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!
Route 19 Writers: Five Favorite Things
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.”
I Write For Apples: Query, Sign, Submit
QUERY
What resources and websites did you use when querying?
I used AgentQuery and QueryTracker extensively during the process for researching agents and their guidelines. AgentQuery and it’s forum site AgentQuery Connect are both free. Query Tracker has a free version, but the paid is very cheap for what it offers.
How did you keep track of your queries?
I used QueryTracker for this. Before I discovered it I simply had an email folder that I would put sent queries in, along with the rejections when they inevitably came. It was a perfectly fine way of doing it, but once the rejections started piling up I’d have to scroll through pages to see who I had already queried, who I was waiting for responses from, etc. QueryTracker offers a much cleaner and more efficient way of doing this.
Had you queried other books before the one that got you your agent?
Yes! I’d been querying various books on and off for almost ten years before I landed Adriann Ranta for my agent. I think officially I’d queried four books previous to NOT A DROP TO DRINK. The one I had officially shelved before moving on to DRINK had been form rejected over 130 times.
SIGN
Did you sign as a client of a career agent or on a book-by-book basis?
Career! I personally prefer this because I want to know that my agent is pulling for me, not just for my book. She’s invested in my career, and our success is tied together now, not just for a determined amount of time. It’s like the difference between dating and being married.
How editorial is your agent? Is it what you expected?
Adriann definitely wants to make sure that we are sending out the best possible version of my book before putting it in front of an editor. We actually went through a couple of revisions on DRINK, even during the submission process, based on the consistent feedback we were getting from editors who had passed.
At what point do you share new story ideas with your agent?
I ran a few ideas past Adriann during our initial phone call when she offered representation. I felt it was important to show that I had other ideas to prove that I wasn’t a one-trick pony, but also I needed to know on her end that she was interested in what I had to produce beyond the one novel she’d fallen for.
SUBMIT
What is a typical first round like once a writer goes on submission?
Your agent sends you a list of the editors and houses that your manuscript is with and then… you both wait. It’s not that much different from querying, just with higher stakes.
Do you see the feedback from editors?
From my conversations with other authors I know that some agents do and some agents don’t share the reactions with the authors. Adriann has always forwarded the editor’s responses to me directly, so that I know exactly what is going on – good or bad. I appreciate that level of candidness. Yes, authors are sensitive people and it can hurt to see the things that killed the manuscript for a particular editor, but then the next one will say how those things were what they loved about it, while different aspects threw them off. So, it’s good to know that subjectivity is playing a major part even that high on the ladder.
How much contact do you have with your agent when you are out on submission?
Quite a bit. Adriann is very good about sending passes or indications of interest along to me right away. This is one of the things I love about working with an agent in a boutique agency. When I email Adriann, I hear back that day. Usually within the hour.
Literary Rambles: Mindy McGinnis
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer.
I’m a YA librarian in a very rural community, and a lot of the things that Lynn would call survival techniques are hobbies where I live Knitting, canning food, hunting… we’re pretty much fine when the apocalypse comes. As far as how I became a writer, I don’t know if I became one or have always been one. I won’t say I’ve been writing since I could walk or anything like that, but when I was a kid if I didn’t like the way a book ended I’d change it in my head, then think, “There. That’s better.”
2. Sounds like you have a lot in your own life that you drew on in writing NOT A DROP TO DRINK. Where did you get the idea for your story?
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."
3. Awesome how a documentary + dream = story idea. One of the things I loved about NOT A DROP TO DRINK was the characters. Lynn, the not trusting main character who had little interactions except with her mom, Stebbs, the self-reliant neighbor, and Eli, the guy from town who had no clue how to survive in the wilderness, were all memorable characters and a lot of the story was about Lynn’s emotional growth. It had a contemporary feel to it for me. Share about your character development process and any tips you have for the rest of us.
I knew I wanted the transformation of Lynn from an isolationist to a human being with feelings to be
believable, but not at the expense of pacing. I needed every character to represent a new branch in Lynn’s growth, but with all of them sprouting at once. So, she learns from Stebbs how to have a father, from Eli how to have a relationship, from Lucy how to be a mother, and from Neva how to have a friendship (although an admittedly slightly awkward one). After I realized that each of these character represented one aspect of being a human being, Lynn’s growth in response to each of them could happen naturally.
