This month I'm thrilled to be hosting a return visit by Mindy McGinnis to the blog to talk about the second novel in her YA dystopian duology, In A Handful of Dust. When last I spoke to Mindy, it was about the first novel, Not a Drop to Drink. That interview is available here.
When I asked her about the new installment in the series, here's what she had to say ...
KC: You have described In A Handful of Dust as more of a companion novel to Not a Drop to Drink than a true sequel, even though we do find out more about what happened to Lynn in this book. What made you decide to take this approach for your second book rather than picking up right where you left off in the first book?
MM: I knew I needed to expand the world for DUST. DRINK takes place in a very small area, and I wanted to explore elsewhere. There's already a fantastic post-apoc story about a parent and child crossing the US (THE ROAD by McCarthy) so I knew I didn't want the same setup. The alternative was to either write Lucy out (which I felt would undermine a lot of Lynn's character development from book one) or age her up and make her the protagonist. So I went with the second option.
KC: While In A Handful of Dust is Lucy’s story, in a sense it’s also Lynn’s story. We learn almost as much about Lynn’s goals and dreams for her future as well as Lucy’s, yet the story is told from Lucy’s point of view. Did you ever consider writing from dual perspectives or was this always going to be Lucy’s book?
MM: Technically I'm a YA writer with a YA imprint, and Lynn is in her late twenties in DUST. So Lucy definitely needed to be the main character.
KC: When reading this book I kept being reminded of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”. In some ways this is a girl-power version of that story. You even title Part 2 of the book “The Road”. Is this an intentional homage to McCarthy? Where did you get your inspiration for this book?
MM: I definitely had The Road in mind when I was writing, mostly because I wanted to make sure I wasn't imitating it too much. The inspiration for DUST mostly came from the concept of exploring the country outside of Lynn's little area, so the plot just grows from that seed. I needed a compelling reason for Lynn to leave her pond, so I had to infect the water and... the plot just spins and grows as I go.
KC: This second book in the series is much more expansive than the first in terms of geographical scope. The landscapes the two women traverse are many and varied. How did you approach the scene setting with respect to the many places you included? Did you do a lot of research on geography and then imagine how these places would look in the post-apocalyptic future?
MM: I owe a lot to Google maps, honestly. I actually plotted a path for them to take, because I needed very specific settings for certain things. A bridge in a small town, higher elevation points to cross the mountains, etc. So I would take my little yellow man on Google maps and drop him down in the path I'd plotted, use the 360 option and take a look at my setting. Extremely useful.
KC: You write both short stories and novels. Do you have a preferred format? What are some of the challenges of writing a short story versus a novel?
MM: Whatever fits the story best. A lot of my little ideas simply aren't made for a novel, so I always know on conception whether it's a novel or a short. Writing a short story is harder in a lot of ways. You have a minimum amount of space to make a real character, create tension, and execute a plot.
KC: What are you working on now? Any plans to write anything else in Lynn and Lucy’s world?
MM: I have a lot going on right now! My next release is A MADNESS SO DISCREET, a Gothic historical thriller set in an insane asylum. It releases Oct. 6, 2015 from Katherine Tegen Books. In 2016 I have a dark contemporary, also coming from KT Books, and I recently announced that I will be launching a fantasy series, GIVEN TO THE SEA, in Spring of 2017 with Putnam.
With all this in store I don't have any immediate plans to return to the world of DRINK & DUST. I think Lynn and Lucy's stories have been told. If I did anything it would be a prequel that featured a younger Stebbs and Mother.
YAKO Books: Interview with Mindy McGinnis
What inspired you to be an author? Are there authors that you view as a role model?
I've always known I wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid, if I didn't like the ending of a book I'd just make up a different one. I moved on from there to making my own, complete with a beginning and a middle :) I don't really role model anyone, no. I'm not big on emulating people so much as doing my own thing.
Where did you get the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought --- we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now."
What got you into writing YA?
I've worked as a YA librarian for 13 years. I'm surrounded by my audience 40 hours a week and completely immersed in the market. Not writing YA would be foolish.
So we know NOT A DROP TO DRINK is your debut novel, but is it the first book you’ve ever written?
Not by a long shot. I wrote two novels for adults when I was in college, both rather horrible. Then I wrote two unpublished YA's prior to DRINK. I have a few half-finished projects as well from college.
Near the beginning of the book, Lynn is a character with many flaws. Readers tend to gravitate towards flawed characters because they’re so relatable. How were you able to get into her head and really live out her story?
It wasn't easy. She didn't want me in there. But I live in the middle of nowhere, a lot of the elements in Lynn's life are already present in mine (gardening, canning food, being wary of coyotes - yes really) so putting myself in her shoes wasn't terribly difficult.
How did working as a YA librarian help you write NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
It helps because I know what the teens like, and what they hate, and what they're sick of. But in the end I have to write the story the way it wants to be told... and sometimes I know my readers might hate me a little for it. And that's okay.
SPOILER ALERT! Did you always intend the book to end the way it did, or did it evolve over time?
I don't plan or plot my books at all. I just let the story happen. There was never any intention going in any of the character deaths... they're just things that happened organically as the story unfolded. So to me that means it's how the story was supposed to go.
I am a HUGE fan of your blog, Writer Writer Pants on Fire! How do you manage to balance your time between blogging, writing, and working as a YA librarian?
Blogging is from the heart, and entirely free. I don't make a dime off my blog, and there are definitely days when I wonder if it's worth the amount of time I put into it. But then I get comments like yours and that's payment enough. Time management is always a problem. I routinely fail at one thing every day. If I failed at blogging today, that means I did good on the WIP. If I failed on the WIP it means I probably did laundry. As long as I am accomplishing something and rotating what I fail at, I manage.
How long did it take you to write both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST?
About six months for each of them, first drafts.
Did you ever have a favorite moment, between writing NOT A DROP TO DRINK and seeing it on the shelves for the first time?
Getting your cover is probably the most exciting part for an author. It's the face of your book, the biggest marketing tool you have. You want it to be good. So far I've been blessed.
The covers to both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST are beautiful! Did you have any input on the cover design?
I have cover consult, but I've never needed it. My cover artist at HarperCollins is Erin Fitzsimmons, and basically I just open up my cover emails and the respond-- "This is gorgeous and perfect."
Can we expect any new works coming soon?
Yes! I have a Gothic historical thriller set in an insane asylum coming October 6 - A MADNESS SO DISCREET. It's a departure from my debut genre so I'm looking forward to taking my readers someplace new... and rather horrifying.
Revisiting A World After A Decade
What is your favorite thing about IN A HANDFUL OF DUST?
The best part of writing DUST was revisiting this world ten years later. Lynn is an adult now, Lucy has become a teen. I got the chance to play with who they had become, how they had grown and changed, and what their relationship is like a decade after their lives in NOT A DROP TO DRINK.
What was your inspiration for writing this book?
I wanted to see more of the world I built in DRINK, venturing beyond the small area of the pond and Lynn's home. Fast forwarding ten years came from wanting to see what Lucy had become.
How long did you work on the book?
I wrote it fairly quickly, in about six months.
How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?
I had been writing for ten years before I landed representation with NOT A DROP TO DRINK. Previous to DRINK I had trunked three adult novels and one YA title.
What's your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?
I like silence, although sometimes I'll put on white noise if there's too much background going on. I write in bed, at night - it's my only free time!
What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?
Be able to take, and process, criticism. If you can't do that you will never improve.
What are you working on now?
I am editing my 2015 release, which will be coming from Katherine Tegen Books. It is a Gothic historical set in an insane asylum, tentatively titled A MADNESS SO DISCREET.
A Dream Within A Dream: In A Handful of Dust Blog Tour
1. What inspired you to write the Not a Drop to Drink series?
I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought --- we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now." DUST is the organic growth past that, the question of what is going on in the world outside of Ohio and an attempt to tell the story from a survivor who isn’t a badass.
