I’m delighted to bring you the July installment of Debut-to-Debut, for a book that had me totally hooked from the moment I heard the pitch: A YA retelling of Wuthering Heights? Sign me up! (Also, cue the Kate Bush, amIright?!)
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–ahhhhh that’s next month!), 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 Tiffany Brownlee about her debut young adult novel Wrong in All the Right Ways (Henry Holt and Co. BYR, July 2018).
From the jacket:
Everything in Emma’s life has always gone according to her very careful plans. But things take a turn toward the unexpected when she falls in love for the first time with the one person in the world who’s off-limits–her new foster brother, the gorgeous and tormented Dylan McAndrews.
Meanwhile, Emma’s AP English class is reading Wuthering Heights, and she’s been assigned to mimic Bronte’s style in an epistolary format. With no one to confide in, she’s got a lot to write about. Emma and Dylan try to constrain their romance to the page–for fear of threatening Dylan’s chances of being adopted into another home. But the strength of first love is all-consuming, and they soon get enveloped in a passionate, secretive relationship with a very uncertain outcome.
KIT FRICK: Hi, Tiffany! I’m so excited to chat with you about your debut novel, Wrong in All the Right Ways. On the surface, it’s a contemporary retelling of Wuthering Heights, but the characters are aware of the source text (they’re reading the classic for English class), which adds a meta kind of twist to the retelling format. I read recently that Wuthering Heights wasn’t actually your fave in high school, so I’m guessing your debut wasn’t inspired solely by your love of the Brontë classic! So, this is a two-parter: what brought you back to Wuthering Heights for this novel, and did you have a book or character in high school with which you identified deeply, as Emma does here with Catherine?
TIFFANY BROWNLEE: Hi Kit! Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your Debut-to-Debut series! Yes, I’m so embarrassed to admit it, but I really did hate—with a capital “H”—Wuthering Heights in high school. We were forced to read it in the tenth grade, and I hated being forced to read anything—still do, actually. It kind of takes the fun out of reading, you know? But, one night, years later, I was watching The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock, and in the movie, her character says that her favorite book is Wuthering Heights. I’m a HUGE Sandra Bullock fan—I’m not a stalker, but when I was in college, I used to drive past her house here in New Orleans with hopes that I’d get to meet her by chance, though, unfortunately, that “chance” meeting never happened—so because the book was mentioned in the film, I figured, “Hey, let’s give this book another shot,” and I did, and I LOVED it! Thank God, too, because I would never have gotten a book deal if I didn’t go back and reread it.
And my book character I identified most with in high school was Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. I didn’t hop on the Harry Potter train until I was in the eighth grade (that was the year that Hurricane Katrina hit, so while my family and I were away during our three-month-long evacuation, I lost myself in the series). The seventh and final book came out while I was in ninth grade, and by that time, I had developed a deep connection to Hermione. She was everything I wanted to be: extremely intelligent, witty, and a good friend. I even used to write diary entries to her and ask her for advice with things. (Side note: I still have these diaries, but I’m too embarrassed about the melodramatic topics I wrote about to share them with the world haha). So, just like Emma addresses her journal entries to Catherine in Wrong in All the Right Ways, I used to write to Hermione. She was the voice of reason during my high school career, and together, we tackled everything: boys, school, work, friends, family, EVERYTHING! I loved it!
KIT: You’re going to be totally jelly to hear this, but guess what—I actually got to meet Sandra Bullock once, about fifteen years ago, when I was working retail at Anthropologie in NYC. I was on the floor and asked her if she needed a fitting room, and she told me she was “not trying today,” just buying! LOL. If I remember correctly, she bought a lot!
OK, moving right along—Wrong in All the Right Ways digs deep into complicated family structure. Was exploring the cultural taboo surrounding foster siblings and romantic relationships something you set out to do from the very start, or did the story spark begin elsewhere, and this was something that arose while you were drafting?