4. You did a good job showing those characters each impacting on Lynn’s growth in a different way. I read that you’d been writing for ten years and NOT A DROP TO DRINK was the story that came very easily for you to write. What was the process of working with your editor like? Was it just as easy?
Working with Sarah Shumway of Katherine Tegen Books has been awesome. We see eye to eye on the big things, and the littler things I was always willing to give something different a shot – and more often than not her suggestions opened up the text more than what I’d originally had in place.
5. I hear from lots of writers that you have to be open to editor suggestions like you were. I heard you talk about your writing ritual, which is unusual. Tell us about it.
Ha, well basically I just sit down and write. I don’t plot or outline or anything. I always seem to know the first and last line of the book, and while I have a general idea of where things are going to go in between, I mostly just let it happen on its own. Big things – really, really big things – sometimes happen and I’m like, “HEY YOU! HEY STORY! WHAT DID YOU JUST DO!??!”
6. That’s cool that you know the first and last line, two hard lines to get right. Adriann Ranta is your agent. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?
As you said, I’d been writing for 10 years and pretty much doing awesome at failing. The book I’d written prior to DRINK received over 130 rejections. Yep. When it was time to query DRINK, I was pretty confident in what I had to offer. I sent out about 15 queries, had 8 full requests and 2 offers of representation in about a week. I was pretty stunned. I was so good at failing I didn’t know what to do with success.
7. Okay everyone. We need to remember Mindy’s experience. Don’t give up when you get a ton of rejections. Your next story may get you an agent quickly. I know you’re part of the Dark Days tour with Rae Carson, Madeline Roux, Sherry Thomas, Michelle Gagnon, and Michelle Kahaney. How did that come about and what does the tour entail?
I’m not sure how Harper chooses who goes on the tours, but I found out I was on the Dark Days tour earlier this year. Pretty awesome news to get! The tour entails Vegas, Denver, Dallas and Austin in the first leg, and then Dayton and Cincinnati in Ohio for the second leg. (Dark Days can be linked here, my other OH stops are listed as well: http://www.mindymcginnis.com/news.html)
8. What other plans do you have to market your book?
Harper is taking really good care of me, but I also have a presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, along with my personal blog, Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire, PLUS I blog for a bevy of group blogs – From the Write Angle, Friday the Thirteeners, Class of 2k13, The Lucky13s, Book Pregnant, and the League of Extraordinary Writers. So… I think my bases are covered. If anything the internet will be sick of me soon.
9. Yeah, I can’t believe you’re able to write and blog so much. And I saw on your blog that you have some book signings set up on your own.
Here’s a question I’ve been dying to ask you since I know you’re also a librarian. What’s the best way we can let librarians know about our book before it releases and hopefully get them excited about it? Are there any resources we should use to find librarians to contact?
Honestly it depends on the library / librarian. Some like to be sent postcards or fliers, some would rather be emailed. I know it’s a horrible answer but you have to find a way to stand out from everyone else… much like the publishing world in general.
10. Darn it! I was hoping for an easy answer. That's okay though. What are you working on now?
Keeping my sanity.
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…
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.
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.
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.
Mindy McGinnis: Author of Not A Drop to Drink
What would happen if our entire water supply was contaminated? Author Mindy McGinnis tackles this question in her debut, NOT A DROP TO DRINK. Teenage Lynn has been taught to defend her pond against every threat: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes and most important, people looking for a drink. Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. But when strangers appear, the mysterious footprints by the pond, the nighttime threats, and the gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won't stop until they get it...
In this interview, Mindy McGinnis explains the inspiration for her environmental dystopian debut, confirms how fun it is to write a character completely inexperienced with social interactions and reveals how she'd fare in a survival situation.
What was your inspiration to write this book?
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."
The setting of NOT A DROP TO DRINK is in rural Ohio -- why did you choose this location to set the story?
