Steven Banbury: I Learned Not To Box Myself in Too Much

Steven Banbury grew up surrounded by farmland before eventually moving to a part of California with notably fewer cows. Somewhere along the way he married his legend of a wife, adopted their annoyingly cute dog, and developed a penchant for writing he hasn’t seemed to shake. Find him online at StevenBanbury.com, and follow him on Instagram.

Steven Banbury

Photo by Sara Pryde

In this interview, Steven discusses how a walk with his dog helped inspire his debut middle grade novel, The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night, his advice for transition from writing for yourself to writing professionally, and more.

Name: Steven Banbury
Literary agent: Lauren Galit of the LKG Agency
Book title: The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release date: September 3, 2024
Genre/category: Middle-grade fantasy
Elevator pitch: A spooky yet heartwarming adventure about one girl’s journey into the land of the undead, and the unexpected friends and family she finds after being adopted by the fabled Pumpkin King himself. Perfect for fans of Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor, as well as the hit series “Wednesday.”

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What prompted you to write this book?

Honestly, a walk with my dog. He and I were heading alongside a tall hedgerow when he stopped to sniff something for the thousandth time, and I patiently (and somewhat impatiently) stared off into the bramble, waiting. The idea of this creepy, burning face emerging out of it came to me, and I rushed home as fast as my dog would let me and wrote what ultimately became the first chapter of The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night.

I’ve always loved grounded and more earthy fantasy as well as folklore, and this idea of a Pumpkin King who rules over fall, harvests, and the undead. Making him this grumpy, larger than life figure, and then pairing him with my protagonist, Eve, a fearless orphan who came to me fully formed on the page, was some of the easiest writing I’ve ever done. I showed that first chapter to my spouse, and she told me to keep writing. Next thing I knew, I had stacks of yellow legal pads full of notes, names, places, histories, and then before long, a completed manuscript on the computer next to it all.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

From the time I started Pumpkin Princess, which I believe to be in Fall of 2021, till the time it releases on September 3, 2024, will be about three years in total. During that time, I think the heaviest of “changes” the book went through were in my head regarding the central conflict. By the time it went out to agents and editors in late 2022, that was all locked down, and then it truly became about fine-tuning and making the book better with the help of my excellent team. The idea that the book would be this cozy, eerie place that I’d never want to leave thankfully hasn’t changed either, and if anything, has only deepened as I work on Book 2.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

This being my debut novel, I don’t think the surprises or learning moments have stopped. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and from my experience, publishing a book is no different. The number of hands that helped craft everything from our wonderful cover all the way to the audiobook and the writing itself, is truly impressive in number.

I came from a very corporate environment prior to writing and publishing, so I never quite knew what I was getting into as I moved from writing as an afterwork passion all the way to working with a publisher. And while I will say every author’s experience is so unique to them, mine has been a happy surprise of personal touch and professionalism, and I think a lot of that stems from the publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

This question is tough. I think some of my characters surprised me, and at times slight directions in some of the smaller moments. I like to consider myself a planner and will draft out the plot and larger beats before writing. Yet some of my favorite moments in The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night happened more organically on the page, so I learned not to box myself in too much. The example that comes to mind is Scrags the scarecrow. I never quite intended for him to be this Dobby meets Mary Poppins meets Alfred Pennyworth, but his immediate care for Eve developed as I wrote him, and I wasn’t about to stop that.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

The emotions I tried to pour into it. I think it’s easy to look at it and see a Halloween book, but it was very much written as an ode to all things fall and autumn. Not just the weather and aesthetic of the season, but the feelings I associate so heavily with it as well. Certain folks will have heard me say this, but that notion of days getting colder yet more cozy, darker yet more colorful, and then more than anything, that sense of family and belonging that tends to grow around that time. If people read the book and feel all that in the love that develops between Eve and her adoptive father, the Pumpkin King, then I’ll be pretty happy.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

The transition from writing for yourself to writing professionally can have a lot of moments where things feel out of your hands, and if you’re like me and can become stressed and anxious, then I recommend finding something that can take you out of that. Whether that’s a cozy videogame like Stardew Valley, a TV or YouTube show that makes you laugh, or even disappearing into your own world and writing little chapters meant just for you (as I often do), then run with it, and try not to feel guilty about time spent doing it. 

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