Off the Cuff on Instagram Live
What a show we had last night! If you missed Off The Cuff, catch the replay of farm rebels, librarian secrets, and writing reimagined clsssics.
Guests: Mindy McGinnis and Tirzah Price.
Buckeye Book Fair Book Bit - Be Not Far From Me
Join us to find out what drives @mindymcginnisauthor and her feisty grit when creating characters who overcome life’s adversity. www.buckeyebookfair.org
Be Not Far From Me Featured on Good Morning Austria!
The German edition of Be Not Far From Me - called Lost - was featured this morning on Good Morning Austria!
Response to Heroine Being Challenged
Q: As an author, what is your perspective on the banning of certain books in school libraries? Is there a greater significance behind banning books at schools?
A: “First of all, I want to say that a parent knows their child best. If a parent says, “this book is not appropriate for my child,” they are right. Bottom line. When a parent says, “this book is not appropriate for any child,” we’re in censorship territory. Yes, there is greater significance in a book being banned in a school. It’s a black mark, a patina of shame. It tells kids who are dealing with these topics – whatever they are – in their daily lives, that they are wrong, shameful, and dirty. This does not encourage anyone to speak up, or seek help. It encourages them to keep their heads down, bury pain, and live in emotional isolation as they pretend to fit in, be normal, and abide by a social code that others have pushed upon them.”
Q: Are there any premises in which certain books should be banned from the school library?
A: “Again, parents always have final say. If they believe that a book is inappropriate for their child, then it is. Their ethical code within their own household is their decision. It doesn’t extend to the public.”
Q: Who do you think should be responsible for these decisions? Teachers, Admin, Parents, Librarians, Students, etc?
A: “I think most schools have a great process for dealing with challenged books. Of course, all voices should be heard. Parents have real concerns about what their children are exposed to, and raising their children is their most important job. Listening is also critical, and in a time when most public discourse has been demeaned to slugging matches where the winner has the best one-liner and everyone has a pie chart to refute someone else’s bar graph, actually being quiet and considering the other person’s point no longer seems essential to arriving at a decision. That’s what I would ask – that everyone let everyone speak, and then actually think about what they said, not just reload the next quip.”
Q: Parents in the district have challenged your book, Heroine, claiming that it is not appropriate for high schoolers. How would you address the concerns parents have raised about your writing?
A: “The specific stated claims read as such:
1) The content of the book is inappropriate for children of school age through 12th grade. Facts and data here are from the CDC, link below, graphics attached. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/heroin/index.html Heroin use has more than doubled among young adults ages 18–25 in the past decade. This means that real talk has to happen with teens about drug abuse, prescription drug misuse, and the very real dangers of casual drug use BEFORE they turn 18… exactly the period of time – and the window of opportunity – that the statement above would deny.
2) We should be trying to help the opioid crisis in our country, not contribute to it by putting books like this in our kids hands. Heroine is a cautionary tale about a gifted female athlete whose injury leads her to misuse prescription drugs in order to recover for her season, leading to reliance upon the drug, followed by a decision to turn to street drugs once she can no longer obtain them legally. This dead-ends her athletic career, ruins her personal relationships, and ultimately leaves her life in a wreck that she is unsure she can fully recover from. The statement above makes me question whether the entire book was actually read. 3) It tells students how to take oxycontin and heroin and it leads them to believe that these drugs can improve situations in their lives. The opening line of this book is, “When I wake up, all my friends are dead.” I don’t think this can be construed as a claim that drugs can improve their lives. Another example would be Chapter 51, when my main character literally poops her pants in public during a softball game, then vomits all over herself, and hides in a port-a-potty until the game is over. Everyone knows she is in there, covered in her own filth. Her team, the opposing team, her family, her friends, the entire crowd watches this happen to her in real time. Her utter humiliation and outing as an addict is very public, and again, I don’t think a word of it can be construed as leading a reader to believe that using drugs will improve situations in their lives. Once again, this statement makes me question whether the entire book was actually read. As far as Heroine being a “how to,” on taking drugs – much of the drug culture and language that I used in this book is pulled from the late 90s and early 2000s. Many of the methods used in Heroine would no longer be effective for a reader today — which was a conscious decision on my part. For example, in 2010, Purdue-Pharma, the makers of Oxycontin, discontinued the original formula for the drug, releasing a new pill that could no longer be crushed and snorted, as it would not turn into a powder (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/upshot/opioids-oxycontin-purdue-pharma.html). This also meant that the method of sucking the time release layer off the pill (also used in the novel) was no longer effective, as the time release characteristics were now infused throughout the entire pill, not in a simple covering. So… long story short – no. Heroine does NOT tell students how to take oxycontin, unless they read it a full decade before it was published, when those methods would have actually worked. As for shooting up heroin: no, my novel most definitely doesn’t walk the reader through how to do that. I can say that with conviction because I’m the author and I don’t know how to do it.”
