Under the Cover with Trisha Tobias author of Honeysuckle & Bone

Hello my lovely bookworms, I am back with another author interview with one of my first books I read of 2025, Honeysuckle & Bone by Trisha Tobias . This YA gothic/ghost thriller enriched with jamican culture that will get under your skin. I’m really excited for Trisha to join me on my blog as I ask her some questions about her debut YA.

Under the Cover is where I interview some of favourite authors and authors I’ve recently read and discovered. I’m trying to refresh my blog and I love interviewing authors and getting an insight into their storytelling, hence Under the Cover was born.

INTERVIEW WITH TRISHA TOBIAS

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb to introduce your brilliant new YA, Honeysuckle & Bone?

One of the most well-known Jamaican duppies—or spirits—is the Rollin’ Calf, also known as the Roarin’ Calf. They’re said to be hulking creatures with fiery red eyes and clanking chains hanging off them. The spirit of a terrifying Rollin’ Calf is presumably that of a person who was quite evil in their lifetime, and as a duppy, they continue to terrorize others. The Rollin’ Calf is an important figure in Honeysuckle and Bone, not just for the Jamaican folklore aspect that it represents, but for its symbolism for Carina, the main character. If the Rollin’ Calf implies a persisting wickedness, Carina has to wonder if perhaps that wickedness is actually her.

It’s a classic question, but one I love to ask debut authors, what started your love for writing?

My love of reading! I’ve always been a fan of the way words could create pictures in my mind—and also spark emotions in my soul. That led me to start writing my own short stories and fanfiction in hopes of doing the same for people who read my work.

What was the inspiration behind Honeysuckle & Bone? 

Honeysuckle and Bone has a few inspirations. One was my childhood experience of my mother telling me stories about duppies. Second, my mother was born and raised in Jamaica, so she had a lot from her own upbringing to share with me, which helped me envision an unexpected setting for this tense tale. Lastly, I was influenced by the loss of my father a few years ago. His death really put those childhood duppy stories into a new context, and without losing him, I’m not certain I could have done Carina’s story—which is so tied to grief—any justice.

I loved the portrayal of Carina and she wasn’t a perfect character. She really had her own flaws which we need more of in YA. What was your favourite characteristic you enjoyed writing about these characters?

My favorite characteristic is exactly what you’ve described: their flaws and imperfections. I’m a huge supporter of messy YA characters, especially marginalized ones. Imperfect characters are infinitely entertaining to read about, and they all have so much room to both grow and regress. Their journeys get to be engaging and fulfilling because they have such a long way to go, and they make so many self-imposed missteps along the way. It’s fun and rewarding. 

Honeysuckle & Bone has the perfect amount of betrayal, gothic mystery and chills especially with the duppy’s (ghosts) how do you create this?

My goal, ultimately, was to create an immersive reading experience, and to lean into every tool available through the story’s premise and setting to make that happen. The story concept gave me a lot of room to lean into the Gothic mystery vibes in a fresh way through the Caribbean setting; I was curious about the contrast of the dark and disturbed against a sunny, lush backdrop. The premise also allowed me to play up the betrayals, rumors, and secrets throughout. As for the chills and thrills, I’m actually a big scaredy-cat. But after my father passed away, I struggled immensely with the most intense anxiety I’d ever experienced. Honeysuckle and Bone became an outlet for that unease and fear I was feeling, except in the book, Carina’s feelings make far more sense given her situation at Blackbead House. Essentially, I channeled my anxieties into Carina, and hopefully, that helped sell the more tense moments.

Did you draw on your own experiences or research to represent Jamaican culture in your writing?

Both! As a Jamaican American, aspects of the culture have always been a part of my life, so Carina carried some of that with her. I’d visited Jamaica several times when I was younger, so I had some memories from those travels that I could use as well. I also interviewed my mom extensively to get a grasp of her experiences from when she grew up on the island. For more current depictions of Jamaica, I relied on research in many forms, including blogs and vlogs by Jamaican people so I could understand better what life today looks like.

Reading your author’s letter, writing Honeysuckle and Bone, must have been a journey for you personally. What’s your experience been like as a writer so far?

I’ve been a writer a long time, but being an author does feel different. I’m not sure it’s fully hit me yet, to be honest! I’m grateful for this experience, and I’m quite proud of myself of the effort I’ve put in to get to this point. I’ve especially enjoyed hearing from readers, Jamaican and not, who have really connected with Honeysuckle and Bone in some way. But of course, there’s a sadness underlying this experience as well since my father isn’t here to see everything playing out in real time. That said, I do hope he’s been keeping track of everything, wherever he is.

This is your debut book, why did you want to write for young adults? What message do you hope for readers to take away from your book?

YA raised me, so as an adult, I was keen to write my own young adult story to speak to that age group. There are so many lessons I wish I had learned more easily, or earlier in life, so it was important that Honeysuckle & Bone have one of the messages I wish I had understood when I was younger: You are more than your worst mistake. As long as you acknowledge when you’ve messed up, and you strive to do better in the future, there’s no reason you can’t live a happy life. In fact, you deserve one.

What were your highlights and challenges to writing your debut novel?

The highlights have definitely been all the wonderful people with whom I’ve crossed paths as a result of writing and publishing this story. Especially the readers who have taken a chance on my debut and enjoyed it enough to tell me so. It’s so fulfilling to know that this book has found some of its people.

The biggest challenge was myself. As a perfectionist creative, making an inherently imperfect thing and sharing it with the world has been tough. Really, my own doubt and high expectations have been the most serious obstacles to writing this book. Sometimes, we get in our own way.

I loved that it was set in Jamaica, I haven’t read any in this country and I’ve set myself a challenge as it’s inspired me to read more YA books set around the world. Can you recommend any YA books? If you can’t, can you recommend any 3 books to read, what would they be?