Sheryl Scarborough, author of TO RIGHT THE WRONGS, on managing to pull words together to get them on the page

by Jocelyn Rish

TO RIGHT THE WRONGS is the second book in the Erin Blake series, and we’re delighted to have Sheryl Scarborough with us to share more about it.

Sheryl, what was your inspiration for writing TO RIGHT THE WRONGS?

While there are several wrongs that need righting in Erin Blake’s world, my main inspiration for To Right The Wrongs comes from my involvement with the life story of a woman attorney named Andrea Lyon, who is a certified death penalty defense attorney. In 2001 I optioned the rights to Andrea’s story and tried to sell it as a movie of the week. Truth be told, the timing for Andrea’s story is better now than it was then. Even though I wasn’t able to make her story into a movie, I was forever impacted and altered by her work and the clients she tirelessly defended. The undeniable truth is that no matter how much we want to believe in our judicial system, just being innocent isn’t always enough. And, as we have learned from podcasts such as Serial and the TV series Making of A Murderer, even when it’s pretty clear that an innocent person has been wrongfully imprisoned, our system doesn’t offer many allowances to rectify those mistakes. I can’t think of many things more heinous than being wrongfully imprisoned. It’s an issue I feel very passionate about. And you can expect to see more stories surrounding this issue from me.

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?

I grew up without a dad…I knew his name, but I didn’t meet him until I was 17, which means I had a LOT of questions about where half of my DNA came from. This means that the scenes between Erin and Victor are very special to me. I’ve learned that I don’t actually write these scenes, the conversation just comes to me in a giant emotional ball and I manage to pull the words together and get them onto the page. If you remember from To Catch A Killer, there are three things Erin wants to know. 1. Who killed her mother. 2. The identity of her father. 3. That her father wasn’t the killer. Two of her questions are answered in book #1. The third answer comes to play in To Right The Wrongs and my favorite scene is again between Erin and Victor where they each know something about the other. The scene where this information exchange plays out is my favorite! Sorry for being cagey, but you don’t want me to ruin the surprise, right?

How long did you work on TO RIGHT THE WRONGS?

Although I had over a year to actually write To Right The Wrongs, we decided to move from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest and that ate up about 6 months of my writing time. The other 6 months was spent writing hard to meet the deadlines.

What do you hope readers will take away from TO RIGHT THE WRONGS?

I hope readers will adapt my personal philosophy on family—that family is the most important thing in the universe AND the most important thing about family is not a blood relation.

What’s your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?

My writing ritual is B-I-C (butt in chair). Minimum 5-days a week/5 hours a day. I really only write in solitary quiet in my basement office, with my writer cat Gizmo, who is dedicated to being adorable, but not very helpful.

ABOUT THE BOOK

To Right the Wrongs
by Sheryl Scarborough
Hardcover
Tor Teen
Released 2/27/2018

Barely three weeks after catching the killer of Erin’s mother and their biology teacher, Erin and her crew are back, up to their elbows in forensics projects. But this time it’s with the full approval of their parents.

With Uncle Victor at the helm, Erin and her best friends, Spam and Lysa, are prepping a new classroom for CSI summer camp, where they will serve as camp counselors. Meanwhile, Erin’s super-hot new boyfriend, Journey, is graduating, just in time for him to take a position as Victor’s intern in the new CSI lab on campus. Journey and Victor are going to take another look at the evidence in the murder trial that sent Journey’s father to prison. The girls are under strict orders not to meddle with the murder case, but that’s easier said than done…

Purchase To Right the Wrongs at Amazon
Purchase To Right the Wrongs at IndieBound
View To Right the Wrongs on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sheryl Scarborough, an award-winning writer for children’s television, is the author of To Catch A Killer and To Right The Wrongs, a YA mystery series with Tor Teen. The appearance of a habitual Peeping Tom at her home when she was twelve, sparked an obsession with forensics. After each visit, Sheryl diligently photographed his footprints and collected the candy wrappers he left behind. Unfortunately, he was never caught. But the desire to use evidence to solve a great mystery was sparked inside Scarborough all the same. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives with her husband and writer-cats in Washington state, across the river from Portland, OR.

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Have you had a chance to read TO RIGHT THE WONGS yet? Do special scenes come to you in a giant emotional ball? How are you at the butt in chair ritual?

Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy Reading,

Charlotte, Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, 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: Mar 1, 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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