Q: What audiences do you think your book Heroin is “appropriate” for?
A: “Humans. Anyone looking for empathy and compassion in the world. Anyone hoping to be understood. Anyone wondering how easy it is to fall down a rabbit hole, and anyone who has ever considered the fact that it could be them one day.”
Q: Do you think censorship of the youth is an important and relevant issue? How does banning books like Heroine contribute to this?
A: “It’s absolutely relevant, given our climate of everyone screaming at everyone else, and each side absolutely believing they hold the highest moral ground. Banning books like Heroine, which is an empathetic look at the emotional and mental state of an addict, means that we continue to stand fast on our side of the line, and hold tight to the concept that we could never, ever end up on the other side of it.”
Q: What power should parents have in censoring the reading of high schoolers beyond their own child?
A: “My honest answer is that adults need to trust educators, librarians, and other institutions. Junior Library Guild, Kirkus, Horn Book, and other professional review sites assign age categories to young adult books. But more importantly – trust the readers themselves. I worked in a high school library for fourteen years. Teens and young readers DO self-censor. I’ve seen plenty of kids pick up a book, page through it, and be like, “Woah! Okay… not for me.” They put it down. They move on.”
Originally published: https://marquettemessenger.com/news/2021/12/15/qa-with-mindy-mcginnis/
The Good Story Podcast: Episode 24
Mindy McGinnis, mystery, suspense, thriller author and dog haver, joins the Good Story Podcast to talk about her upcoming work with James Patterson, shit-shoveling, book snobbery, and showing characters' humanity.
The Inside Scoop On The Initial Insult With The Bookish Box
Thanks to The Bookish Box for hosting this IG Live chat where we talk about The Initial Insult, cats, dogs… and of course my Dalmatian Gus makes an appearance.
Resurrecting Edgar Allan Poe While Continuously Disappointing My Mother
by Mindy McGinnis
The germination of a story can be hard to pinpoint, even more so if the seed was planted over 30 years ago, as I suspect is the case with my newest release, The Initial Insult. I can’t say for sure that I’d been introduced to Poe before my freshman year in high school, but I can certainly recall staring at Harry Clarke’s 1919 illustration of “The Cask of Amontillado” included in my English textbook and feeling—in a word—horrified.
And also—oddly elated. I ditched the pace of the always-painful class read aloud, finished Amontillado, turned the page to take in “Hop-Frog” and looked back up from my textbook with a single thought: I didn’t know you were allowed to do that in writing.
I’d only been subjected to safe, typically didactic classroom readings at that point in my life, but being exposed to Poe was a game-changer for me. Yes, you can bury people alive (can in fact, rely on that trick more than once, if you’re Poe). You can also set them on fire and let their pets eat their decomposing bodies.
It all made my own dark imaginings seem tame by comparison—but also valid.
I’d always known I wanted to be a writer, but I hadn’t seen the shadows that wandered my mind exemplified on paper, let alone be considered worthy of praise. Now, with ten books behind me and a reputation for killing fictional people while making real people cry, that not only can you do that in writing, but you can make a career out of it.
All that being said, I almost always get a phone call from my mom after she reads an advanced copy of my latest book. And while complimentary, these conversations tend to end with a sigh and the often-repeated wish that I will “write something nicer next time, maybe with a cat.”
I managed the second part. Only, the cat is an escaped panther wandering around a debauched high-school gathering while a virus breaks out among the party-goers and a murder goes down in the basement.
And yes, not only can you do that in writing, but you can do it in YA.
