Author Interview Questions – Angela L. Keith

About the Book

A Swirl of Colors and Jagged Edges begins with such a powerful moment—a teen at her mother’s funeral who uncovers shocking truths. Can you tell us more about your protagonist and the heart of her journey?

For sure. Maddie’s just graduated from high school and that should be exciting because she’s about to enter a new chapter in her life, but she’s also just lost her mom to cancer so she’s kind of stuck in this in-between place. How to move to the next step when her heart is broken. When she meets a woman who gives her an envelope that basically says “hey, here’s something you didn’t know about your late mother” she’s then left with this “well crap” moment and  has to figure out if she should hold onto the memory she has of her mother or look into these new revelations.

The idea of “contradictory documents” is so intriguing. Without spoilers, what kind of questions does this discovery set in motion for her?

Well she’d had no reason not to believe her mom was who she said she was. Her mom valued honesty but then to find out well, maybe Mom wasn’t as truthful about her past as she said, it really is a gut-puncher for Maddie. So I mean, she could have just ignored the envelope and its contents and decided “nah, I’m good with who my mom said she was” or ask the hard questions and figure out, well, why was this hidden from her. 

At its core, this is a story about grief, identity, and searching for truth. What drew you to explore those themes in a YA contemporary novel?

Ooof, well without turning this into a therapy session hahaha, the idea for this novel came about in three ways. Around the same time, two members of my family had people reach out to them with jaw-dropping information that sent them on similar journeys. While the outcomes were more or less the same,  one was a little more, how should I say, life changing? And so I wanted to explore at least one way I could see the story going. Also around this same time, my own mother had passed away and she took with her to her grave a whole bunch of unanswered questions and I always think man, wouldn’t it have been easier to just unburden yourself to your children who will still love you? But sometimes you don’t get those answers and I wanted to explore what that would look like.  

 What do you think sets your story apart from other contemporary YA books dealing with family secrets and loss?

Ack. The dreaded “what sets your story apart” question hahaha. Well, I guess the outcome. You know, people want to read a book where everything is wrapped up in a nice pretty bow, but sometimes things get semi-wrapped in a lopsided dog-chewed bow and I feel mine is more the latter. That’s not a bad thing, because sometimes that’s just life right? We may never get the answers we want but we get the answers we need and that’s where my book I’d say, fits. 

Inspiration & Process

What sparked the first idea for A Swirl of Colors and Jagged Edges? Was it a character, a scene, or something else?

 I’d say it was a powerful event that happened with my sister-having someone reach out and be like “oh hey, guess what? Here’s some news for you.” and then there was a show on I think Netflix? About a woman who finds out through a DNA test she has like one hundred half siblings. It blew my mind and I recall wondering what would I even do if I found that out? 

 How did you approach balancing the emotional weight of grief with the curiosity and energy of a teen summer story? 

I think I drew on my own experience with grief, both as a teen and an adult, both from an experience with death as a teen and then as an adult. While I feel it’s easier to ignore the curiosity (sometimes) as an adult after an emotional event, I myself as a teen would have wanted to know the why’s and the where’s of a mystery surrounding the event that caused my grief. And in my experience, there’s always the energetic friend to carry you though ya know? Be the energy needed to fund a curious teen summer if that in any way makes sense. 

 YA often resonates because it mirrors the “firsts” in life—first big heartbreaks, first discoveries of identity, first steps into adulthood. How does your protagonist embody that? 

Well she’s going through her first big heartbreak. It’s not a romantic heartbreak but rather from the death of the most important loved one, and just having to handle that right as she’s about to make her big steps into adulthood-having just graduated-it’s a big one for her, I’ll say that. She also embodies the notion that your identity isn’t always one thing. It evolves and if needed completely changes and it’s what you do with that evolution that matters. 

Characters & Themes

Family lies and hidden truths are central to the novel. How do these revelations reshape the way your protagonist sees both her mother and herself?

She’s definitely having to figure out how to take what she grew up knowing about her mother and what she now knows, to take that and decide what memory she wants to hold on to. Can she take the family lies and say “ok there was a reason for this, I’m going to accept that” or will she let it completely wreck who she is and who her mom tried to raise her to be.

What role do friendships (or new relationships) play in her search for answers?

So she goes on this journey for answers and her two best friends are right there with her. I don’t think she’d have been able to have the courage to go without her friends pushing her along and kind of saying “hey, we got you,” and without giving too much away, new relationships will help her navigate the answers she does get along with the ones she doesn’t and will be integral to this whole journey.

If you could describe your main character in three words, what would they be?

Trusting, generous, and scared. 

Writing & Publishing Journey

What was the most challenging part of writing A Swirl of Colors and Jagged Edges—and the most rewarding? 

The most challenging I’d say was finding the time to write it. Two kids, a crazy corgi, and a nerdy husband had me pretty busy, and when I did find time to sit and write, it was a fight with my brain. So any time I’d be able to type at least a sentence, just one sentence per day, it was a victory. The most rewarding thing is just having something of my own, that I created, that resonates with readers.

YA readers often look for characters they can connect to. How did you make sure your teen protagonist felt authentic?

I read a lot of YA books, watched a lot of movies with younger characters, okay so mostly ones I watched as a teen, and tried to recall what events did I go through in my high school days and the interactions I had with my friends. It’s probably why my main characters tend to sound like they’re out of a 90’s film.

What do you hope young readers (or even adults) will take away from this story once they’ve finished it?

Admittedly this book reads more New Adult, but I hope that even younger readers will feel seen if they are or have gone through losing a parent, or having to deal with complicated family dynamics, and being okay with the notion that sometimes there aren’t answers per se, but something so much more rewarding. What’s that song lyric? You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need. 

Fun & Quickfire

If your book had a theme song, what would it be?

Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait” OH, that’s taken already? JK. Um probably Green Day’s “Good Riddance.”

Coffee, tea, or something stronger while writing?

Chai tea.

 Are you more of a night owl or an early bird when it comes to writing sessions?

I’m more of a mid-day person? But like with everything hahah. Before 8am I’m useless. After 7pm I’m useless.

 If A Swirl of Colors and Jagged Edges were adapted into a movie, who would you dream-cast as your lead character?

Shut up! I love this question. I could easily see Hailee Steinfeld as a good Maddie. And oooh Krystin Ritter as Shasta.

 One word to describe your writing style—or this book in particular?

My writing style for this book and, well, I guess just in general in one word? Uhhhhhhh bumbling. I know I know that probably doesn’t make sense but I feel like with this  book and the two I have up on deck, my main characters and their partners in crime are bumbling, and dealing with self-conscious tendencies.. 

 What’s one quirky fact about you readers might be surprised to learn? (Besides the very important fact that Die Hard IS a Christmas movie!) 

Hey that’s a very important fact! Hahahaha. I’d say it’s the fact that I don’t like Reese's or anything that has chocolate and peanut butter together. (griiillll -Ashleigh) Fine, that’s not exactly quirky but there you go. It’s the truth. Haha.

What’s next for you after this release—any new projects you can tease?

 I’m so glad you asked. I have set to release in the late winter early spring of 2026  a very angsty YA novel called The Secrets We Keep. It’s about a girl attending a posh private school on an academic scholarship trying to lay low but a school project is about to make her have to reveal stuff about herself she’d been trying to keep hidden. Oh, and she’s started to date the popular boy in school which no one is happy about so it’s her having to  figure out how to keep her secrets without blowing things up for her.