2. Did you have to do any research for the series?
Yes, a ton. For DUST it was polio, desalinization, architecture, mountain lions, elevations in the US… I could go on and on.
3. Do you ever base characters on yourself or people you know?
Never. That way lies madness.
4. What made you want to become an author?
I’ve always wanted to be an author. Like most writers I started as a reader. Often if I didn’t like the ending of a book I’d just make up my own. I grew past that into writing my own stories.
5. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Do your research. It’s not just writing. You have to know how the industry works, what the market is like, how to correctly use social media. We’re not just writers anymore –we’re marketers and public figures. At times it’s frustrating, but that’s the case.
6. What's up next for you?
I have a Gothic historical thriller coming from Katherine Tegen 9/22/15, set in an insane asylum around 1890, titled A MADNESS SO DISCREET.
How To Survive The Apocalpyse While Also Road Tripping
When I sat down to write a companion novel to Not A Drop To Drink, I was a little flummoxed. I’d always intended it to stand alone, and I’d said what I had to say within the confines of that first book. Inspiration can be tricky, but a seed was planted when I considered the fact that DRINK takes place in a tiny space, only a few square miles. What does the rest of the country look like? And what would it take to drag Lynn away from from her beloved pond?
I knew only one thing was more important to her than the pond – Lucy. But… a post-apocalyptic road trip with a little kid? No way. I try not to make my characters do anything I wouldn’t be willing to do myself, so I ix nayed that thought – and another grew in its place. What if Lucy isn’t a little kid anymore, what would she be like as a teen? And what would Lynn be like as an adult?
Answer: A smartass and a badass.
What a fun pair to hit the road with.
Without too many spoilers, I’ll tell you that they set out from Ohio because the pond is no longer safe, and Lucy’s safety is threatened. With home behind them and the horizon very far away, their feet get tired, their skin gets burned, and their personalities find ways to meld and jar – just like any road trip with family.
Except, most of us don’t have to pack weaponry alongside our sunscreen.
5 Things to Pack for the Post-Apocalyptic Road Trip
1) Good shoes. Got a blister? awww…. Except, yeah, that could actually become a huge problem when it gets infected, you get gangrene, and your foot falls off.
2) Ye Old Witching Stick. You’ll need this. Find one that looks like the flux capacitor and you’re good.
3) A map. Yes, like a paper one. There’s not an app for that anymore. But you should definitely use THIS MAP.
4) Honey. Wait, what? Yes, it has healing properties that will come in handy when you get, you know… shot.
5) Extra clothes. Because you’re going to smell. Really bad. And you might use that extra t-shirt for sopping up blood. Ahem.
Why Yes, Orwell Would Enjoy This
A lot of people ask me how I came up with the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK. The scary answer is that I watched a documentary. The scarier answer is that was in 2010, and here in 2014 all I have to do is turn on the news.
Yep. A scant four years after watching a documentary titled Blue Gold which sent me to the ceiling and spawned awkward ice-breaking conversations from yours truly, most people know exactly what I’m talking about whenever I use the word water, followed by the panic-inducing words like crisis, situation, or scarcity.
California is staring down a mega-drought that could last into the next generation. The Colorado River appears to be drying up and the Southwest is depreciating underwater aquifers at a rate that they can never recover from. And that’s all gleaned from one article.
Recently in my home state of Ohio, half a million people lost their water when poisonous algae in Lake Erie made theirs taps unsafe. Ohio residents drove across the Midwest to purchase water, filling their carts Michigan and turning around to drive over 200 miles back home. And in this case, the Wolverines let the Buckeyes have their water because they had some to spare.
But what if they didn’t?
That’s the world of NOT A DROP TO DRINK, and by extension, IN A HANDFUL OF DUST. A world where the one thing that you and every person you care for will die without in three days, is scarce.
Does that make you think twice about picking up the book?
Then you should probably skip the news, too.
SLJ: Q & A with Librarian and YA Author Mindy McGinnis
Although Not a Drop to Drink (HarperCollins 2013) is Mindy McGinnis’s first novel, calling her a rookie or a novice would be misleading. She’s been writing since her college days at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, and has since had her short stories published in multiple anthologies. She also publishes a blog and contributes to multiple writers groups and websites. When she’s not writing, McGinnis is surrounded by books as an assistant librarian.
