Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to Darren Cools on the release of Light in the Canyon

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Around 2015 I was flipping through an old notebook and found an entry from when I was 15 years old. It describes a dream I had just awoken from: I opened my teenage eyes to discover I’d become a girl overnight. In this dream I was distraught, exhilarated, and utterly preoccupied with a sense of dread about what might happen when I encountered parents, siblings, friends. My 30-something year-old self, reading this forgotten old diary scrawl with fresh eyes, felt there was something intriguing here, something I might want to touch on in a story someday.

In 2016 I completed a century ride. 100 miles in one day on a bicycle. I didn’t bring headphones — a fortunate oversight, it turns out. While riding my bike around Puget Sound all alone, from Seattle to Bremerton, I crafted (in my head) the rough plot of what eventually became Light in the Canyon. It took me another five years and a move across the country to actually sit down and write the book, but it progressed quickly once I really got going.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I find the strict division of gender roles, interests, and self-expression a bit mystifying. Aren’t we all human, first, after all? Simply living in open, generous community together as fellow humans with all our various interests, hopes, desires, and inclinations is, to me, the basis of our interconnectedness. Not so much how we’re ‘allowed’ to behave or what we’re supposed to do and not do based on some rigid notion of what’s correct for ‘our kind’. I’m oversimplifying. But I try to explore these ideas in a respectful, thoughtful way in my book. I also talk about forgiveness. Of letting go of anger, even if that means losing ourselves a bit. A lot of young adult novels out there right now focus on justice, often through violence and vengeance, and I get that there’s a place for that narrative. But I’m trying to do something very different.

I hope there are people of all ages (but especially young people) out there who might experience something of the same excitement I would’ve felt if I’d found this particular story during my own complicated, internally turbulent teen years. My book is about a lot of challenging things: identity, accepting oneself, daring to say ‘yes’. It was written for young me, but it’s for everyone who feels they’re on the outside or who don’t quite fit in. It’s for those who wonder about what happens when science and magic get all mixed up. It’s for all who delight in the unusual and the unexpected.

What was the most difficult part of writing this book?

Being brave enough to tackle the parts of the plot that deal with gender head on. Those moments are some of my favorite scenes in the book, but it was difficult to get them just right. To really say what I meant to say.

What inspires you to write/illustrate?

I’m a silly, old-fashioned person. One of my absolute heroes is Edward Gorey. I love his absurd, dark, wistfully funny vibes. I’m transported by ghost stories, cloudy skies, long road trips, tall brick apartment buildings, cluttered bookstores, the sound of a Meadowlark. I’m deeply inspired by amazing women (men, too!). I wish I could be Joan of Arc or Ellington Feint or Matilda — but I’m entirely unwilling to suffer as much as they had to! There’s nothing more compelling to me than a smart, fierce, quietly incredible woman who is too brave and honest to accept things as they are — or a man who flips everything on its head because he cares about the wellbeing of children and clean dishes and isn’t afraid of others witnessing his tears over something beautiful.

What's next for you and where can we find your book?

I’m working on a solarpunk trilogy, a series of YA novels about a near-future world suffering from rapidly accelerating climate change and political issues. I’m also developing a stand-alone YA novel about growing up in the endless, empty wheat fields of eastern Washington State, and a graphic novel about a secret island and a message in a bottle, set on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. I dream of achieving just enough success to keep writing and publishing for the rest of my life. (What author doesn’t?) I’m about halfway through it already (my life), so I feel it’s a reasonable ask, haha!

People can order from any independent bookstore, and if they're willing to suggest that the store stock my book (as opposed to just ordering a single one for themselves), that would be wonderful.

If folks want to order online, here are some places to find it:

IndieBound (Bookshop.org)

More about the book . . .

A year has passed since Halley’s mom died, but she still feels like she’s falling to pieces. Dad talks her into joining him at her uncle Gill’s house for yet another homemade science experiment (something to do with black holes and cosmic rays), but to their horror, his machine explodes in a flash of blue light.

Jamie finds himself increasingly isolated now that his brother Ash left for college—not long after his father left for forever. Out for a walk, he’s thinking about the book that Raina, the neighborhood librarian, gave him when there’s a sudden explosion down the street…

A few houses away, the blast hits Raina too. She’s joined by Halley’s dad, who can’t find his daughter—or his brother. Their search leads them first to Gill’s wrecked machine, then to a secluded farmhouse where a young girl died many years ago.

This astonishing debut novel for young adults and readers of all ages—in the spirit of beloved writers like Madeleine L’Engle and Maile Meloy—is by turns chilling, tender, and profound. A story of loss and courage, Light in the Canyon explores how change can help us discover who we’re truly meant to be.

Published by: Slant Books https://slantbooks.org/

More about the author/illustrator . . .

Darren is an author, illustrator, and designer. When he’s not writing or working, he likes to spend time outside running, biking, or relaxing with friends around a campfire. His home is in Michigan with his wife Anna and their three children (and two cats).

X https://x.com/darrencools

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/d.j.cools

Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/darrencools.bsky.social

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrencools/