YAKO Books: Interview with Mindy McGinnis

What inspired you to be an author? Are there authors that you view as a role model?

I've always known I wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid, if I didn't like the ending of a book I'd just make up a different one. I moved on from there to making my own, complete with a beginning and a middle :) I don't really role model anyone, no. I'm not big on emulating people so much as doing my own thing.

Where did you get the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK?

I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought --- we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now."

What got you into writing YA?

I've worked as a YA librarian for 13 years. I'm surrounded by my audience 40 hours a week and completely immersed in the market. Not writing YA would be foolish.

So we know NOT A DROP TO DRINK is your debut novel, but is it the first book you’ve ever written? 

Not by a long shot. I wrote two novels for adults when I was in college, both rather horrible. Then I wrote two unpublished YA's prior to DRINK. I have a few half-finished projects as well from college. 

Near the beginning of the book, Lynn is a character with many flaws. Readers tend to gravitate towards flawed characters because they’re so relatable. How were you able to get into her head and really live out her story?

It wasn't easy. She didn't want me in there. But I live in the middle of nowhere, a lot of the elements in Lynn's life are already present in mine (gardening, canning food, being wary of coyotes - yes really) so putting myself in her shoes wasn't terribly difficult.

How did working as a YA librarian help you write NOT A DROP TO DRINK? 

It helps because I know what the teens like, and what they hate, and what they're sick of. But in the end I have to write the story the way it wants to be told... and sometimes I know my readers might hate me a little for it. And that's okay.

SPOILER ALERT! Did you always intend the book to end the way it did, or did it evolve over time? 

I don't plan or plot my books at all. I just let the story happen. There was never any intention going in any of the character deaths... they're just things that happened organically as the story unfolded. So to me that means it's how the story was supposed to go.

I am a HUGE fan of your blog, Writer Writer Pants on Fire! How do you manage to balance your time between blogging, writing, and working as a YA librarian?

Blogging is from the heart, and entirely free. I don't make a dime off my blog, and there are definitely days when I wonder if it's worth the amount of time I put into it. But then I get comments like yours and that's payment enough. Time management is always a problem. I routinely fail at one thing every day. If I failed at blogging today, that means I did good on the WIP. If I failed on the WIP it means I probably did laundry. As long as I am accomplishing something and rotating what I fail at, I manage.

How long did it take you to write both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST?

About six months for each of them, first drafts.

Did you ever have a favorite moment, between writing NOT A DROP TO DRINK and seeing it on the shelves for the first time?

Getting your cover is probably the most exciting part for an author. It's the face of your book, the biggest marketing tool you have. You want it to be good. So far I've been blessed.

The covers to both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST are beautiful! Did you have any input on the cover design?

I have cover consult, but I've never needed it. My cover artist at HarperCollins is Erin Fitzsimmons, and basically I just open up my cover emails and the respond-- "This is gorgeous and perfect."

Can we expect any new works coming soon?

Yes! I have a Gothic historical thriller set in an insane asylum coming October 6 - A MADNESS SO DISCREET. It's a departure from my debut genre so I'm looking forward to taking my readers someplace new... and rather horrifying.

Source: http://yakobooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/inte...

Plain Jane: Interview with Mindy McGinnis

What is writing and publishing a novel like? Hardest part? Best part? Tips?

It's much harder than anyone imagines. If you want to have a career, then most likely you will need to be traditionally published. Which generally means you need an agent, which in turn means you need to know how to write a query letter, and what agents represent what genres. There's a whole industry you need to learn in order to gain your footing towards publication, and that's without mentioning the craft of actually writing. 

It took me ten years and five finished novels before I landed an agent. And that's something people outside of the industry don't understand. And to be fair, I don't expect them to. But at the same time it's a little frustrating when you've spent that amount of work (and a third of your life) working towards something and someone says to you, "Oh. I thought you just printed it out and mailed it to the publishers and they made it into a book for you." Um, no.

All that being said - it's totally possible to succeed. I am a farmer's daughter. I never took a writing class in my life. I had zero contacts in the industry. I still made it. You just have to work your ass off.

What advice do you have for teen writers?

Get good critique partners and learn how to process criticism. Having your mom read your stuff is fine, but she's going to give you positive feedback, and that's not going to help you grow as a writer. Learn how to accept it when someone criticizes your work, and then learn what parts of their criticism to implement. It's not easy! But it's a necessary step.

What inspired you to write Not a Drop to Drink?

I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought—we all need water to survive, and it’s something we can’t make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, “Hey… I wrote a book in my head just now.”

There were some unlikely friendships in Not a Drop to Drink, how have you observed social class, age, gender, religion, and/or political affiliation affecting friendships? What made you write unique friendships?