The setting is very dear to me, as it is more or less my own backyard. I also think though that there are a lot of kids that live in rural areas that need to read something they can really relate to. There are plenty of excellent books set in big cities and exotic locations. I figured it was time for something fresh!
The dystopian society that you create doesn't have zombies, aliens or many of the other supernatural aspects many do. Why did you choose this story to be environmentally based, with the issue of water supply?
Zombies and aliens are a TON of fun...and pretty difficult to write with a unique twist these days. In order to stand out in a crowded genre I needed to do something different. I decided to work outside in the box in kind of a backward fashion --- by going as simple as possible. Boiled down, this story isn't about the apocalypse or even water. It's about human nature and our decisions translating into actions that define who we are as human beings.
Lynn is tough, strong-willed and strong. She knows how to survive, and she knows she can survive on her own -- even after her mother's death. Did you base her character on anyone that you know?
No, I never base characters on real people. I think it gives me a lot more freedom to put them in harrowing situations without feeling guilt because I'm seeing a familiar face as I write it. Likewise, I think it would be uncomfortable to write romantic scenes when you're seeing a familiar face from everyday life. That might just be me, but I definitely don't pattern on people.
Lynn doesn't go to school but instead performs required and taxing daily chores such as sterilizing water, finding fuel and then also keeping watch during the night. If given the choice, would you choose high school or protecting the pond?
Protecting the pond! Always! In all honesty, Lynn's mother does a good job of giving her a decent education because it's important to her as an educated woman to pass something of the past civilization down to her daughter. Lynn is in school --- life school.
What struck me about the novel was how Lynn had to think through every social situation because she had only ever socialized with her mother. How much fun did you have writing Lynn's social interactions with the few others she comes into contact, especially between her and Eli?
They were the most fun scenes to write, definitely. Lynn is so cautious and careful all the time, so accustomed to being the queen of her own little realm. But you put her out of element, like just trying to have a simple conversation with a cute guy, and she's completely floored. She can't read body language, doesn't even know certain words (or have a clue about flirting) because it's just not anything her mother thought was important. She gets a crash course in humanity when she steps off her own property.
How would you hold up in a survival situation like the one Lynn is faced with?
I'd like to think I'd do okay. I'm a pretty good shot, and I actually do know how to skin and dress a deer, and I build a decent fire. So if I had to survive in that manner, I think I could make a solid attempt. Could I kill someone else? That, I don't know. And I don't think anyone can know what they would do in a life threatening situation until they are actually in it.
What would you like readers to take away from NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
That there's a very gray area between right and wrong and that the decisions we make shape our character --- especially the big ones.
What are you working on now? Will there be a sequel to the book?
I just wrapped up the revision for my 2014 release, and I recently signed a contract with the same publisher (Katherine Tegen Books) for YA releases in 2015 and 2016. DRINK is a standalone though in the sense that the storylines are tied off. There are no loose ends and no cliffhangers here!
In A World Without Water
The seed that grew into Not a Drop to Drink was planted nearly fifteen years ago as I sat through a required geology class in order to get my liberal arts degree. Yes, rocks are important. Yes, air is nice. I didn’t expect this class to rattle me, but I’ve found that inspiration usually strikes out of nowhere.
Even though I was bored, I’m a good girl and I did all the required reading. One chapter in particular sat me back on my ass—hard. It was about aquifer depletion, and you’ll notice that the article I linked to is from July. Yep, it’s even more of a problem today than it was when it first scared the crap out of me.
It wasn’t aliens, velociraptors, demons, or even a natural disaster that had my attention. It was something very simple—there were too many people and not enough water. I sat through the next class waiting for someone to jump up and say, “Oh my God! Did anyone else go out and buy a bunch of bottled water yesterday!??!” But that didn’t happen.
It seemed that I was the only one absolutely terrified by my geology book.
A few years ago the fear was reawakened when I watched a documentary called Blue Gold. The numbers hadn’t improved. There were still too many people and not enough water. The seed that had been planted in college was rejuvenated. I went to bed absurdly thankful for the small pond in my backyard.
