For this month’s reaping, I’m pleased to introduce Mindy McGinnis, author of Not a Drop to Drink, to the blog! Not a Drop to Drink is a post-apocalyptic YA novel set in a world where water is outrageously expensive — and the book is out today.
Q: What are three words you would use to describe yourself and why?
Determined. Strong. Funny. Kind of an odd mix, but this is who I am. You can’t not be the first two and hope to make it in publishing. The last one is more of a coping mechanism.
Q: Based on the synopsis, Lynn sounds a lot like the other YA heroines out there — stuck in a harsh world, needing to protect both herself and her family — so what do you think makes her different?
What makes her different is her rough edges. She’s not questioning whether or not to kill to survive, she just does it. She knows no other life, and isn’t interested in anything beyond survival until something forces her to look beyond this narrow worldview. It’s a story about basic survival, but it’s also about human nature and the thin gray area between right and wrong.
Q: Do you think that Earth has a high chance of becoming like the dry wasteland setting of NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
I don’t know if I’d use the word “high,” but it’s definitely a possibility. The earth itself isn’t necessarily “dry” in the book, but drinkable water is hard to find because the population has depleted our natural resources, and cholera has infected a lot of what’s left. Is there a chance? Well, I based the story on a documentary, so…
Q: I read from your “About” page on your website that you grew up in the woods. Sweet! What kind of fond childhood memories do you have of that place?
What don’t I have? I basically would get off the bus, trot down the road and stay in the woods until my mom called me for supper. I had this whole fake life made up for myself where I gathered moss to treat my imaginary wounds and made traps around my treehouse against interlopers. So, um… wait, would you call those fond or paranoid?
Q: I think it’s awesome that you run a blog for aspiring authors! What inspired you to do it?
Basically, I’d been writing and failing at it for a decade before I landed my agent Adriann Ranta with the query for NOT A DROP TO DRINK. I know what it’s like to feel hopeless in the face of rejection. I want to help others who felt like I did, wondering how the hell people who have attained publication made it happen. So now I provide that.