I think friendships are much more enduring than romantic relationships. So much more of who we are is a product of them rather than our love interests. I'm a very open person, and I have friends who are both much younger and much older than me, across all spectrums. 

In DRINK, Lynn isn't going to be surrounded by her peers - it just wasn't organic to the story. She also starts life as a very feral individual, and she needed to learn about all aspects of relationships that coalesce to form a whole person. So she learns about friendship and romantic love, but also how to be a nurturer, and how to let someone care about you as well.

The ending. Why did you write it how you did? Most writers are afraid to break from convention the way you did.  What sort of feedback did you get because of your decision?

I don't plan or plot my stories at all. I let the tale tell itself. It decides who lives or dies, not me. That being said, when everything went down at the end I hovered my finger over the delete key and thought, people are going to be mad at you if you do this. Which was followed by, Good.

Yes, people have definitely been upset by it. But that's great! They're having a visceral emotional reaction to something that never happened to people that don't exist. That tells me that it worked.

If you could give Lynn any piece of advice at any point in the novel what would you tell her?

I don't know, honestly. I think she handles herself really well. I'm more likely to need tips from her.

Source: http://sheisaplainjane.blogspot.com/2015/0...

SLJ: Q & A with Librarian and YA Author Mindy McGinnis

Although Not a Drop to Drink (HarperCollins 2013) is Mindy McGinnis’s first novel, calling her a rookie or a novice would be misleading. She’s been writing since her college days at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, and has since had her short stories published in multiple anthologies. She also publishes a blog and contributes to multiple writers groups and websites. When she’s not writing, McGinnis is surrounded by books as an assistant librarian.

The saying is to write what you know, and McGinnis knows young adults after working in public schools for more than a decade. She also knows about living in a rural environment, and while the location in the novel isn’t specifically named, it might not be such a far stretch from the area in Ohio where she grew up.

There are a few important differences, however, between the novel and McGinnis’s experience. Perhaps most importantly, while the main character—16-year-old Lynn—is a good shot and unafraid to kill, the author has never shot anyone herself. Moreover, while the future depicted in Not a Drop to Drinki s harsh, McGinnis’s future is a bright one.

SLJ talked to McGinnis about the inspiration that led to the book, how her career as a librarian has helped her writing, and what she’s working on next. 

How long have you been writing? When did you become a librarian? 

I've been writing since college, when I decided that it was time to stop saying I "wanted" to be a writer and actually become one. It's not that easy, though. There was a solid decade of rejection before landing my agent with the query for Not a Drop to Drink. I've been working in the public schools for 12 years now, but I don't actually have my MLS—I'm an aide. It's still a goal, but right now I'm focused on my writing.

 What books do you like to read? Did those books influence your novels? If so, how? 

I'll read anything and everything. At the moment, I'm reading Victorian novels. I'm not sure that I have any influences as far as writing goes, but I definitely will read certain authors and think that I'd love to be as good as they are someday. 

What were the inspirations behind Not a Drop to Drink? 

I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought—we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now." 

Why do you think that young adult novels about dystopian futures, like the “Hunger Games” (Scholastic) series and Veronica Roth’s Divergent (HarperCollins, 2011), are so popular? 

I think that dystopians and post-apocs in general say a lot about humanity. In a world like the one in Drink, there are no social norms to adhere to. Everyone is free to behave exactly as they please. It says a lot about who you are at your core in a situation like that, and I think everyone is curious how they themselves would behave in these worlds. 

Was working as a YA librarian helpful as you wrote your book? 

It's helpful in that I can see what genres they are enjoying and which ones they are sick of, but in the end, if there is a story percolating in my brain that's the one I need to write, trend or not. 

Have any of the students in your school read the book? What was their reaction to it? 

Yes! A lot of my kids have read Drink. In fact, we're running our circulation numbers for the end of the year, and I found out yesterday Drink was the top circulated fiction title in grades seven through 12. So I feel pretty good about that. The reaction I get the most is shock that there are some bad words. They must think I don't know those. 

Do you have a routine that you stick with when you sit down to write? What's your process like? 

I write at night, usually after 10 p.m., and I write in bed. I tend to set a goal of about 1,000 words per night, or 5,000 for the week. I do zero plotting. I simply sit and write the book linearly, night after night, until I reach the end. It makes for a sloppy first draft, but I find it to be the most organic way of writing. 

What writers do you admire and/or strive to emulate? 

A lot of the writers that I really enjoy are the ones that practice economy of words. They leave much to the reader to fill in, which is the best way to engage them. I also love writers who take fairly ludicrous plots and/or situations and make you buy into them completely. Anything by Margo Lanagan falls under this category. If you try to explain Tender Morsels (Ember, 2008), you'll look like an insane person, but if you simply hand the book to a reader, they're sucked in. 

What do you think the future holds for the generation that reads your work? Do you really see things as heading to that dark of a place? 

It's really hard to say. I certainly don't want to be the Orwell of water, but we are taxing our planet in ways that it can't recover from easily. There's always hope as long as there's respect for the situation, but once that's gone... 

How much of yourself (or the people you love) goes into the characters you create?  

Hardly any. I think it's fairly dangerous to base characters on people you know in real life. 

Are there plans for a third book in the series? What's next for you?  

As of right now, no. In a Handful of Dust will be out in September. It's a companion novel that takes place 10 years after the events of Drink. I think there's probably room to write a third if I feel so inclined, but at the moment, I'm disengaged from that. I'm currently working on a gothic historical set in an insane asylum. So I've definitely switched gears.

Source: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=q-a-with-...

Castle Maguire Book Blog: Interview with Mindy McGinnis

I am thrilled to be presenting an interview with YA author Mindy McGinnis on my blog. As readers will know, her debut novel, Not a Drop to Drink, was one of my favorite new books of 2013. I reviewed it previously here.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mindy at the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference last year which is when I first became aware of her work, and was pleased to find out she's continuing the Not a Drop Series with a forthcoming companion novel later this year (more below).

Here's what Mindy had to say when I asked her some questions about her work ...

KC: I loved your debut novel, Not a Drop to Drink, which deals with a dystopian future world with precious little water. Your heroine, Lynn, guards her pond with her life. It’s a unique take on a dystopian future. What gave you the idea for the book? 

MM: I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought - we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now."

KC: As a character, Lynn is like a number of recent YA protagonists who have had to sacrifice emotion for survival. She has been largely starved of love and finds it difficult to trust anyone else, but eventually is forced to confront these emotions. What were the main challenges for you in writing a character like this? 

MM: She's very cut off, by necessity. Feelings for other human beings is what will make her hesitate to pull the trigger, and she needs to do exactly that in order to survive. Mother has raised her without empathy, but as it's a natural human state it's something that grows in her once she branches out socially. I think the biggest challenge was writing someone who can coolly snipe a perfect stranger and still make her likable. Showing that she truly believed she had to do this in order to survive was the key.

KC: Some would argue that the YA dystopian market is getting overcrowded. How did you overcome this perception in your path to publication? Or was it not a problem in practice?

MM: I agree that dystops are everywhere and people are more than likely sick of them. Luckily, DRINK evades the genre label because it's not a dystopian in the true sense of the word. There is no overarching evil government or rebellion or uprising... this is simply a survival story. That came through to the editors when this was on submission. At first I was worried that the backlash would be there, but I've had lovely reviews and readers are enjoying it, calling it a fresh take on a tired genre. That makes me feel pretty good.

KC: At least one of your reviewers has compared your story to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, but set in a dystopian future. How do you feel about that comparison? 

MM: Awesome! I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, and survival stories in general. I think it's a good comparison, as a lot of DRINK deals with the everyday challenges that face Lynn. Chores. Work. Water. Wood. Survival. It's not all gunfights and heartbreak and drama. Somebody has to cook supper.

KC: I was thrilled to hear we can expect a new book from you this year that may be part of the Not a Drop to Drink world, although not necessarily a sequel to it. Is there anything else you can tell us about the new book?

MM: I'm excited that people are excited! :) I can't say much yet, but the book is titled IN A HANDFUL OF DUST and will be available September 23, 2014. It's not a sequel, but rather a companion novel.... and that's really about all I can say right now!

KC:  Who are your favorite YA authors today? What are you reading now? 

MM: My favorite YA authors would be Margo Lanagan, Rick Yancey and Patrick Ness. I tend to the darker stuff. Also within my 2013 debut year my favorite titles were by Stephanie Kuehn and Kate Karyus Quinn. Like I said, the dark!

Source: http://kcmaguire.com/1/post/2014/01/author...

Route 19 Writers: Five Favorite Things

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Welcome to January’s version of - First Friday - Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into the author's writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the author's answers in a follow-up post.

This month we're pleased to highlight debut YA novelist, Mindy McGinnis and her novel, Not a Drop to Drink.  I couldn’t put this one down, and when I was called away, the story stayed with me until I was able to once again stick my nose back in the book. We hope you enjoy our answers and encourage you to buy the book.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character's development and/or growth?

Dave – In order to be able to better grasp of the feelings and emotions of Lynn, the main character, who lives in a time when water is scarce and humans must take extreme measures to protect what is theirs, I chose to highlight two particular sections of the novel, one in the beginning and one in the end.

Lynn pulled her own rifle into her lap, the cold metal bringing more comfort to her than Mother’s touch ever could. Her finger curled around the trigger, hugging it tight in the life-taking embrace that she’d learned so long ago. She slipped onto her belly beside Mother, watching the sunlight bounce off the twin barrels of their rifles. Waiting was always the worst part, the crack of the rifle a relief.