TIFFANY: It was something I set out to do from the very beginning. After reading Wuthering Heights, I longed for something that would explore those cultural taboos a little more. I mean, this type of dynamic is briefly touched on in Wuthering Heights with Catherine and Heathcliff (which is kind of a dense text for younger readers), so I wanted to create a YA novel that dove deeper into this topic while still keeping things light and fluffy on the surface for my younger readers.
KIT: Tell us something about Wrong in All the Right Ways that isn’t apparent from the book cover or flap copy. We want the inside scoop!
TIFFANY: I’ll give you two. Okay, the first is that Keegan Ortega’s name was originally Kelley. I met a male Kelly in the restaurant I worked at in high school, and I thought the name was incredibly unique for a male, and I included it in the first couple drafts of Wrong in All the Right Ways. During the editing process, though, I ended up changing it because my CPs and editors didn’t like that Kelley was such a feminine name, and we settled on Keegan as an alternative. Another fun tidbit about the character names is that Emma and Dylan’s were chosen because together they create the word “dilemma”—or Dyl-Emma, if you will. I was listening to a Selena Gomez song entitled “Dilemma” when I came up with their names, and hey, it stuck!
KIT: I love the “dilemma / Dyl-Emma” mash-up, which careful readers will note you touch on briefly in the book! J Speaking of fun things, 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?
TIFFANY: What gives me the most joy right now is interacting with readers. I’ll admit, there was a point in time where I was freaking out that people were reading the words that I had written, but now I get super pumped when I check Goodreads and see that someone has marked it as “currently reading.” I get like, “Eeeeeeek! I get to talk to someone about my book! This is awesome!” Hearing about how they reacted to certain events is everything to me—seriously, EV-ER-Y-THING!—because there’s a lot of unexpected things that happen in the story. I just adore the connections I get to make with readers, and that feeling of accomplishment … that, “Yay! They read my book, they loved it, and now want to talk to me about it” feeling is one the greatest in the world. It’s almost addicting, and that’s what’s pushing me to keep writing novels because I want to experience the joys of gushing over the details of my novel with readers over and over again with each book I write. (Oh, boy. I hope that doesn’t sound conceited.)
KIT: Haha, not at all. Connecting with readers is the best! That’s why we do this thing, right? 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?
TIFFANY: I was surprised at how much of my own writing made it through the dreaded copyedit phase and into the final draft. I was expecting a ton of things to change, but there are a few chapters that didn’t need any major changes or edits at all, which is very reassuring to know as a debut writer, when you’re just getting your feet wet in the publishing industry. In fact, I think my first four chapters, along with a few others in the middle, are pretty much the same from when I originally wrote them. There may be a few single-word changes or punctuation corrections, but for the most part, they are intact.
KIT: Very cool. Drawing from your own unique experience, what advice would you to give to future young adult debut authors, or debut novelists in general?
TIFFANY: The greatest piece of advice that I’ve received on this journey has been to not let the critics get to you. As much as we would like for everyone to like our writing, the reality of the situation is that some just won’t, and that’s okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But, writing a novel is a big deal, and it’s something that should be celebrated, so don’t let a few Internet trolls rain on your parade or make you doubt yourself. I mean hey, even some of the world’s bestsellers have gotten a handful of negative reviews. So, don’t worry if someone doesn’t like your book. And on that note, I will also add that Goodreads is addicting. You will spend way too much time on Goodreads scrutinizing everything—the reviews, the lists, the various shelves people have place your book on, everything—so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
KIT: Thank you so much, Tiffany! I could probably add to that advice to try to stay off Goodreads all together. But … good luck with that!
Tiffany Brownlee is a graduate from Xavier University of Louisiana working as a middle school English teacher in the New Orleans area. She has been writing stories since childhood and won her first creative writing award in second grade. Wrong in All the Right Ways, a YA retelling of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, marks her debut.
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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).
Wrong in All the Right Ways 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!