Bird by Bird – Write on the World

Emma Tourtelot brings a rare mix of cultural fluency, emotional candor, and lived experience to her work. In this interview, Tourtelot reflects on motherhood as a creative throughline, her early-morning writing life, and the surprising rewards of seeing readers truly live inside her words, as she discusses her debut novel, No One You Know.

Emma Tourtelot’s debut novel, No One You Know, released January 20, 2026.

Q: What’s a memory of a story or book that made you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I grew up one town over from Roald Dahl–in Buckinghamshire, England–so I got to meet him at our local library when I was a kid. He was just as weird and wonderful as his stories. And so tall! (I just looked it up: He was 6’6”.) I read his books over and over, and I loved hearing about his little writing shed in his back garden. That was the first time I really thought about who was behind the stories I loved. My favorite was always James and the Giant Peach.

Continue reading →

From newspaper deadlines to creative freedom, writer Becky Healy has spent a lifetime chasing stories. Her nonfiction piece, The Bad Moon and Me, appears in Bad Moon on the Rise: An Anthology of the Unsettling, where she blends the sharp instincts of a journalist with the reflective tone of a storyteller exploring new terrain. In this interview, Becky shares how childhood mysteries sparked her love of writing, what keeps her inspired today, and how her definition of success has evolved from Oscar dreams to the quiet satisfaction of connecting with readers.

Becky Healy’s work appears in the recently released Bad Moon on the Rise: An Anthology of the Unsettling.

Q: What’s a memory of a story or book that made you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: When I was in the fourth grade, I remember walking into my classroom one day and deciding I wanted to be a writer. I loved reading, especially the Nancy Drew mystery series, and the idea of creating these kinds of stories appealed to me. I didn’t know what kind of writing I wanted to do or how I would make it a career, but my decision to be a writer was born that day.

Continue reading →