I’m delighted to bring you the June installment of Debut-to-Debut, for a book that could have begun and ended as a fan email—but we’re so glad the author didn’t stop there!
If you’re joining us for the first time, here’s what this series is all about: as a debut young adult author myself, (See All the Stars is coming August 14, 2018!), I found myself eager to start a conversation with a variety of authors in the debut year before, during, and after my own about their books, YA and the writing life more generally, and the experience of putting a first novel out into the world. I wanted their wisdom, and I wanted to share it with other authors, emerging writers, and readers. So each month, I chat with a fellow young adult debut novelist, and then I share our conversation with you. You can find all the interviews in the series collected right here.
I recently corresponded with Adrienne Kisner about her debut young adult novel Dear Rachel Maddow (Feiwel and Friends, June 2018).
From the jacket:
Sixteen-year-old Brynn Harper’s life has one steadying force—Rachel Maddow. She watches her daily, and after writing to Rachel for a school project—and actually getting a response—Brynn starts drafting emails to Rachel but never sending them. It’s an outlet; Brynn tells Rachel about breaking up with Sarah, her first serious girlfriend, about her beloved brother Nick’s death, her passive mother and even worse stepfather, about how she’s stuck in remedial courses at school and is considering dropping out.
But then Brynn is confronted with a moral dilemma. She learns that one student representative will be allowed to have a voice among teachers and administrators in the selection of a new school superintendent. Sarah, along with Brynn’s arch-nemesis John, believe only honors students worthy of the selection committee seat. Brynn knows they are more interested in power and perks. Brynn feels all students deserve a voice. When she runs for the position the knives are out and her brother’s memory and her new crush Michaela are shamed. Brynn asks herself: What would Rachel Maddow do?
KIT FRICK: Dear Rachel Maddow is an epistolary novel comprised of (mostly) unsent emails from sixteen-year-old Brynn Harper to her celebrity hero. We also get a handful of interstitial emails to/from other people in Brynn’s life. Let’s talk craft. Did you come to your debut novel with previous experience in epistolary writing? What interested you about the medium of emails as a framework for this particular narrative?
ADRIENNE KISNER: I love Beverly Cleary’s Dear Mr. Henshaw. Love it. That inspired this book. But whereas her Leigh drifts into more straightforward prose in his journal, my character Brynn has to write to her hero in order to find it worth writing at all. I like the epistolary format because I think people should send more letters (more love letters in particular!) and also because it helps me with the time flow of a story. There’s nothing like being able to literally date stamp a scene.
KIT: Love it. As a Pittsburgh native, you had me at yinz, Eat’n Park, and Penguins-Pirates mashup T-shirts. What inspired you to choose a western Pennsylvania setting for your debut YA? Did you find that the setting impacted or intersected with Brynn’s story in any interesting ways?
ADRIENNE: I grew up Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Is it Johnstown in the book? Why would you ask such a thing? Obviously any place in the book is completely fictional and any resemblance is completely coincidental. I write in a setting I call “mythic Pennsylvania.” It’s a mash-up of PA now, the PA of my youth, and completely made-up stuff. Pennsylvania is my spiritual geography—the rolling green hills, the rusted-out steel mills. It’s who I am and more importantly who I was when I was a teenager. I just can’t seem to set my books anywhere else.
KIT: I feel the same! My debut is also set in Pennsylvania (“mythic Harrisburg,” if you will), and my second book will have scenes set in Pittsburgh! Now, tell us something about Dear Rachel Maddow that isn’t apparent from the book cover or flap copy. We want the inside scoop!
ADRIENNE: Hmmmm . . . well, I like to say this book isn’t about Rachel Maddow. It’s to her. There are definite nods to her show quite often, but they are almost an aside. This is very much Brynn’s story. Since I started the book to the point it got to my last pass at edits, the world and Rachel’s show changed. I got rid of references to “a cocktail moment” and mostly the “Friday Night News Dump,” because those aren’t around much (if at all) anymore. Sigh. I miss those simpler times.
KIT: What gives you the most joy about your life as a YA writer right now? What’s bringing you satisfaction at this moment in time?
ADRIENNE: I find joy in my community of writers from Vermont College of Fine Arts. I made the best friends there. We lean on each other for craft advice, support in the querying/publishing process, boosting each others’ work. My class in particular, the Dead Post Its Society, is such an extraordinary, talented, beautiful group of people. My faculty mentors remain my friends I just love them all.
KIT: The Dead Post Its Society! I love it! 🙂 The publishing journey is unique for every author, but it’s safe to say that the road to book publication is filled with surprises, twists, and turns for all of us. What has surprised you most about the process of putting a first book into the world?
ADRIENNE: People have such varying reactions to your work. One person can weep with the beauty of it, while another can’t finish it because they think it sucks. It keeps me humble, but also gives me hope. I’m intimidated by the fact that I am basically publishing a love letter to a real person whose work means so much to me. A real person I’ve never met and only know because of fame in the journalism world, but still. What was I thinking? Why didn’t I just write Rachel Maddow a damn fan email? Truthfully I never thought anyone would read it, so why not just declare my devotion to the free press for all to see? I’ve gotten some creative hate already from her detractors, which I probably should have expected, but didn’t until it happened.
KIT: Drawing from your own unique experience, what advice would you to give to future young adult debut authors, or debut novelists in general?
ADRIENNE: Be brave. Write the bravest thing you can. Keep writing and don’t give up. Work on your craft. You don’t need an MFA, but man did mine help me. (But it costs a lot of money. Maybe start with a couple of craft books.) I think publication has to do more with timing, luck, and persistence. Keep. Writing. Always.
KIT: Thank you, Adrienne!
Adrienne Kisner lives in a dorm that is better and likely bigger than yours. She prefers the term “dormitory” to “residence hall.” Her opinions are built out of cinder block. She went to school for a long time and has several degrees that have afforded her the professional opportunity to routinely opine to college students about the merits of subverting grammar. Her coolest degree is an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her spare time, Adrienne enjoys killing plants and zombies. Her current home is in Boston, but she will always be a Pennsylvanian at heart.
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Kit Frick is a novelist, poet, and MacDowell Colony fellow. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, she studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. When she isn’t putting complicated characters in impossible situations, Kit edits poetry and literary fiction for a small press, edits for private clients, and mentors emerging writers through Pitch Wars. Her debut young adult novel is See All the Stars (Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 14, 2018), and her debut full-length poetry collection is A Small Rising Up in the Lungs (New American Press, September 4, 2018).
Dear Rachel Maddow is out now! Allow me to recommend your local indie, in addition to Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Stop back soon for future posts in the Debut-to-Debut Interview Series. I’ll be chatting with more fantastic authors throughout the year!