With December comes the holiday season, the end of the year, and the final Debut-to-Debut of 2018. It’s a bittersweet time—the close of my own debut year. On the flip side, I’m so excited to help pass the torch to the 2019 debuts—and there are more than a few I’m chomping at the bit to read! So to usher 2018 out, please join me in celebrating the release of an action-packed, riveting, and absolutely delightful debut YA space opera from M.K England.
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 released from S&S/McElderry in August!), 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 M.K. England about her debut young adult novel The Disasters (HarperTeen, December 18, 2018).
From the jacket:
Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.
But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.
On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.
They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.
KIT FRICK: Hi, M.K.! I’m so excited to chat with you about your debut novel, The Disasters. When I picked up the ARC, I knew I was in for a fast-paced space opera with an inclusive cast and fate-of-the-universe stakes, but what I didn’t anticipate was how funny and endearing the protagonist, Nax, would be! (Although the killer tag line—Space is hard. Grab a helmet.—should have tipped me off!) Did writing his cocky, charming point of view come naturally to you? What tips can you give the rest of us for incorporating humor into a novel that isn’t explicitly a comedy?
M.K. ENGLAND: Ahh, thanks so much! The tag line came from the brilliant lead designer at HarperTeen, Jenna Stempel-Lobell, and I love how perfectly it telegraphs the humor style. I wish I had a better handle on how I write humor, because then I could do it on purpose! Nax is very much part of a lineage of wise-cracking, trouble-magnet space pilots a la Han Solo, Malcolm Reynolds, and Peter Quill, so there was a lot to channel from.
I think for me, humor is always tied so strongly to voice, and specifically to how certain personalities react to the situations they’re thrown into. For Nax, and so many heroes in this genre, a lot of it is a very dry, sarcastic, “Well, that just happened” kind of humor. I guess my biggest advice is the same thing I’d say for a lot of craft things—find books, movies, etc. that make you laugh, and that have the same kind of voice you’re going for, then stop in that moment of laughter and break down what exactly is sparking the reaction. A witty observation? A totally absurd non-sequitur? A snarky self-deprecating comment? How does that character react to the world around them?
KIT: That is some really excellent advice! (And seems so clear when you break it down like that, haha.) Must try at home … Moving on, let’s talk worldbuilding. The Disasters is set in the year 2194, in the age of space colonization. For your debut, you developed a multi-layered setting including Ellis Station, where the novel opens; two spaceships; and several space colonies—and the gear, tech, and culture to go with the intergalactic landscape. What can you tell us about your creative process for developing the book’s futuristic setting?
M.K.: It’s a lot of asking “What If.” I start with the seed of the whole idea, a hotshot pilot failing out of an academy on his first day, then extrapolate. Okay, if space piloting is a thing, there has to be a place to fly to. He can’t just go back to Earth because that’s boring, so what kind of plot does that suggest? What set pieces do I need to make the plot happen? If Place A exists, what else would logically follow from there? And so on. Eventually, the whole thing came to hinge on one fictional historical moment: the discovery of A-drive technology, a sort of instantaneous interplanetary travel, around 2050. From there, settling the stars would happen as fast as governments and organizations could manage!
There’s an interesting book called Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku that I’d highly recommend to any sci-fi writer. I wish I’d read it before I wrote The Disasters! Alas, it was much more of an influence on my second book. A lot of my tech in The Disasters centers around the ubiquity of smartphones in our current world—how many things can I replace with a phone/tablet in the future? There were some great opportunities to pursue things like medical technology, and if I ever get to write a Disasters sequel, maybe I’ll go there! The goal is always for the tech to be practically invisible, though, never something to stumble over and go, wait, huh?
KIT: That’s so fascinating! Tell us something about The Disasters that isn’t apparent from the book cover or flap copy. We want the inside scoop!
M.K.: There are SO MANY references to my favorite science fiction TV shows and movies in there. Just … so many. I dare you to spot them all. One day I’ll run a contest! If you want to brush up beforehand, you can watch some Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1.
KIT: That would be an amazing reader contest, and you should definitely do that! 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?
M.K.: I’m a total extroverted thinker, so every book I write has a phase where I sit there and verbally hammer out ideas with one of my critique partners. Brainstorming, problem solving, talking through issues, working past the obvious solutions to find the more interesting ones, all that. It’s always exciting, full of energy and those total geek-out moments of YES I LOVE THIS AND CAN’T WAIT TO WRITE IT. That’s the best part of the process for me.
KIT: 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?
M.K.: How LONG it can take. Average is about two years for a debut, but for me it’s been even longer. I signed a deal for a fall 2018 release back in May of 2016, then my final release date ended up being the latest possible date in the season! May 2016 to December 2018. Two and a half years.
I’m a super go-go-go kind of person, so I don’t do well with dead time and no specific goal. Now, of course, I’m buried in Book 2 deadlines, promotion for The Disasters, and all that, but there were definitely long stretches of time where I was working on other projects, trying out new writing styles, trying to find a writing niche outside of YA. The urge to just DO SOMETHING was overwhelming.
KIT: The waiting definitely took me by surprise too! (And I come from a publishing background, so in theory I should have been better prepared, but … nope!) Drawing from your own unique experience, what advice would you to give to future young adult debut authors, or debut novelists in general?
M.K.: Have fun and cherish the connections you make with your fellow debut authors. You have so little control over the whole situation, so the more you can kick back and have fun with the parts you enjoy and commiserate with friends over the rest, the better off you’ll be. Not that I’m ANY good at taking this advice, but don’t be me, folks!
KIT: Thanks for stopping by, M.K.!
M.K. England is an author and YA librarian who grew up on the Space Coast of Florida and now calls the mountains of Virginia home. When she’s not writing or librarianing, M.K. can be found drowning in fandom, rolling dice at the gaming table, climbing on things in the woods, feeding her video game addiction, or talking way too much about space and science literacy. She loves Star Wars with a desperate, heedless passion. It’s best if you never speak of Sherlock Holmes in her presence. You’ll regret it. The Disasters is her debut novel.
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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. She is the author of the young adult novels See All the Stars, out now from Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books, and the forthcoming All Eyes on Us (2019) and Windermere (2020). Her debut full-length poetry collection is A Small Rising Up in the Lungs (New American Press, 2018).
The Disasters 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 in 2019!