(This next section came from later on in the novel and shows a contrast in Lynn’s thinking… The fact that she would even remotely consider assisting a stranger.)

Self-reliance had been Mother’s mantra. Nothing was more important than themselves and their belongings. Allowing Lucy into their home had gone against everything she’d learned, but leaving the little girl to die beside the stream went against something that was simply known and had never been taught. She’d shared the thought with Stebbs after they worked on Lucy’s feet. He told her it was her conscience, guiding her to the right decision.

Marcy – Lynn has been taught by her Mother that survival is the most important part of their life. Survival skills have been a part of Lynn’s life for as long as she can remember. If someone comes on her and Mother’s property to take their water, they would shoot to kill. Now Lynn is rethinking how she reacts to trespassers. In this paragraph, Lynn reflects on a boy that she killed because he walked on her property and compares this to another man who came on the property, but she decides to spare his life. This demonstrates how her character is growing and evolving.

She could see what Mother had meant about the dead boy whose boots she’d taken. Even starving, Eli had a sparkle of youth about him, though he lacked the paunchy cheeks of the boy she’d shot. Lynn balanced the two faces in her mind, trying to tack down what exactly made them so different. In the end, she decided Eli was just easier to look at. For the first time since her death, Lynn dreamt of a face other than Mothers.

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave - For me, this was easy. Lynn had resisted for so long getting close to someone. She’d resisted dropping her guard for fear someone would take over what was rightly hers. And now, when she finally allows that to happen, one of her worst fears results.

Her heart was beating so hard, she almost didn’t hear the footsteps on the roof. Lynn instinctively dropped down, hand clutched protectively around the thermometer. For a moment there was nothing, only the sound of her own blood pumping through her veins. Then she heard it again.

Someone was on her roof.

Marcy – You know I usually go for the chapter ending that is the cliffhanger – like Dave’s above, but this time, I’m picking a chapter ending that captures the innocence of a child. Young Lucy, a child Lynn has taken in, talks Lynn out of shooting a man because he has come on to the property. Lynn has a conversation with the man and ends up helping him. This last line fosters hope.

Lucy tilted her head against the window to watch the stranger go, her breath making a fog against the cold glass, until they could see him no more.

“Good luck, mister,” she said, her words filled with the hope of a child.”

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave – Stebbs is my favorite secondary character. He possesses the knowledge of what life was like before hard times hit. Because of that, I believe he’s able to convey to Lynn a sense of humanity that was needed, is needed, to survive.

Stebbs gave Lynn a hard look. “I know you’re just saying what you think your mother would’ve wanted. Seems to me you’re starting to grow a heart on your own, but every now and then you think of her and it kills it dead like the frost to a seedling. You weren’t taught any different, but it used to be that people helped each other.”

“Used to be a lot of things different.”

“But people are still the same,” Stebbs said, and edge on his voice that usually wasn’t there. “And all everyone is trying to do is survive.”

Marcy –  Stebbs is my favorite character. His quiet, gentle soul helps guide Lynn with choices. Besides helping her survive, he teaches her a great deal about life and people.

Dave and I think so much alike. I had also picked the paragraph above, but will choose two different ones instead.

“So I guess I’ll go ahead and tell you – don’t be making the same mistakes she did. Or hell, the ones I did either. Don’t be afraid to care for that little one, and don’t be too proud to let that boy know what you feel. Otherwise you might end up with neither of ‘em.”

“I’m asking you to be more than she was. Be strong, and be good. Be loved, and be thankful for it. No regrets.”

4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave – I chose this particular section from early on in the novel. I think it gives such insight into how Lynn thought, how she was taught to think by her mother, how she felt she needed to think in order to survive.

Twilight had fallen by the time Lynn had made a binding for her ankle out of Mother’s shirt. She felt like a vulture as she stripped Mother’s body of anything useful - knife, matches, even the hair tie she been using. Nothing should be wasted. Scavenging from bodies was nothing new to Lynn, but taking Mother’s shirt from her as a cold sleet began brought her to her knees. She cried in long, gasping breaths that ripped through her body. Her knees slipped in the blood-soaked mud, and she fell face forward into the muck, where she saw her rifle.

She crawled toward it, wiping it as clean as she could on her shirt…

Marcy – This paragraph gives the reader a deep look inside the main character’s head in the beginning of the story. And for me this line really shows the stark contrast of Lynn’s mindset in the beginning of the novel and then how her character grows and develops as we get deeper into the novel. And now as I’m reading through the post, I see Dave picked this same paragraph for his answer above.

Lynn pulled her own rifle into her lap, the cold metal bringing more comfort to her than Mother’s touch ever could. Her finger curled around the trigger, hugging it tight in the life-taking embrace that she’d learned so long ago. She slipped onto her belly beside Mother, watching the sunlight bounce off the twin barrels of their rifles. Waiting was always the worst part, the crack of the rifle a relief.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Dave –  I picked this line because it comes at a time when Lynn, who is just learning how to trust people, tries to teach a basic lesson of how to survive living in the country to someone she has just met.

“It’s not like the city out here,” Lynn said. “You’re better off to distrust everyone at first and make them earn it.”

“Then it’s exactly like the city.”

Marcy –  I thought this line was so sweet. Eli is so patient with Lynn. She hasn’t been around people and doesn’t really quite understand how human nature works. Eli asks permission for a kiss. Lynn leans forward and pecks him on the cheek, which was her Mother’s ultimate show of affection. Here is Eli’s response.

“I’m not going to kiss you like your mother. C’mere.”



Source: http://rt19writers.blogspot.com/2014/01/fi...

Interview with Mindy McGinnis

There’s a kickbutt heroine, twists that keep you guessing, and a vision of a future that’s probably a little close for comfort. Basically, you won’t be able to put it down. I know I couldn’t. So it was especially exciting for me to be able to interview her! Hope you guys enjoy!

1.   What’s your favorite scene in NOT A DROP TO DRINK? And why?

Any thing with Stebbs in it! He was so easy to write, and when he showed up the scenes flowed naturally. He gets reactions from people and reacts appropriately. He’s a godsend.

2.   Your writing is so spare and tight. It fits Lynn’s voice perfectly. Do you see your style changing in future books? Or is this something that’s as much you as it is Lynn?

It’s definitely specific to the voice of the book. I have written other things in completely different styles. Hopefully people like all sides of me, when that time comes.

3.   One of the things I loved best about NOT A DROP TO DRINK is how you captured the environment so perfectly. It’s beautiful, deadly, and very carefully rendered. In your Slightly-Less-Official Version, with Better Details Bio, you mention you “grew up in the woods.” Could you elaborate a bit more? Any personal experiences that led you to portray nature the way you do?

I did very much grow up in the woods. My family farms, and I grew up on a farm, but also with wooded areas around us that we owned. There was a period from 3rd grade to about 6th grade where I got home from school, and went straight into the woods. I had a fort that I “lived” in and made up stories about my amazing survival skills… then I went home to supper J

4.   So many YA authors use, first person narrative that reviewers are starting to agitate.  Was the decision to write in third-person a conscious one? In one of your vlogs, you said NADTD “fell out” of you. Was this another by-product?

I let the story decide, always. I have other things that I’ve written in first, but DRINK was very much a 3rd person story. So no, it wasn’t a conscious decision, but rather something that did indeed, happen organically.

5.   I know it’s a standalone, but…I’m really hoping for more. Can you give us any hints as to what’s coming up next for you?

It’s definitely a standalone in that all the storylines presented here are tied off and settled. No cliffhangers, no teases. However, we only explored a tiny corner of this bleak world…


Source: http://www.romilybernard.com/2013/10/inter...

Riffle Backstory

You go to the kitchen and get a glass of water from the faucet, or maybe the pitcher in your refrigerator. You go to the bathroom to wash your hands, you take a shower, you flush the toilet. Everything around us is water, whether we are conscious of it or not. What if there was no water? What if water was as precious as gold and you had to fight or maybe die to defend what was yours? This is the world of Not a Drop to Drink, a harsh story set in a dystopian world where water is the most precious thing. Author Mindy McGinnis joins us to talk about what went into this amazing story.

When was the moment you realized you wanted to be a writer?

I clearly remember taking one of those tests that is supposed to measure your strengths and fit you to a career in 8th grade. I told the proctor I wanted to be a writer. The test said I should be a cop.

What is the strangest thing you've learned or done while researching for this book?

I looked into how to filter your own urine for drinking purposes, but luckily it never came to that for my characters. Or me, for that matter.

What scene in your book was the most memorable to write?

I think when Lynn, my main character, meets her neighbor Stebbs in person for the first time. She'd never spoken to another human being other than her mother for her entire life, so for me it was this huge moment of nerves for her. She doesn't know whether to shoot him or say hi. Hell, she probably doesn't even know the word "hi."

If you could pick one of your secondary characters for a spin-off series, who would it be and why?

Probably Mother. To tell the story of what the world was like when the Shortage actually occurred, and how she became the hard woman she is when we meet her as Lynn's mother. Also, Mother's story ties into Stebbs' story, and he's my favorite character. Writing the two of them as younger people would be fun.

What is your favorite quote from your book?

"I'd rather shoot people in Ohio than walk to California."

What has been your favorite moment in your career so far?

I actually had someone quote my own book to me at a signing, which was a huge moment because they and memorized it, which meant something. Even cooler was the fact that this was an adult male, and he was quoting a line from a male character... so I knew I'd nailed my males. (Ahem, the fictional ones).

