Jenna Voris is the author of Made of Stars. Made of Stars follows Shane and Ava who are a team, and Cyrus who just graduated from the flight academy. The novel explores a tale of passion and crime. YEM was able to speak with Jenna about if any part of the book inspired by your real life, what her process was like, and what inspired her to write Made of Stars.
Young Entertainment Mag: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Jenna Voris: I didn’t think being an author was a career real people could have, but I loved writing and I was always jotting down little stories when I was a kid. I truly couldn’t picture myself doing anything else—mostly because it was the only school subject I was remotely decent at.
YEM: What was it like to write Made of Stars, your debut novel?
Jenna: It was a process. Made of Stars wasn’t the first book that I wrote or tried to publish, but it was the first one that I felt confident about from the beginning. I went through several rounds of revisions with this book, one with a mentorship program, one with my agent, and one with my editor where I ended up rewriting about half of the book.
YEM: Was any part of the book inspired by your real life?
Jenna: I feel like this question is trying to secretly figure out if I’ve committed any space crimes in my life. No, I have never done anything wrong ever! But I did revise this book during the early months of the pandemic, so I was definitely processing a lot of feelings about living through yet another economic depression, feeling abandoned by the government, and feeling helpless to save the people around me. I think a lot of those things found their way into the book’s themes.
YEM: Why did you decide to write a book that takes place outside of earth?
Jenna: There didn’t feel like there was another way to tell this story. I knew Made of Stars needed to feel big and expansive on page and the space setting seemed to fit. I also love a good space metaphor.
YEM: What did you learn from writing your first book?
Jenna: I revised this book a lot and, in the process, I had to cut a lot of scenes that I loved or thought were integral to the plot. Looking back, every change was for the best and I learned to not be so precious with my work. Sometimes tearing a book apart is the only way to put it back together.
YEM: What was the process like?
Jenna: It was definitely daunting. At the time, it felt like I was ruining the thing I had worked so hard on, but I can’t imagine Made of Stars existing any other way.
YEM: What advice do you have for those who want to be an author?
Jenna: Most people start writing because they enjoy it. But, because publishing is a business, there are a lot of things about it that make the act of writing not very fun. It’s okay if your relationship with writing changes on the path to publication and it’s even more important to find ways to validate and support yourself along the way. I love having hobbies that are unrelated to publishing, or going to lunch with people who don’t care about books. It reminds me that this industry is so small in the grand scheme of things.
YEM: What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
Jenna: That teenagers are powerful and capable of creating so much change. Also military recruiters are super exploitative and should stay out of high schools.
YEM: What inspired you to write Made of Stars?
Jenna: I was a really big theatre kid in high school, so I had listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the Bonnie and Clyde musical and knew the basic history. I always thought the story was interesting so when it came time to write this book, I checked out a few biographies and started reading. It felt like the perfect combination of romance and action, and when I decided to set it in space, the whole story fell together.
YEM: How long did it take you to write your book?
Jenna: The first draft took me about three months, but I revised it on and off for another year before I found my agent. At the time, it was the quickest I had ever drafted anything, but it was also the summer before I went to grad school, so I was only working part-time. Now, I’m back in a regular nine-to-five job and first drafts take me a bit longer.
YEM: Who is an author who inspires you?
Jenna: I really admire Suzanne Collins’s ability to write the literary masterpiece that is The Hunger Games trilogy and then never show her face on the social internet. If I could delete all my social media, never go online, and turn in a generation-defining book every so often, I absolutely would.
YEM: Will there be a sequel to Made of Stars?
Jenna: No, it’s a standalone!