Moving Edgar Allan Poe into a modern, Appalachian setting was not something I’d ever toyed with. Yes, I loved Poe, but emulating others wasn’t a goal of mine… until a black cat ran across my path as I pulled into a service station, and, while pumping gas, I thought about how most people would hold to the superstitious view that bad luck would find me soon. I’m a fan of the Poe interpretation and assumed that the black cat was an arbiter of justice, late for his appointment to deliver judgement upon someone.
And instantly, there was a story in my head. The cat became a prowling panther, an abandoned house and known party-pad morphed into the setting for The Masque of the Red Death, underneath which I added a basement, a coal chute, loose bricks, a bucket of mortar and cast female frienemies in the role of Fortunato and Montressor. It happened in about seven minutes, which is how long it takes me to drive home from work. When something blooms into life that quickly, it’s either been percolating for a long time, or it’s pure drivel.
A series of texts with a fellow writer friend reassured me that it wasn’t drivel. In fact, she insisted that not only did my idea have legs, but they were sexy, sexy legs. All of this happened during the summer of 2018, and while I definitely thought the depths I was plumbing were worth the risks, I had reservations about diving in.
My usual creative process is to mull for a while, do some background reading, and then full-bore plow through a first draft at a chaotic pace. This time the mulling meant determining which Poe stories to use as a framework, the background reading meant learning more about Poe’s life itself, and the first draft came up in the form of what I politely like to refer to as a “word vomit.”
Also, my mom was not happy with the amount of actual vomiting in the book. She wasn’t particularly fond of the swearing and drinking, either. The violence she seems to have grown accustomed to, admitting to me that “I think people question my parenting.” The tension was what proved too much for her in the end, evidenced by the text I received one night letting me know that she couldn’t read the book before bed, because it was “just too much,” but that Game of Thrones was serving her nicely instead.
Everything my mother considered a drawback, I perceive as a strength. Poe’s work always carries with it the dark and macabre, but brings them forward with that touch of realism that makes it all the more believable. Family feuds, stinging rebukes that fester for years, lost dreams, buried pasts, and the bright flash of a familiar smile that leads you into the shadows are all elements of what makes Poe endure.
As humans, we acknowledge the darkness that co-exists with the light, and while some of us may be more inclined to probe it than others, it carries with it an undeniable fascination. It has been exactly such subjects that have fired my imagination since I can remember and which served as a cornerstone for both my and Poe’s careers.
One of my much-loved coffee mugs carries quotes from famous writers, and I happen to be staring down one from Jane Austen as I write this: “Let other pens dwell on guilty and misery.”
To which I say—Don’t worry, Jane. I got this.
Radio Chat With DCDL: Initial Insult Inside Look!
Check out my radio chat with the Delaware Library about what I'm reading right now, a little about the inspiration behind THE INITIAL INSULT, and a sneak peek about what to expect from THE LAST LAUGH in 2022!
2019 Summer Flash Contest Winner →
I sever the first two fingers of my left hand on a Tuesday. They fall to the ground at my feet, causing a momentary confusion as I wonder what tree has dropped this odd fruit. Then I see the crescent scar left behind by a fish hook and know that these are my fingers, that they are no longer attached to my body, and that I will surely not be going to piano lessons the next day. This is when I know how much I dislike piano, that the momentary relief at the thought lifts my spirits even though I am bleeding profusely.
I am 9, and it is fall, the woods around me swaying in the wind, dead leaves drifting to the ground as I take off my shirt and wrap my hand. It is a new shirt, and I will surely be in trouble, I think, as the blood overtakes the print design – horses that can’t outrun the beat of my heart. I pick up my fingers, still warm, and squeeze them, feeling the texture of my skin. I’ve held my own hand, made the church steeple and opened it up to see the people, twiddled my thumbs and traced the lines of my palm, but always there was reciprocal feeling, touch to touch. It is a one-side game now, my dead fingers rendered mute.
I gather my hatchet, made by my grandfather. My name – Ellie – is etched onto the handle. I loop it through my belt, not cleaning the bright smear of blood from the blade. I trip over the spear I had been making, defense against some imagined enemy who would threaten my forest. I am 9 and determined to protect what I care for.