BONUS: Which character in your book is most like you?

Oh they're all a little bit me, the good bits, and the bad bits all mixed together. I think most authors would agree with that. We can take our worst and best qualities and give them their own flesh to work their issues out in.

Source: https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/114209

September’s Reaping: Mindy McGinnis

For this month’s reaping, I’m pleased to introduce Mindy McGinnis, author of Not a Drop to Drink, to the blog! Not a Drop to Drink is a post-apocalyptic YA novel set in a world where water is outrageously expensive — and the book is out today.

Q: What are three words you would use to describe yourself and why?

Determined. Strong. Funny. Kind of an odd mix, but this is who I am. You can’t not be the first two and hope to make it in publishing. The last one is more of a coping mechanism.

Q: Based on the synopsis, Lynn sounds a lot like the other YA heroines out there — stuck in a harsh world, needing to protect both herself and her family — so what do you think makes her different?

What makes her different is her rough edges. She’s not questioning whether or not to kill to survive, she just does it. She knows no other life, and isn’t interested in anything beyond survival until something forces her to look beyond this narrow worldview. It’s a story about basic survival, but it’s also about human nature and the thin gray area between right and wrong.

Q: Do you think that Earth has a high chance of becoming like the dry wasteland setting of NOT A DROP TO DRINK?

I don’t know if I’d use the word “high,” but it’s definitely a possibility. The earth itself isn’t necessarily “dry” in the book, but drinkable water is hard to find because the population has depleted our natural resources, and cholera has infected a lot of what’s left. Is there a chance? Well, I based the story on a documentary, so…

Q: I read from your “About” page on your website that you grew up in the woods. Sweet! What kind of fond childhood memories do you have of that place?

What don’t I have? I basically would get off the bus, trot down the road and stay in the woods until my mom called me for supper. I had this whole fake life made up for myself where I gathered moss to treat my imaginary wounds and made traps around my treehouse against interlopers. So, um… wait, would you call those fond or paranoid?

Q: I think it’s awesome that you run a blog for aspiring authors! What inspired you to do it?

Basically, I’d been writing and failing at it for a decade before I landed my agent Adriann Ranta with the query for NOT A DROP TO DRINK. I know what it’s like to feel hopeless in the face of rejection. I want to help others who felt like I did, wondering how the hell people who have attained publication made it happen. So now I provide that.

Source: https://adriftonvulcan.wordpress.com/2013/...

One Four Kid Lit: Gettin' Lucky

There are quite a few post-apocalyptic stories these days, but yours has an incredibly unique twist. What inspired you to write about about water of all things?

The idea of a water shortage is something that sounds ridiculous – how could we run out of water? But, unfortunately it’s not that far out. I watched a documentary called BLUE GOLD which planted the seed of an idea. I went to bed that night ridiculously grateful for the small pond in my backyard. I dreamt about teaching a young child how to operate a rifle to help me protect the pond. I woke up knowing I had a novel there.

Lynn is a very willful main character. Yet at the same time, she still retains a sense of empathy. What was your favorite thing about writing from Lynn’s perspective? What surprised you about her?

Lynn is very tough, but that doesn’t mean she’s cold. She has to learn how to be not only a survivor in a brutal world, but also a human being. She was raised entirely by her mother, and had never even spoken to anyone else in her life, so there are some things she’s completely unaware of, like humor or flirting. What surprised me about her was how quickly she realized she couldn’t make it alone – protecting the pond, harvesting food, gathering water and cutting wood – without trading labor with her neighbor Stebbs once Mother is gone. She isn’t *happy* about admitting that, but she’s put common sense above pride, and I was glad I didn’t have to waste pages talking her into it.

I’ll admit it – next-door neighbor Stebbs was my favorite character. His wry humor provided a wonderful counterpoint to Lynn. What was it like developing the side characters of NOT A DROP TO DRINK?

Here’s where I admit Stebbs is my favorite character too! Man, I love that guy. The best thing about Stebbs was that I didn’t have to develop him at all – he simply was, from the beginning. Any time Stebbs walked into a scene, he owned it.

Lynn and her mother have a complicated relationship. They’re very close, but combative at the same time. How did you go about creating Lynn’s family life?

It was hard to imagine what teenage rebellion would look like when the only person you’ve ever met is your mother! I knew like all teens Lynn was going to question Mother’s choices at some point, but they’ve lived a life where Mother’s choices have kept them alive for years. Lynn literally owes her life to Mother, many, many times over. The sacrifices that Mother has made for her are without count, yet Lynn’s still going to wonder if there’s another way at some point. She couldn’t idolize Mother, yet she couldn’t question her overly — obviously the woman knew what she was doing. It was a fine line, but I think Lynn could alter some of the perspectives Mother had taught her without losing respect for Mother.