That night I dreamed about teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that we could defend our water source. I woke up and thought, “Hey . . . I wrote a book in my head just now.” The book made the journey from my head to paper, and soon it will get to travel from paper (or screens) into your heads. Just keep a glass of water nearby while reading. . . . Early reviewers claim that paranoia made them thirsty.
How likely is it that the world of Not a Drop to Drink could happen? Despite the A in my one geology class, I really don’t know. But keep in mind while reading this piece of fiction that the inspiration came from a college textbook and a documentary.
Also, buy bottled water.
—
5 Quick Tips for Surviving in the World of Not a Drop to Drink
1) Purify your water! Cholera is not a pleasant way to die, plus you’ll smell like diarrhea in the afterlife. Be familiar with the SODIS method. No boiling, no chemicals—let the sun’s UVA rays work for you.
2) Grow your own food! Seeds want to turn into plants. Stick them in the ground and stand back.
3) Can it! Even if you aren’t expecting to be killed any day, eating your garden vegetables in the dead of winter is incredibly satisfying. The Ball Blue Book is a must have and appropriate for beginners.
4) Girls, want to even out your chances? Yes, being a chick is hard; it’s even harder in a lawless land. Wear Carhartts to hide your body type and jam your hair up in a hat for a quick gender disguise. Walk with confidence. You look like a dude now.
5) Practice with flint! It’s not as hard as you think, but it’s also not as easy as it looks. Sure, you can get a book of matches at any restaurant or bar for free . . . today.
The Bookshelf Sophisticate: Interview with Mindy McGinnis
As a fellow blogger, you focus a lot of the interviews on Writer, Writer Pants on Fire, on the publishing process. Do you have any tips for the aspiring writers out there?
I think my biggest tip is to be realistic, and I don't mean that to sound haughty. Quite the opposite. It took me ten years of writing, improving, learning, revising, etc., to get an agent. The overnight success stories are the ones that make headlines, but Aesop didn't write about the tortoise winning the race because it's sexy.
Name three things you loved about writing Not a Drop to Drink
The research - it was life-changing. The story itself - It wanted to be told. Writing Stebbs - he took charge of every scene. He didn't need me at all.
What's your best advice for someone that wants to be a writer?
Be diligent and realistic. I love being a librarian and will never give it up. I made sure I had a day job that I could conceivably perform for the rest of my life and be happy if the writing gig didn't pan out. If I'd said, "I'll settle for McDonald's until I hit the writing jackpot," I'd be overweight and disillusioned.
Your debut novel is coming out soon, how does it feel? What was your favorite part of this whole process?
I had the kick in the chest when I held my ARC in my hands, the "real" feeling, but it wasn't until the other day when DRINK was on the Indie Next List (sandwiched between Patrick Ness and Elizabeth Wein) that I went - "@#$*@(#@#!!"
My favorite part was totally getting my cover. Just flat out awesome.
You recently signed a two-book contract with Katherine Tegen Books of Harper Collins which are scheduled for 2015 and 2016....any hints or teasers you want to give your readers on what to expect and look forward to?
I honestly can't because I have no idea what those books are about.
You not only write, you're a YA librarian, maintain your own personal blog as well as contribute to at least five others on a regular basis. How do you juggle and manage it all?
Well, obviously I'm completely insane. No, the truth is that I don't sleep much. When I do sleep it's one of those disorienting, drool-on-yourself things and then I'm good for like, 18 hours.
What's in your reading pile right now? Any recent favorites you'd recommend or tell us to steer clear of?
I'm actually ripping through the titles of my fellow Dark Days tour authors - Rae Carson, Michelle Gagnon, Sherry Thomas, Madeleine Roux and Amelia Kahaney. By the looks of it I'll be finishing up Sherry's book - THE BURNING SKY - and jumping into Madeleine's - ASYLUM - tonight!
If you could travel anywhere you wanted, where would you go and why? If you could only take three things with you, what would they be and why?
Ireland. But I don't want to go until I've traced my ancestry back to when they came over (looks like early 1700's) then traced that line *forward* to find living Irish relatives.
Um three things I'd take with me - clean underwear, tampons and more tampons. Just because I'm practical.
Feature Friday: Mindy McGinnis
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?