I head home, leaving behind the canopy of the woods for the rustling of the dried cornstalks. I break into our backyard to see Mom at the kitchen window, working. She is cleaning, baking, cooking, fixing, mending, caring, raising, mothering. She is doing something appropriate to the hour, day, month, year. She is not cutting off her fingers in the woods while making weapons.
I go to the door, unsure how to present myself, her only child, naked from the waist up, hatchet at her side, filthy, bloodied, carrying her own body parts. I squeeze my fingers. They have gone cold; the blood tacky.
I am 9. I do not have the words for this. I cannot explain myself or the mystery of what has occurred; how my blade was untrue, how I have maimed myself for life. Inside I hear: water running, the smell of fresh bread, Mom humming. I step into the kitchen.
“Mom,” I say. “Something happened.”
—Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy. While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.
Interview with Mindy McGinnis
What inspired you to write “Something Happened?”
I grew up in a very rural area and still live there. It’s a lifestyle that is easily romanticized, but it also carries a fair amount of danger with it. I spent most of my time in the woods, playing alone, and I often did carry a hatchet with me. As an adult, I think about some of my activities and cringe…like purposefully crossing a flooded stream because I liked how it felt when the current carried me.
What was your writing and revision process like for this story?
It came out fairly quickly, and the tone was exactly what I had wanted right from the beginning. However, with so few words, each one carries a lot of weight. I’d leave it alone for a week or two, return to it and change one or two words. But when you’re working with less than 500, each word carries great importance.
What are some of the challenges and benefits of writing short-short fiction? How does it differ from novel writing?
I think it’s an emotional hurricane for me. I often get one line, or a visual, and try to evoke the gut impact that it brings for me. I’m naturally a tight, concise writer, so I actually enjoy the parameters that encourage me to hone my natural inclination, which is to say a lot by writing very little.
Your fiction spans an impressive variety of genres. How has not staying in one particular authorial “lane” helped your craft and your career?
If I’m being perfectly honest, I doubt it has. I think if I had picked a lane and stuck in it, I might be more successful or well known. I know I’d be easier to market, and my brand would be more defined. I think career-wise it might have been more intelligent to establish myself in one arena. Craft wise, the thought makes me claustrophobic. I read widely, so I write widely.
What’s your best advice for fellow short story writers?
The short story is a form that presents challenges the novel doesn’t. World building, character development and arc, plot…all of the elements you’d have more room for in a novel are constricted to a very small narrative. Flash fiction is an area I excel at, micro-focusing on a single moment and the impact of it. A short story is much more difficult for me. You need more than one moment in a short story, but you need to give equal weight to each and not become involved in a single scene to the detriment of others. It’s a tricky balance, and one I’ve not mastered yet.
Author Of The Week: Author Chat with Mindy McGinnis →
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I can't always say for sure where ideas for my books come from. My new duology is no exception. There wasn't a single moment where I thought - hey, someone should combine elements of Poe short stories and set it in contemporary Appalachia. What I do know is that over a period of a short (7 minute) drive, and a flurry of texts with one of my writer friends as I aired ideas, (Is this too crazy? How much puking is allowed in YA?) I arrived home aware that I had a story with legs.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
One of the more fun elements of this book is that some of the chapters are written from the POV of a panther. Asking myself what a panther's internal monologue would look like was pretty fun.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
The concept, for sure. But the titles followed very shortly. The first - THE INITIAL INSULT - is pulled directly from Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and the line, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge."
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Again, anything with the Cat as the narrator. Those chapters are written in verse, which was a new challenge for me, and one I'd like to explore further.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
A lot of the elements of the book are present in the cover - bricks, the shadow of the panther, and the ivy / vine that alludes to the isolated setting. It does a good job of preparing the reader for what we're rolling into - darkness, and bleak shadows.
YABC: What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2021?
Honest answer - my own. I think it's the best thing I've ever written and I look forward to getting it out into the world.
YABC: What was your favorite book in 2020?
Hard to say. 2020 was a difficult year for me with reading. It's unfortunate, as I usually turn to reading as an escape, but reality was so pressing last year. It was inescapable.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
The sequel! THE LAST LAUGH will be coming in 2022!