One of my favorite things about the book was the vivid struggle for survival. The dangers, human and environment alike, felt very real. What research did you do for this book? Did you draw from any real life experiences?

I did do some research, mostly about the very real threat of water shortage and cholera. One thing that I needed was a way to purify water without using any technology, and I was lucky to have remembered an article I’d read years ago in a National Geographic issue regarding the SODIS method. Using plastic bottles and the suns UV-A rays, you can get clean drinking water in 6 hours. Nice, huh? In the realm of real life experiences I can say that I didn’t need to research growing and canning your own food, or about rifles. These are both things I’m familiar. And, much to many people’s surprise, I also didn’t need to research how to field dress (gut) a a deer. I know how. 

You really didn’t pull any punches with the story. There are some tear-jerker moments, including quite a few I didn’t expect. How did you decide this was the story (gritty tragedies and all) you were going to tell?
That’s the thing about any story I write — I’m not actually writing it. All my stories write themselves. I’m just a conduit. One moment in particular (involving Neva) I wasn’t expecting either. It happened and I pulled my hands away from the keyboard and said, “What did you just do?”

What are you currently working on? Any future projects for us to be excited about?
Right now I’m working on a revision for a Fall 2014 release from Katherine Tegen Books, and I recently signed a contract for two more YA novels with Katherine Tegen slated for 2015 and 2016. So, I’m pretty busy!

As this community is All for One and OneFour KidLit, we’d love to know two or three books that inspired you as a kid!

I loved A Wrinkle In Time (the entire series), and The Black Stallion books. I read them obsessively.


Source: https://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com/2013/0...

Debut Author Bash

Mindy McGinnis is an author by night and works in a school library in Ohio by day.  She cans her own food, which should come in handy should the apocalypse ever come. She does have a pond in her backyard.  You can read more about her at her blog Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire (where I stole this picture from). Her debut YA novel is Not a Drop to Drink, coming this month from Harper Teen and I totally recommend it, but since my word has less weight than say author Michael Grant, you should know that he also really recommends it: “A brutally beautiful debut, not to be missed.”

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Yes! I distinctly remember telling the lady who administered our career assessment tests in 8th grade that I wanted to be a writer. Then my results came back and said I’d be a great cop. Or a museum curator.

How did you come to write a YA novel?

Originally I wanted to write for adults. I have four very miserable and horribly written adult manuscripts under my bed. After years of failing at that I looked around one day and realized that as a YA librarian I was surrounded by my audience 40 hours a week and immersed in the market… why WASN’T I writing YA?

What do you hope teen readers take away from your novel?

There are different levels of NOT A DROP TO DRINK. Someone who comes to it looking for an adventurous read with a strong female protagonist will be thrilled, someone who is looking for big questions about what it means to be human and the cons of isolation will be happy too. J

Would you survive a post apocalyptic world like your book is set in? Have any tips for the rest of us?

Read My Earlier Review

The question of whether or not I’d survive is basically asking if I’d be willing to kill someone else in order to ensure my own survival. And, I just don’t know. I don’t think that’s something you can know about yourself until you’re in the situation. Tips? Learn self-defense, know how to grow your own food, and learn methods of purifying water with natural energy – (hint, SODIS method).

What visions of the future have scared you the most?

This one. It’s an entirely plausible scenario. All of the research I did for DRINK told me to be concerned… very concerned.

Here is a true but funny story.  When I lived in Ohio, it turns out that Mindy lived in the town right next to mine.  We never knew each other.  Ironically, we met after I moved to Texas.  Texas is in a drought, has been since I moved here two years ago.  Everytime I see the dry, cracking grown I think of Not a Drop to Drink, so I made this graphic for Mindy.  You can see it and more on her Pinterest page.

Why do you think post apocalyptic fiction is so hot right now?

I think there’s a lot of doubt in the world right now. I feel like people are questioning and resenting the government, corporations, and political figures more than ever. Seeing characters that stand up to “the man” always makes the little guy feel empowered. In my own book, there is no ruling power – it’s all about straight-up survival. And those stories resonate because I think we all wonder if we could live in a situation like that.

What are you reading and loving right now?

THE GIRL OF FIRE & THORNS trilogy by Rae Carson. Good God, she can write.

What’s next for you as a writer?

Right now, mostly promotion for NOT A DROP TO DRINK. It’s my debut, and I’ve had a TON of support from HarperCollins. I’m throwing myself behind the marketing aspect and focusing on that right now.

What book did they make you read in high school that you simply hated? Loved?

Honestly I didn’t care for To Kill A Mockingbird. I truly didn’t understand what the big deal was. I read it again as an adult and was like, “DEAR GOD this book is AMAZING!!” I think in some ways that book is taught too early. A book I loved… Um, I’m a big nerd. I loved The Odyssey.