Mindy:
Write whatever story is resonating with you the most. Don't chase trends, and definitely don't write something just because you think it might be marketable. If your heart isn't in it, it will be obvious.
A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?
Mindy:
I don't have a particular favorite book, but THE STAND by Stephen King is up there. I've read it three or four times and I get a horrible cold every time. When something is so strong that it produces psychosomatic symptoms, that says a lot.
A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Not A Drop to Drink?
Mindy:
I watched a documentary titled Blue Gold, which is about the predicted freshwater shortage for our planet. It was very frightening, and made me grateful for the pond in my backyard. That night I dreamt about teaching a small child how to handle a rifle, so that we would be able to protect our water source from other people. I woke up and said, "Hey, I think I wrote a book in my head just now."
A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Not A Drop to Drink? What were they and how did you fix them?
Mindy:
Not really. I often tell people that the story literally fell out of me. And it did. I wrote it in a little under six months, I believe. There were no stalls, no periods of wondering what happened next. I just knew. Or rather, the characters did. They acted, I narrated.
A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Not A Drop to Drink is your favorite and why?
Mindy:
Geez. Favorite books, favorite characters! You're killing me! They're all good (and bad) people in their own ways. A lot of the story focuses on that exactly- they live in a world where good and bad don't exist the way we think of them now. There's survival, and there's what you do to stay alive.
A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?
Mindy:
Sure. It was long and horrific. I'd been writing and querying for ten years before landing Adriann Ranta as an agent. I have three trunked (as in, probably forever) adult mss, and one (and 1/2) YA mss that will probably never go anywhere. DRINK was a whirlwind in its own right - I think I only sent out 10 queries and I had 8 full requests and 2 offers of representation off of those. But there was a decade of doubt before that.
A.L.:
What are you working on now? Sequel? Something new?
Mindy:
Right now I'm giving myself some downtime. Lots of reading. A little brainstorming but nothing I'd call an active WIP.
A.L.:
You're a YA librarian! Of course, we're going to pick your brain:
Mindy:
Favorite YA author. Why? Rick Yancey - he's not afraid to just go there.
Favorite YA novel. Why? THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST by Rick Yancey. Because it goes there.
Whose book did you just order for your YA department? Why? Sadly, we've done zero ordering this year. Yeah. We have no money. It breaks my heart. I've got kids coming in wanting sequels and new releases, and... I don't have them. It sucks. I hate it.
A.L.:
So -- because I'm dorky and get super excited when I find out other people also studied religion in college -- not counting your own religion (if you have one) what's the most interesting religious figure you've ever studied and why?
Mindy:
Oooooo I like this question. Honestly all religious figures are fascinating. But, I won't give you a non-answer -- I think any nuns or monks (anytime, anyplace) are just amazing. I'm not Catholic (in fact, I'm a Lutheran) but I think anyone who gives themselves fully over to a life commitment like that is admirable. And for the record, Martin Luther is also very kickass. There's a great example of - Hello, I have a very unpopular opinion, and I'm going to make that very clear, in a very public way.
A.L.:
You can your own food. Do you also grow your own food? What's your favorite canned food and why?
Mindy:
Yes, actually I do. Between what I grow and can and what the boyfriend hunts, we could probably live entirely free of grocery shopping. But we'd have no dairy. And I do love yogurt.
Tomatoes. Yum. There is nothing quite like popping the lid off a jar of tomatoes in the dead of winter and smelling the tomatoes that I canned in August. Just... yum.
A.L.:
Have YOU ever been deprived of water?
Mindy:
Not to the extent that I thought I was going to die, no. But I am an athlete, and I know what it's like to have to run past your endurance and then have that NEED for water. It goes beyond thirsty.
Eater of Books
Alyssa: Describe Not a Drop to Drink in seventeen words, to someone who has never heard of your book!
Mindy: It’s a post-apoc survival tale set in a world with very little water. Three more words.
Alyssa: Name another post-apocalyptic novel (recent or not) that you really enjoyed and/or influenced you or your book?
Mindy: THE STAND by Stephen King was probably the first post-apoc book I ever read. It blew me away. I’ve read it four times now, I think.
