We’re pleased to have Michelle Krys here to give us the scoop on her latest novel DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY.
Michelle, how long did you work on DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY?
From first draft to the moment it was finally out of my hands? Over a year. At least. But I rewrote the book from scratch several times. Each draft took around 3-4 months. I find it’s sometimes easier to start over fresh than to try to work complicated edits around what’s already written.
What did this book teach you about writing or about yourself?
This book definitely taught me that writing doesn’t get easier the more books you write. There are always new challenges and new roadblocks. But three books in, (four, if you count my first trunked novel), I now know that I can do it, no matter how much it seems completely impossible at the time. So when things get hard, I remind myself that it’s always hard . . . and yet I always do it anyway.
How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?
I started writing when I was 25 and on a yearlong maternity leave. I’d always wanted to write a book, but always felt like I didn’t have the time. But since my baby slept so well, I could no longer claim that excuse.
I spent my free time that year writing and editing my first novel, which was garbage and roundly rejected by every agent in the business. But I learned a lot from the experience, and more importantly, had fun, so I applied what I’d learned toward my next novel. That book (HEXED) landed me with Adriann Ranta at Foundry Literary + Media, who sold it a month later to Wendy Loggia at Random House. Looking back, I was very, very lucky that I had such a smooth smart.
What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?
I live by this quote from Jack London: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
Flashes of inspiration are great, but it’s a myth that authors need inspiration to write. If I waited around to be inspired before I wrote, I might have never written another book after my debut.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Dead Girls Society
by Michelle Krys
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 11/8/2016
A slick thriller from the author of HEXED, perfect for fans of THE CELLAR by Natasha Preston and PANIC by Lauren Oliver.
You are cordially invited to participate in a game of thrills and dares. Tell no one, and come alone. If you dare.
Hope is sick of everyone treating her like she’s breakable. Sure, she has cystic fibrosis (basically really bad lungs), but she’s tired of being babied by her mom and her overprotective best friend, Ethan, not to mention worrying about paying for her expensive medication and how she’s going to afford college. And she’s bored with life in her run-down New Orleans suburb.
When an invitation arrives from a mysterious group that calls itself the Society, Hope jumps at the chance for some excitement. This could be her ticket out. All she has to do is complete a few dares and she just might win some real money.
But the Society isn’t all that it seems . . . and soon Hope finds that playing the game isn’t a choice—it’s a requirement.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m the author of the YA novels HEXED and CHARMED, plus the upcoming DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY (Nov 8, 2016), all from Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books. I’m repped by Adriann Ranta of Foundry Literary + Media. Visit me at michellekrys.com or follow @MichelleKrys on Twitter, @michellekrysbooks on Instagram, or mkrysbooks on Snapchat.
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Have you had a chance to read DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY yet? Do you start over with fresh drafts rather than try to edit around what’s already written? Do you go after inspiration with a club? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!
Happy reading,
Jocelyn, Shelly, Martina, Anisaa, Sam, Erin, Susan, Michelle, Laura, and Kristin