What IS your favorite drink?

Truly and honestly, it IS water. I’m an athlete and an outdoors girl, and there is NOTHING like cold water when you need a drink.

Source: http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2013/0...

The Broke & The Bookish: The Dark Days Are Here

Describe your book in six words or less

Dog eat dog. But more awesome.

The idea of a world with very limited water and what it could devolve into actually quite scared me because it seems so plausible! What was your inspiration for this premise?

Well, not to freak you out further but it is very plausible. I originally was introduced to this concept in a geology class in college. I was immediately stunned -- RUN OUT OF WATER? HOW CAN THAT BE?! But the idea slipped to the back of my head, only to be resurrected when I saw a documentary titled Blue Gold, which is about the frightening real numbers behind this scenario. That night I dreamt about teaching a young child how to operate a rifle so that she could help me defend my backyard pond. I woke up and thought... "Hey, I wrote a book in my head just now.”

After reading Not A Drop To Drink I'm so curious about all the research you did for learning how people would survive like this, the plausibility of water wars like this, etc. Can you tell us one or two of the most interesting/scary/gross bits of information that you learned while researching? 

The funny part is that I didn't have to do a ton of research about basic survival, because in some ways I do live that way by choice. My house is heated entirely by wood, most of which I try to cut myself (although my dad helps me), I grow and preserve the majority of my own food, and as I revealed at ALA - much to the shock of the room - I can, in fact, gut a deer. I don't however, have a clue how to preserve meat without a freezer so I had to read up on that!

I did have to research methods of naturally purifying water, though. I remembered reading an article in National Geographic about an effective method that uses the UV-A rays of the sun, so I Googled that and learned about the SODIS method.

What I loved about this story was that very raw, survivalist feel to it. What do you think the hardest aspect of Lynn's life would be for you if you lived in this novel?

Constant awareness. She can't go for a walk or just enjoy being outside for a second, because that could be the second that someone takes her down.

I loved that you explored the mentality and the morality behind what it takes to survive. We see two very different mentalities in this novel -- one person is all about the survival of the fittest and taking care of yourself and your family and then we see another character emerge who believes that maintaining our humanity and helping one another is how you are going to survive. What kind of inspiration or research helped you to explore both of these sides so authentically? Do you think it would be very black or white for you if you lived in this situation?

Fantastic question. There was no research involved, but I definitely relied upon my degree in Religion & Philosophy when it came to addressing these two different methods of surviving. I don't think it's black and white at all, which is part of the larger question. I think in these situations, almost everything is gray. Killing people is bad, yes. Killing someone in self-defense is excusable, so how do we define self-defense? Technically, Mother kills to defend the pond - and she'll die without it, as will her daughter. Yet... it's not that simple, is it?

As far as what I would do in that situation, I don't think any of us can know what we would or wouldn't do until we are in that place, and the choice is forced upon us. I do believe that every human being is capable of killing, if the right things are threatened. For some people it's their favorite baseball hat, for others, their children.

If you could pick a theme song for Not A Drop To Drink what would it be? 

A talented musician friend of mine named Jack Korbel did an original song for me based on the book. So, definitely that one!

I know it's hard to pick favorite characters for authors but do you have one? Which character did you find yourself attached to the most after you finished writing it? 

Oh man, it's actually a really easy question. Writing Stebbs was a breeze. Anytime he showed up on the page he just started talking and took over, the words flew out. He wrote himself, yet I will miss not writing him.

The story ends in a very satisfying manner and from what it looks like it is not part of a series. Are there any plans to continue Lynn's story or write in this world but create a whole new set of characters?

Glad you liked the ending! I felt like it was important to give this story some closure, to have it be a complete reading experience. But Lynn's world in DRINK is a very small one, and I do think it would be interesting to know what's going on in the rest of the country....

This is your debut novel so I'm curious to know what has been the most surprising thing about the publishing process?

It is my debut novel, but I've been writing for ten years. Quite honestly the most surprising part for me after a decade of getting nowhere is that I'm published at all!

What are 3 skills you possess that would help your chances of survival in Lynn's world?

Gardening. Target Shooting. Common Sense

For some quick fun:

If you could do a mashup of any two shows/books/movies what would they be? 

I would love to see THE WALKING DEAD meets ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA.

Name 3 luxuries you feel like you'd miss the most living in Lynn's world? 

Technology, Electricity, Media

Name a world, besides the one in Not A Drop to Drink, that you'd NEVER want to live in? 

Any world that has dinosaurs in it. BEJESUS!!

If you were in Lynn's shoes what is one thing you would scavenge for in other houses? 

Oh good question... um - books!

Since we are talking about survival here, what's one thing you can't survive without as a writer? 

My laptop. I type everything out, zero longhand for me.

Source: http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2013/09/not...