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
There are various flashbacks throughout the novel, exploring the friendship of the two main characters and how some unfortunate events had unfolded in the past, specifically in their middle grade years. Writing with that young of a voice was foreign to me and took some adjustments.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
A male character whose outward persona is essentially very different from his inward self. Actually, now that I think about it, there are two of those in the book!
Interview With Mindy McGinnis on Krysten Lindsay Hager's Blog
Today's guest is author Mindy McGinnis, who is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy.
While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.
She is is the author of Not a Drop to Drink and its companion, In a Handful of Dust, as well as This Darkness Mine, The Female of the Species, Given to the Sea, Heroine, and the Edgar Award–winning novel A Madness So Discreet. Find more info here at:
www.mindymcginnis.com/
Tell us about your work.
I write very gritty, intense novels for teens. I’m not scared to tackle the difficult questions, and often do so in a way that invites discussion. As a result, my books are often a love / hate situation for a lot of readers, and I’m fine with that. They’re both strong emotions, at least!
What was your favorite book when you were growing up?
Hard to say. I liked to collect series and often felt the need to re-read from the beginning if a new title in a series came out. So I read voraciously but I always returned to the Bunnicula series!
What is your favorite book now as an adult?
The Stand, by Stephen King is a perennial favorite for me.
I always reread my favorite books. Do you reread books and if so, which one(s) have you read over again?
The Stand, for sure. Also all of the Outlander books. Other than those, I’m not much of a re-reader.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Stephen King, Matt Haig, Val McDermid, Diana Galadon, Colleen McCullough – these are all authors I can depend on.
A lot of creatives (artists, writers, musicians) have talked about how the pandemic has impacted their creativity. How has it been for you?
It’s been okay, honestly. I worked from home before, so things didn’t change drastically for me. I actually started working out more intensely than before, because I knew the possibility for my anxiety and depression to spike was there. I’ve always been able to count on exercise to pull me out of ruts, so if anything the pandemic has made me healthier.
What is your writing schedule like?
I don’t write every day, but when I am actively working on a project I aim to write 1000 words a day, or 5000 in a week. If Thursday rolls around and I’m clocking a 0 word count, the next few days are going to hurt.
What are you working on now?
Not actively writing anything new. I’ve finishing up edits on my 2022 release, The Last Laugh, which is the second in a Poe-inspired duology.
You can find Mindy and all her social media pages here: : https://www.mindymcginnis.com/
Mindy's upcoming release, The Initial Insult, releases February 23, 2021.
2020 Ohioana Book Festival YA Panel
A discussion with some of the best and brightest of Young Adult fiction writers.
Moderator: Jody Casella
Panelists: Cinda Williams Chima, Dee Garretson, Mindy McGinnis, Kimberly Gabriel
Dear Lovely Universe: A Real Look Behind the Success of Mindy McGinnis
In this episode, I sit down with Mindy McGinnis who is a writer, published author, and podcaster to discuss what really happened behind the curtains of her writing career and how she got to where she is now. This episode is for you if you are an aspiring writer, podcaster, business aspiring/owner, creator, etc that is taking the route of personally making something of yourself.
Personally, I really enjoyed this conversation with Mindy. I resonated with what she said a lot, especially when she talked about how on this path if you don’t make it the only person who is really going to get disappointed is you. A lot of other people can cheer you on, but whether you fail or make it doesn’t affect them at all. I really hope that you find the time to listen to this episode because I think you will benefit from it. This description really doesn’t do the episode enough justice.
In this episode, we discuss:
What self-starting means to Mindy and her real-life experience.
Advice that she has for writers and entrepreneurs. (Mindy said that she believes anyone can be a writer. Of course, given that you put in the work.)
What she would like to say to people who ask themselves, “Why am I this way?”.
Why Mindy thinks it is important to persevere and accept your reality.
Where her inspiration for writing comes from.
And much more!
