Molly Booth, author of NOTHING HAPPENED, on the moment when everything else sort of melts away

by Jocelyn Rish

We’re excited to have Molly Booth stop by to chat about her latest novel, NOTHING HAPPENED.

Molly, what was your inspiration for writing NOTHING HAPPENED?

I wrote NOTHING HAPPENED out of the pure love in my heart for its source material, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, the original romantic comedy by Shakespeare. I loved the whole story, but I really adored Beatrice and her fierce protectiveness of her cousin, Hero. I wanted to write a version of MUCH ADO where that was showcased as a primary relationship. I also wanted to write a MUCH ADO that felt modern and inclusive.

In terms of the setting, I grew up going to and working at summer camp! For SAVING HAMLET, I’d drawn on my theatre nerd knowledge, and for NOTHING HAPPENED, I drew on my summer camp dorkiness. I have such fond and DRAMATIC memories of summer camp, and I felt like this would be a perfect setting to explore a retelling of a play with so many feelings.

What scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?

There are so many scenes I loved in NOTHING HAPPENED, it was a truly a blast to write, but one that came fast and organically is the flashback scene when Ben’s describing a fight that happened in his house, and how he took his sisters, put them in the car, and drove to Camp Dogberry in the middle of the night. I won’t spoil the rest of it, but that scene unlocked Ben for me as a character. My sibling Nellie calls him, “The Best Mom.”

What book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book–or visa versa?

I would definitely recommend NOTHING HAPPENED for fans of Stephanie Kate Strohm’s TAMING OF THE DREW! That’s one of my favorite Shakespeare-y YA books ever and a great, hilarious summer read with so much heart.

What do you hope readers will take away from NOTHING HAPPENED?

I hope readers will have had a super fun time hanging out with these characters for 300+ pages. I hope Shakespeare/MUCH ADO nerds will enjoy seeing how I’ve translated the play into a book, and I hope those not into Shakespeare will still love the book AND maybe go look up the original plot. I hope educators will be able to use this book to help teach MUCH ADO. I hope everyone will engage with the ideas in the book about toxic masculinity and queerness. And I hope everyone swoons!

Was there an AHA! moment along your road to publication where something suddenly sank in and you felt you had the key to writing a novel? What was it?

I think the only moment I could describe as “aha!” was realizing how much I loved the process of such a long and harrowing project xD. I was writing my first book, SAVING HAMLET, and between the second and third drafts, suddenly everything else sort of melted away. I wanted to spend all my time writing this book. It was difficult, and it made me cry, and I frequently felt lost. But I realized I would still rather be working on it than doing nearly anything else. So I think for me, the key is that writing books is the thing I love the most.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Nothing Happened
by Molly Booth
Hardcover
Disney-Hyperion
Released 5/15/2018

This modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing takes place at the idyllic Camp Dogberry, where sisters Bee and Hana Leonato have lived their whole lives. Their parents own the place, and every summer they look forward to leading little campers in crafts, swimming in the lake, playing capture the flag and Sproutball, and of course, throwing legendary counselor parties.

This year, the camp drama isn’t just on the improv stage. Bee and longtime counselor Ben have a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that’s complicated by events that happened-or didn’t happen-last summer. Meanwhile, Hana is falling hard for the kind but insecure Claudia, putting them both in the crosshairs of resident troublemaker John, who spreads a vicious rumor that could tear them apart.

As the counselors juggle their camp responsibilities with simmering drama that comes to a head at the Fourth of July sparkler party, they’ll have to swallow their pride and find the courage to untangle the truth, whether it leads to heartbreak or happily ever after.

Purchase Nothing Happened at Amazon
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View Nothing Happened on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Molly Booth writes books about Shakespeare and feelings. She’s the author of Young Adult novels SAVING HAMLET (2016) and NOTHING HAPPENED (5.15. 2018), both published by Disney Hyperion. In high school, she was a stage manager for three different community theatres, which almost killed her. She graduated from Marlboro College and went onto study more Shakespeare (twist!) at University of Massachusetts Boston. Molly is a freelance writer and editor and has been published on TheMarySue.com, McSweeneys.net, HelloGiggles.com, and various other websites. She co-hosts a Bardcentric podcast, Party Bard, and directs a lovely, hilarious, and fierce group of homeschooling teen Shakespearean actors. She also speaks and teaches workshops at schools, colleges, bookstores, book fairs, camps, and libraries. Molly lives in Massachusetts, where she spends a lot of time with family and friends, and the rest attending to her queenly cat and loaf-of-bread-shaped dog. You can visit her (please do!) on her website, mollybooth.com.
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Have you had a chance to read NOTHING HAPPENED yet? Have any of your stories been inspired by Shakespeare? Is writing books the thing you love the most? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy Reading,

Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, Charlotte, Anisaa, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, Emily, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: May 18, 2018

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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