The saying is to write what you know, and McGinnis knows young adults after working in public schools for more than a decade. She also knows about living in a rural environment, and while the location in the novel isn’t specifically named, it might not be such a far stretch from the area in Ohio where she grew up.
There are a few important differences, however, between the novel and McGinnis’s experience. Perhaps most importantly, while the main character—16-year-old Lynn—is a good shot and unafraid to kill, the author has never shot anyone herself. Moreover, while the future depicted in Not a Drop to Drinki s harsh, McGinnis’s future is a bright one.
SLJ talked to McGinnis about the inspiration that led to the book, how her career as a librarian has helped her writing, and what she’s working on next.
How long have you been writing? When did you become a librarian?
I've been writing since college, when I decided that it was time to stop saying I "wanted" to be a writer and actually become one. It's not that easy, though. There was a solid decade of rejection before landing my agent with the query for Not a Drop to Drink. I've been working in the public schools for 12 years now, but I don't actually have my MLS—I'm an aide. It's still a goal, but right now I'm focused on my writing.
What books do you like to read? Did those books influence your novels? If so, how?
I'll read anything and everything. At the moment, I'm reading Victorian novels. I'm not sure that I have any influences as far as writing goes, but I definitely will read certain authors and think that I'd love to be as good as they are someday.
What were the inspirations behind Not a Drop to Drink?
I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought—we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now."
Why do you think that young adult novels about dystopian futures, like the “Hunger Games” (Scholastic) series and Veronica Roth’s Divergent (HarperCollins, 2011), are so popular?
I think that dystopians and post-apocs in general say a lot about humanity. In a world like the one in Drink, there are no social norms to adhere to. Everyone is free to behave exactly as they please. It says a lot about who you are at your core in a situation like that, and I think everyone is curious how they themselves would behave in these worlds.
Was working as a YA librarian helpful as you wrote your book?
It's helpful in that I can see what genres they are enjoying and which ones they are sick of, but in the end, if there is a story percolating in my brain that's the one I need to write, trend or not.
Have any of the students in your school read the book? What was their reaction to it?
Yes! A lot of my kids have read Drink. In fact, we're running our circulation numbers for the end of the year, and I found out yesterday Drink was the top circulated fiction title in grades seven through 12. So I feel pretty good about that. The reaction I get the most is shock that there are some bad words. They must think I don't know those.
Do you have a routine that you stick with when you sit down to write? What's your process like?
I write at night, usually after 10 p.m., and I write in bed. I tend to set a goal of about 1,000 words per night, or 5,000 for the week. I do zero plotting. I simply sit and write the book linearly, night after night, until I reach the end. It makes for a sloppy first draft, but I find it to be the most organic way of writing.
What writers do you admire and/or strive to emulate?
A lot of the writers that I really enjoy are the ones that practice economy of words. They leave much to the reader to fill in, which is the best way to engage them. I also love writers who take fairly ludicrous plots and/or situations and make you buy into them completely. Anything by Margo Lanagan falls under this category. If you try to explain Tender Morsels (Ember, 2008), you'll look like an insane person, but if you simply hand the book to a reader, they're sucked in.
What do you think the future holds for the generation that reads your work? Do you really see things as heading to that dark of a place?
It's really hard to say. I certainly don't want to be the Orwell of water, but we are taxing our planet in ways that it can't recover from easily. There's always hope as long as there's respect for the situation, but once that's gone...
How much of yourself (or the people you love) goes into the characters you create?
Hardly any. I think it's fairly dangerous to base characters on people you know in real life.
Are there plans for a third book in the series? What's next for you?
As of right now, no. In a Handful of Dust will be out in September. It's a companion novel that takes place 10 years after the events of Drink. I think there's probably room to write a third if I feel so inclined, but at the moment, I'm disengaged from that. I'm currently working on a gothic historical set in an insane asylum. So I've definitely switched gears.