CL Montblanc
MELISSA WHITLER | NBCU Fellow
Melissa@DallasVoice.com
Graduating high school as a queer person in a small Texas town is hard enough without being a suspect in an attempted murder. But Eleanora Finkel in Pride or Die, by CL Montblanc, can’t seem to catch a break.
While trying to ensure that her school’s LGBTQ club continues on after she graduates, she and the other three club members find themselves the prime suspects in the attempted murder of the school’s head cheerleader. To combat the school administration’s homophobia and clear their names Eleanora must find out who the real culprit is without getting into more trouble.
Ahead of the book’s release on April 15, CL Montblanc talked with Dallas Voice about their writing and upcoming book tour stops in Frisco and Dallas.
Dallas Voice: Where did you first get the idea for Pride or Die? CL Montblanc: I was definitely inspired by the rise of the mystery-comedy — this was back when Knives Out was big, and Only Murders in the Building was kicking off. The very first thing I wrote on paper was “American Vandal, but gay.”
I liked the idea of queer teens getting to have their own coming-of-age romp, but I wanted to do something wilder and more high-stakes than the usual rom-com.
How does it feel to have your first book published? I’ll just put it this way: I’m really grateful for the opportunity and for everything I’ve been afforded in this process. But I’m also an introvert whose day-to-day now consists of networking, figuring out the TikTok algorithm and so on. There’s so much more to it than just the book. I guess my final answer is “exhausted.” Publishing is not for the weak of heart.
What surprised you about the publishing process? Kind of in line with the previous question, it was how important relationships and putting yourself out there are. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a team helping you at your publishing house, they can only do so much. I think a lot of creative fields have that “you just gotta know the right person” barrier to entry. But here it’s less about the entry and more to do with how you actually go on to be successful.
What is your writing process like for something like a mystery? Did you know the ending when you first started? When I started, I just had the beginning and ending. It’s easy to know where you are and what your destination is, but how to get there often requires more guidance, you know? Aside from looking at your typical online resources, I recommend taking a mystery novel that you like and breaking down the structure. I once did that with The Inheritance Games, and you start to see clear patterns of like, how often you should be laying out new clues and how the different layers of a mystery might intersect.
I will say that the culprit in my book changed multiple times during the process, which was challenging in its own right.
Why did you choose the setting of your home state of Texas? It’s what I know. I wanted this book to be authentic, for the characters and setting to feel real, and drawing from my own life was a good way to do that. But that aside, I do think the specific climate of Texas lends itself well to the book’s themes.
What can readers look forward to on the book tour? What are you looking forward to? They can look forward to my guests, who are so much cooler than me! I don’t know — I’ll try to give them whatever I can possibly offer. But I’m really looking forward to meeting people who liked the book, or at least think they might like it.
Writing Pride or Die felt like a way for me to connect with others in a way that I don’t typically get the chance to. I also love helping people, so if anyone has general writing questions or whatever, that’ll be nice as well.
You do a really good job of portraying the teenage experience of being underestimated and written off. How did you get into that mindset of the characters as well as the adults who push against them? I think that feeling of powerlessness and being written off lasts beyond teenage years. As adults, we’re definitely afforded more freedoms, but in the grand scheme of things we’re still tiny little fish in a big, turbulent sea.
For me, the key is that every mindset comes from somewhere, so it’s about getting to the root of that feeling, even if the source is different for you. So, with the hateful principal, for example, our main characters represent a hassle at work that might jeopardize his job. That’s something many of us can relate to. Everything else about the character that might be less relatable then gets layered on top.
How do you visualize your characters while writing? Are you familiar with that 1-5 apple scale of visualization? My apples are mainly just outlines, with this ephemeral ghost-like quality to them. I still can’t really picture my characters’ faces, nor do I want to base them on any real person. And I think it’s totally fine that way! The only thing that matters for me is their blocking/positioning — understanding where they are in a scene and what space they take up.
How much of yourself do you put into your writing? A lot. I mean, disclaimer, my characters’ statements and beliefs do not reflect my own. But overall, I love putting myself into my writing. Sure, it’s vulnerable, but it can also be therapeutic.
There are other benefits, too, such as the authenticity I was talking about earlier, and the fact that what makes your book special is always going to be you. If you’re distancing yourself from your work and trying too hard to emulate something else, that can only ever make you as good or bad as that something-else.
Can you give us any clues about your next book? I love that you worded it as “clues,” because that inspired me to be annoying and esoteric about it. So, here are your clues: 🧑💻⛰️🏚️🩸💀🔍🗝️🔪 ❤️
Find more information on Pride or Die. Book tour stops include Barnes & Noble Frisco on April 15 at 6 p.m. and at Half Price Books Dallas Flagship Store on April 16 at 7 p.m.