Author Chat with Mindy McGinnis
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I'm an avid hiker and ended up in a very remote Pennsylvania forest. I had an opinion about whether or not we should take a spur of the trail, and the person I was with had a different perspective. I didn't think we could get the spur in before night fell. He definitely thought we could. We ended up losing light fast, in an unfamiliar, extremely remote area, with dying flashlight batteries and a trail about as wide as your hand. We made it out around 10 PM and found the car, but there were some dark moments, including the idea that we might be spending the night out there, with no gear for that. I never thought we might actually get LOST, but it was a possibility. He was apologetic about the bad decision, and I told him I was okay with it, because I got an idea for a book out of the ordeal.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
This is a great question because my main character, Ashley, is alone for 90% of the book. She's lost in the woods, and as a writer, there's no one for her to talk to, bounce ideas off of, or interact with at all. You get to know your character really well when it's just the two of you. In the past, people have asked me which of my characters is most like me, in real life. The answer used to be Brooke, from This Darkness Mine. Now, it's Ashley. She is very much me, in a lot of ways.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Hmmm.... let's just say there's a moment of self-surgery that made me very happy, on a visceral level.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
The cover is fantastic, because it carries all the elements of the Smoky Mountains... but then if you step back and look at it, it's actually a Rohrschach. And there's a skull in there!
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I'm very excited about my release coming in 2021, The Initial Insult, which blends retellings of Edgar Allan Poe stories in a contemporary Appalachian setting. You can add it on Goodreads, here: https://www.goodreads.com/…/show/49200324-the-initial-insult
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
The most trouble for this book was the simple fact that Ashley is alone for 90% of the time. Not only that, but there are only so many things you can throw at someone when they are lost in the woods - injury, weather, animals, natural disaster. That's really it. So it's hard to keep things interesting and lively, when really what you're doing is narrating someone walking by themselves for 10 days.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Animals love me. Animals and babies. I will draw them all to me one day, and everyone else will die of loneliness.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
I support a wildlife rehabilitation center that is near where I live. They are constantly providing medical care for injured wildlife, and releasing them back into their home environment after healing. http://wildlifehaven.tripod.com/
Frolic Interview
Note From Frolic: Our resident YA expert Aurora Dominguez got the opportunity to interview author Mindy McGinnis and ask her five(ish) questions. Mindy’s novel ‘Be Not Far From Me‘ is out March 3rd!]
What was your inspiration behind your most recent novel?
I am an avid hiker, and often take vacations in places where I can get some hiking in. One such vacation was near a particularly dense Pennsylvania forest. The person I was with thought we could get a spur of the trail in before darkness fell. I didn’t think we could, and said so, but curiosity outweighed caution and we tried it. Hours later, with no overnight packs and failing phone batteries, we were in pitch black with a trail as wide as my hand, mostly searching for faded blazes on trees to mark our way. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. We did break out onto the trailhead around 11 PM. And no, I didn’t rub it in that I had been right about that spur. I was too grateful that we’d made it back to our car… and that a novel had been born while we wandered. But me being right about the spur totally came up the next day.
What character do you most relate to and why?
People ask me often what character of mine I’m most like. Ashley is definitely the answer. I grew up pretty hardscrabble, and a lot of the stories from her childhood are only slightly adapted from my own experiences.
Please describe the content of your latest book and what can readers expect from the read.
I pitch Be Not Far From Me as “drunk Hatchet, with a girl.” That pretty much sums it up. You can expect an angry, female Gary Paulsen vibe.
What’s next for you in the book world?
I’m very excited for my 2021 release, The Initial Insult, which blends retellings of Edgar Allan Poe stories in a contemporary Appalachian Ohio setting.
Who is your favorite writer right now and why?
I don’t tend to have favorite writers. I will pick up anything and give it a shot. I will say that anything by Tiffany D. Jackson has my vote!
Behind the Book Jacket
By Grace S. , West Jefferson HS Student
Author, podcaster, book saleswoman, and overall fascinating person Mindy McGinnis visited our school on October 24th, 2019. Media Specialist, Mrs. Kearns, scheduled her to come and give 50-minute talks to the middle school and high school about her novels.
Because of this, we all sat in on her presentation. Anybody can google her. I am interested in the discrete parts of her; the person she is behind the jacket photo. I had the opportunity to interview her in between sessions. We talked for 31 minutes about canned tomatoes, meat processing plants, and lobotomies.
