brave about change. Celebrate what you’re good at! Also remember that everyone struggles more than you realize, sometimes about things you don’t see. You aren’t alone. We won’t all be the best at everything, but we can always grow from where we are today. So, hang in there! Keep at it. Often what feels impossible today is less impossible tomorrow, and perhaps even easy a long time from now. Also: I’m cheering for you!