Alyssa: How did you choose character names in Not a Drop to Drink?
Mindy: I don’t choose their names, they do! I refer to them in my own head very generically, like Girl Character, etc, then when it’s time to name them in the text I just rest my hands and ask them their name. They come up with good stuff.
Alyssa: What’s one song that really represents this book?
Mindy: Rocks and Water by Deb Talan fits it very well, also I had a songwriter / singer friend of mine write an original song for the book, but it’s on the downlow for now!
Alyssa: I'll have to look up that one! What kind of research did you have to do for this book?
Mindy: I learned a lot about SODIS, a natural way to purify water using the sun’s UV-A rays. Other things in the book like gardening, canning and hunting are things I already know how to do, and didn't require research. Even skinning a deer. Yes, I know how to gut a deer. It’s really not that bad.
Alyssa: How do you like your romance? Are you a fan of “love triangles”?
Mindy: Ugh. Honestly I’m just not into romance at all. It’s just so not my thing.
Alyssa: Forgive me for not knowing… but is Not a Drop to Drink a standalone? (If no, do you think you could write more books to make it a series? Or are you finished with this world?)
Mindy: I forgive you. DRINK is a standalone in the sense that all the storylines and plots here are tied off and finished by the end of the book. No cliffhangers, no teases. Lynn’s story ends here. However, it’s a big world, and we only explored a tiny corner of it in DRINK.
Alyssa: :D What are you currently working on in terms of Young Adult projects - something new? Anything contracted?
Mindy: I recently signed another two book deal with Katherine Tegen books, and I will have YA releases in 2014, 2015 and 2016!
Alyssa: YAY CONGRATULATIONS! Although I did know that one :D But woohoo! And that’s it from me! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Mindy!
Mindy: Thank you for having me – I’m so glad I could be here. You’ve been a “fan” of mine since before I even had a cover!!
Fiction Freak: Get Your Debut On
There are two different reactions to telling someone you write for a living. They are:
1) Wow. I'd love to sit at home all day and get paid to make stuff up.
2) OMG. That's amazing. How do you DO that? I can't even write two pages!!
The truth is somewhere in between, nestled snugly between the impossible and the improbable. Yes, it is incredibly hard to put word after word in a sensible, aesthetically pleasing manner over 60,000 times (or over 100,00 times, depending on your word count). But I have to admit that I totally have days where I sit down in front of the laptop and say to myself, "Dude. You get paid to tell stories about things that never happened to people that don't exist. That is soooo cool."
But - I have to actually sit down and DO IT first.
Welcome to every writer's worst enemy - themselves.
Procrastination is the the monster under my bed, and he's got nasty sharp teeth. Actually that's a lie - those teeth aren't sharp at all. They're very small and have rounded edges. They don't slash into me, they grind me down over the course of the day and tell me I need to do the dishes, mow the yard, take a shower (Ok, that one is important), read, watch TV or (gasp) take a nap. Those teeth wear at my motivation and tell me it's OK, I can add to the word count tomorrow when the dishes are done and yard is mowed and I don't smell bad anymore.
And I can, technically. But what about that little spark of motivation that is unique to today? The one that might fire a scene in my pantster brain that won't have a chance to exist tomorrow, because tomorrow's spark of motivation is it's own individual flame, one that wants to do something else entirely and completely neglects yesterday's inspiration?
I remind myself of this every time I think about that nap - even if it's well-deserved. My non-events happening to people that don't exist might ACTUALLY never happen if I don't make use of the synapse that is firing today, right now, in this moment. I'm not perfect - I cave to the temptation of my nap, or a longer shower than usual fairly often. And there's a little scene that dies every time I do.
So yes, there is that space in between the amazingly easy job of getting paid to write, and the impossible task of ACTUALLY doing it. I reside somewhere in there, dodging some responsibilities while accepting others, and performing CPR on yesterday's ideas when I indulge myself in a little procrastination.
Not A Drop To Drink Playlist
While I don’t listen to music while I write, I definitely find inspiration in certain tunes. Very often I’ll hear a song and think that it fits a certain character’s personality, or that it stands as a good mood setter for the book in general. If a song resonates deeply with me it can even serve as a tool to help fill in backstory for a character.
