An Author Interview with Jennie Wood

From non-binary author Jennie Wood, creator of the acclaimed graphic novel series Flutter, comes I Didn't Ask For This, which follows a group of kids who share one thing in common: their parents are social media influencers who’ve shared their entire lives online. Learn how Jennie identifies with the characters, the legal research necessary to write the story accurately, and why this story is more relevant now than ever before. 

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Q: Give us your best elevator pitch for I Didn't Ask For This.

A: Their social media influencer parents made them famous, but they’re done being the show. I Didn’t Ask For This follows a group of teens as they unite to reclaim their privacy, identity, and right to tell their own stories. 

Q: Please tell us a little bit about the development process for I Didn't Ask For This. I imagine you did a ton of research.

A: I did some research, of course, but I spent more time developing the characters. It’s so important to have believable, three-dimensional characters for the readers to connect with on some level. Also, I thought it was important to show a variety of ways in which this kind of exploitation affects the lives of kids, especially as they get older and try to forge their own path. So, the characters are what I spent the most time on during the development process. 

I’m pretty familiar with influencers because I’ve been active on social media for years, so I didn’t need to do much research there. I did research US law vs. French law, because in France they have strong protections in place for kids being exposed on social media. That comparison was the most interesting thing that I learned while doing research for this book. 

Q: This book has been in the making for several years. How’s the world changed since the book was conceptualized?

A: I feel like kids being exploited on social media is being talked about a lot more than when we first started working on this book. There’s more awareness around the issue in this country now. More laws are being considered and passed to protect kids, so progress is being made, which is great. 

Q: What’s your favorite thing you learned in the research phase of this book that you didn’t get to use in the book?

A: I always build the research I do into the story and into the quest of the characters, so everything that I learned from the research is in the book. For example, the research I did on French law is seen via Sasha learning about it herself in the book while she’s in France. So, my French law research became her French law research. The Not Your Baby Anymore group learning how a bill becomes a law in Illinois was from my learning how a bill becomes a law in Illinois, or rather my relearning. I’d forgotten a bit of the process. In the book, there’s even a nod to The Coogan Law, the California Child Actor’s Bill, a law that protects the earnings of child performers. 

Q: Your characters feel like parts of you in many ways, but who do you identify with the most strongly? 

A: Daisy is the character that I identify with the most because her journey in the book is similar to mine as a late teen/young adult. Like Daisy, I found an identity separate from my mother through playing guitar, writing songs, and performing in bands while living in Chicago. And yes, all of the characters in this book are a part of me in some way, from Shane navigating being non-binary, to Byron being from North Carolina, to Casper being a theater kid.