I sat with Mindy and my best friend, Cory Ratcliff, at the first round table in the library waiting for Mrs. Kearns to get back from her lunch run. Once she got back, the questions started. Throughout the interview, kids interrupted with books for her to sign and questions about how to make their writing better. She obliged everyone.
First we talked about emotions. Since her books tend to cause so many people cry, I needed to know if she cries when she reads books or watches movies. She said she does, “especially if it’s about dogs,” and that she doesn’t have “a problem with getting completely emotionally invested into something.”
Fall is easily her favorite season. She enjoys the weather, the breeze, and the noises. In true author fashion, she launched into a descriptive rant about her love of the autumnal noises. “Fall has so many sounds. The dead leaves skittering, but also corn, so when the corn is dry, oh my gosh, those noises that it makes. It’s very special and very specific to corn,” said McGinnis. “All of those things, cicadas, bugs...Just even the bugs, everything is different in the fall. There is something about it. It gets me every time. I love it.”
Another thing she loves about the fall is the harvesting season. She is a farmer’s daughter, so fall has been a big farming season for her whole life. Panic is the mindset of the season because there is a narrow window between ripe crops and rotting vegetables that a farmer must straddle. McGinnis has gotten good at walking that fine line. She said, “Controlled chaos is probably one of my organs.”
Most of her stories take place in Ohio. She does this so that every type of kid can see themselves portrayed in a book. “I just like to write about regular people leading regular lives,” said McGinnis. She had been a librarian for five years before she started writing. She noticed a discrepancy in the socio-economic status of the characters in books and the kids reading them. “All the books that were really popular at the time were very much about rich kids and the sons and daughters of movie stars...Those were the books people were reading, those were the books that the kids liked, and they were all about really rich kids with rich kid problems. Where I’m from, we don’t have rich kid problems. [We have an] eighty percent free and reduced lunch kind of situation. I wanted to write a book that reflected their lives.” And so she wrote Not A Drop to Drink.
Her vocabulary when she speaks is obvious of a writer. She used big words such as “vignette”, “populating”, “burlesque” and “percolating” in our lax conversations. She said her favorite word is “circuitous” which means “round and round and round”.
Speaking of favorites, I asked her about her favorite music to listen to. She said she listens to music “all the time”. McGinnis's music taste changes frequently. At the time of this interview, she was listening to music by Caro Emerald. She describes her music as “1920s burlesque music". While that's what she was listening to then, she said that "next week it will be something different."
McGinnis is only still friends with one person from her high school. She went to a small high school similar to West Jeff and remarked how a lot of friendships made in small towns only exist because of the geography. She notes how that changes in college by saying, “When you go to college, you get to pick your friends. Geography isn’t dictating your friends. And the friends you make in college will be your friends for life.
Just like friendships, McGinnis said who a person is can also be dictated by geography. “Take me, and raise me in California, and I’m a different person.” She said she likes the Ohio version of herself because she is, “super casual and I’m really laid back and I don’t worry about much...I’m very country and I like being that. It’s who I am. It’s what I enjoy.”
Another thing McGinnis enjoys is being an author. “I love my job...I love being an author, I’m so lucky that I get to do this. It’s just a blessing.” Thankfully she’s had a good payoff; she has won multiple Edgar Awards and has written many poignant novels.
Even though she loves her job, she finds herself falling victim to procrastination. She said one time she defrosted the deep freezer when she needed to revise one of her novels. She jokes, “I was like, ‘This needs to be done, this hasn’t been done in years. Somebody’s got to do this.’”
She recognized that she is lucky because she has achieved her dream. She advises anybody who wants to have a career in the arts to “make that your plan B.” This tough love advice sounds bad, but she concedes, “You have to eat and you have to have a roof over your head and you have to pay your bills. And art, unfortunately, does not do that for 90% of the people that produce it.” That being said, she believes that it is worth it to follow your dreams.
One of the best parts of any Mindy McGinnis novel is the diverse and developed characters. In one of her most popular novels, The Female of the Species, even the “bad” characters still have humanitarian and likable traits, most notably Branley. McGinnis said she didn’t mean to make Branley that human when she first started writing the book. “Branley became a real person and I think it says a lot that it wasn’t my intention. She did it. And that made me think. What was I going to do? I was just going to write a dumb cheerleader? No, she wasn’t going to let that happen.” She creates her characters, but they teach her lessons.