NOT A DROP TO DRINK has a rather varied playlist. The first example will help illuminate a character that some readers might find hard to connect with. Mother is the only human Lynn has even spoken to, and Mother’s entire life revolves around teaching her daughter to survive – no matter what. She’s a feral mother, a no-holds-barred guardian of her young. The song Rocks & Water by Deb Talan set me back the first time I caught it on Pandora. The refrain particularly applies to Mother:
I will be rocks, I will be water
I will leave this to my daughter:
Lift your head up in the wind
When you feel yourself grow colder
Wrap the night around your shoulders
And I will be with you even then
Even when I cannot see your face anymore.
Another song I want to mention in connection with NOT A DROP TO DRINK is Thistle & Weeds by Mumford & Sons. So much about this song fits my story. The imagery is bleak, there’s a not-so-subtle plea for rain throughout, along with the allusion to bullets falling from the sky- something Lynn herself has been the source of for more than a few thirsty travelers over the years. But hope is also threaded throughout the song, a feeling that redemption might be out of reach right now, but won’t be forever. These lyrics in particular grabbed me the first time I heard it:
Look over your hills and be still
The sky above us shoots to kill
Rain down, rain down on me
But I will hold on, I will hold on…
And lastly I want to mention Waiting For The End by Linkin Park. It has a very defiant feel to it, something that Lynn understands perfectly. She spends everyday assuming that she could die any minute. She controls every element of her life that she can, but her world is a violent one, and no one knows what the next day will bring.
Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It’s out of my control.
These three songs together do a great job of painting both the setting for my book and the personalities of two of the main female characters, Lynn & Mother. I hope that hearing them gets you geared up for the release of NOT A DROP TO DRINK on September 24!
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?
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.
Chat With Mindy McGinnis
1. Please start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a YA librarian and I live in a very rural community. I have a pond in my backyard, but I’ve never shot anyone. Yet.
2. When did you know that you wanted to write professionally and how did you take the leap to get into the business?
I’ve pretty much always known that I wanted to be a writer, but I never wanted to take the time to learn how to do it properly. I wanted to be that aloof, creative person who made magic and let other people be practical. But that’s just not how this is done. I figured that out a few years ago and joined the excellent writing community at AgentQueryConnect.com There I learned everything I know about the industry, about querying… everything you need to know as a writer to succeed.
3. Can you tell me a little bit about your book and what inspired it?
NOT A DROP TO DRINK is a post-apoc survival tale set in a world with very little water. 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.”
4. What do you hope that readers take way with them after reading your book?
That just surviving isn’t always the answer. You have to live.
5. I find it interesting to know what environment authors find most productive… Do you use a pen and paper or laptop? Quiet room at home or bustling café? Basically, what gets your creative juices flowing?
I type into the laptop, but if I’m doing a major revision I will work with paper and pen. I always write in bed, lying down. I’m just that lazy.
6. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
Hard to pin down! All the criticism hurts (but it’s necessary) and all the compliments send me onto cloud nine. I think the best compliments have been my blurbs from Michael Grant, Ilsa J. Bick, Jodi Meadows and Kendare Blake. When writers whose books I love are willing to lend their name to mine, it’s a special kind of feeling.
7. What book is currently on your nightstand? And who are some of your favorite authors?
Um, my nightstand literally has about 30 books on it right now. The currently warm from my hands book is BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by April Tucholke. Some of my favorite authors would be Stephen King, Donald Ray Pollock, Chuck Palahniuk and Diana Gabaldon. That last one threw you, didn’t it?
8. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Read But I’m also an athlete and an outdoors girl. Basically, I like a lot of stuff. Except heights. Heights are bad.
9. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Do your homework. Learn the industry. Find excellent critique partners and listen to them.
10. What can we expect from you next?
I have YA releases coming from Katherine Tegen in 2014, 2015 an 2016!
11. Do any animals share your life? Please tell us about them.
Um, that’s a resounding YES. One massive pure black Turkish Angora cat named Don Gato, a tiny bottle-fed rescue kitten named Samuel Wilderness, a German Shepherd mix rescue, a cranky old Australian Shepherd and four barn cats of vastly oscillating personalities.
The Broke & The Bookish: The Dark Days Are Here
![DDF13_AllBooks_500x500_02[2].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ce1ed7930872600016b6a34/1559100632515-SIUU04OPFAQZIE1QVOV2/DDF13_AllBooks_500x500_02%5B2%5D.jpg)
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.
Banned Books Month: When Rape Becomes a Bad Word
In addition to being a YA author, I’m also a librarian in a public high school. In that role I have carefully taped back together multiple much-loved copies of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. When a copy is so tattered that it can’t remain in circulation anymore, I toss it out on our plentiful Free Books table, and it quickly, quietly disappears despite its ragged condition. In my tiny high school that graduates under 100 students each year, we have 10 copies of SPEAK. Yet we can’t keep it on the shelves.
This is not only because it circulates widely, but also because I unfailingly have a few “walk away” from the library without being checked out. And I don’t mind. If a kid needs to read a book about rape but is too embarrassed to come up to the desk with it, I understand. I’ll buy another one.
But the fact that they don’t feel like they should be reading it, or even worse – that they’re ashamed to be reading it – bothers me greatly. In a sense, it’s directly in opposition to what the book is about. These girls (and boys!) shouldn’t feel awkward about wanting or needing to read an important book about a social condition. If it were about starvation, shop-lifting, or drinking, they wouldn’t respond in this way.
Katherine Tegan Books, September 2013.
Sadly, they’ve been taught that rape is a bad word. When they come up to the desk asking for books on the topic, they drop their voices, blush, whisper, or even talk around the word because it’s too difficult for them to pronounce the one simple syllable. SPEAK is about exactly the opposite – they should be able to say it, loudly and confidently, accusingly or sobbing, in whatever way they can squeeze it past their throats. It needs to be said.
Despite being banned in some places, SPEAK continues to be a cornerstone in my library, and many others. I always take the opportunity to tell the kid on the other side of the desk when they’re stumbling through their request that it’s OK – you can say it.
And if that means something to them on multiple levels, SPEAK just opened up the conversation.
Authors Are Rockstars
Mindy McGinnis didn't hold back in her YA Debut novel, Not A Drop To Drink. She didn't shy away from the cruelty her characters' faced and I LOVED that about her book! She wasn't afraid to "go there." Mindy is a fearless ROCKSTAR.
We are so excited to have Mindy on the blog today as part of the Authors ARE Rock Stars blog tour!! She was gracious enough to answer a few of our questions =) Take a look!
Favorite book when you were a child:
That's a tough one. I'm going to go with A WRINKLE IN TIME. Although, if I may fudge the question a little, my favorite book from that *series* is A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET. I think I read those books at least four times apiece.
What do you like to do when you’re not working/writing?
I'm an outdoorsy girl, and an athlete. So if the weather is good you can find me in the woods, the garden, the softball diamond or the pool. If the weather is bad I'll be reading.
Do you have any unique hobbies or talents?
I'm a knitter. And because of this I've learned that I have really acidic sweat and / or skin. Whenever I use a crochet needle, a stitching needle, or a knitting needle I rub the enamel off in fairly short order and am down to the actual metal. I don't really know that this is useful information, or even considered a talent. Also I have very fat thumb pads.
Your top five authors:
1.Stephen King
2.Diana Gabaldon
3. George RR Martin
4. Chuck Palahniuk
5. Donald Ray Pollock
Favorite line/quote from a book:
"Wild nights are my glory." - A Wrinkle in Time
What was the hardest part of writing Not A Drop To Drink?
Honestly the book pretty much fell out of my head, which I realize is an attractive visual. It was a breeze to write. I really can't complain on this one!
What was your favorite chapter to write and why?
Any time the character of Stebbs has a monologue or trades barbs with Lynn was fun to write. He was the easiest character in the world, because he produced natural dialogue all by himself and the other characters *wanted* to interact with him.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don't be so confident. Do your homework. Realize you're not done when you type THE END.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I'm calling for a nervous breakdown in 5 to 10 years.