This article physically can’t cover every topic Mindy and I dove into; it would literally be 10,000 words and we would be here for years. Mindy McGinnis is like the cool wine aunt that your mom doesn’t want you to talk to at family events because she speaks too much truth. I would do anything to have her be my aunt. I’m not kidding.
Real Issues. Real Conversations. An Ohio Humanities Podcast
SUMMARY
Rachel Claire Hopkin talks with Ohio author Mindy McGinnis about her new book, "Heroine."
SHOW NOTES
In this episode of Ohio Humanities’ Real Issues: Real Conversations podcast, Ohio author Mindy McGinnis talks about her latest YA novel Heroine(Harper Collins, 2019).
Mindy McGinnis is an Ohio-born-and-bred ninth generation farmer and an award-winning author of YA fiction. Mindy’s latest book, Heroine, has been described as “captivating and powerful exploration of the opioid crisis—the deadliest drug epidemic in American history—through the eyes of a college-bound softball star” and a “visceral and necessary novel about addiction, family, friendship, and hope.”
Beside authoring YA fiction, Mindy also blogs and podcasts about writers and the writing process under the title of Writer, Writer Pants On Fire.
Mindy McGinnis is interviewed by folklorist/radio producer Rachel Hopkin
The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music
Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment. This podcast is also made possible, in part, with support from The Ohio State University’s Humanities Institute.
Mindy McGinnis on Creating a Snow Globe of Writing Efficiency
Ep. 140
Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy. While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.
How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in it, and inspiration to get your own words flowing.
Six Questions: An interview with Mindy McGinnis
1) Do you think that personal experience with mental illness or addiction is necessary to write a book which deals with mental health or addiction?
I think a measure of it is useful, of course. And – if we’re being honest – pretty much all of is have that, either in our own experience or through loved ones. Having never been an addict myself (to substances, anyway), I wanted to be sure that I knew what I was talking about when I wrote this book. Research involved reading thousands upon thousands of pages about addiction, but also talking to counselors and addicts. The best compliments I’ve had for HEROINE is when a recovered addict tells me I got it right.
2) It’s clear that society is facing a massive addiction crisis, particularly when it comes to heroin. How much was your book inspired by that ongoing issue?
I got the idea for writing HEROINE after visiting a school district that had been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis in southern Ohio. That, combined with my own experiences as a school librarian for fourteen years (and an intense love of softball + respect for female athletes) were the two sticks that struck together to create the spark for the story.
3) More often then not, when we’re dealing with books about young adult and sports, it’s written as a male character; yours obviously has a female lead. Why do you think that is?
I was a YA librarian for 14 years in a public school system. I could count on one hand books that featured female athletes, and needed both hands to count off male authors who only wrote about male athletes. As a former high school athlete who was also a reader, I had to wonder – why the disparity? There’s no real reason. So I set out to plug that hole.
4) I noticed that a few of the reviews noted that the book made readers uncomfortable because of the subject matter. Is that level of discomfort a basic requirement when dealing with a topic this heavy?
It depends entirely on the reader. I’ve written books where people get set on fire, or nine year olds are shooting someone to protect their water source. I don’t pull punches and I don’t shy from rough topics. I show teens using drugs – and liking it – in this book. I’m sure it will make some people uncomfortable. That’s reality. It’s not pretty or nice or kind or comfortable.
5) Your book comes with a trigger warning about how has “realistic descriptions” of opioid use, and there has been a good amount of debate over the subject of trigger warnings in recent years. I’d love to hear your thoughts about why you included one and what your thoughts are on the subject generally.
I’ve never used trigger warnings in any of my books, regardless of the fact they all do feature pretty intense content. For this one, I chose to include a trigger warning because of the honest depictions of drug use. It’s not an after school special with people doing drugs and immediately hating themselves or puking. They do drugs and love how it makes them feel. I didn’t want a recovered addict to read a realistic description of the high of heroin, and miss it enough to relapse.
6) If you could do it again – anything you’d do differently with the book?
Too early to say. I can point to things in my older releases that I would do differently because I have some distance and time has passed since I wrote them. HEROINE is still too fresh to have that perspective.