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Kit Grindstaff Interview 8/10/2013 8:10:34 PM
Fantasy Author Kit Grindstaff discusses her MG novel and the writing life! LTS: I love introducing readers to exciting new talent on the rise and Kit Grindstaff is no exception! She is making a name for herself as a talented author of MG fantasy and her novel The Flame in the Mist is cultivating quite the audience. I’d like to begin by having you share a little information about yourself with our readers, Kit. What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
KG: Sure! I love reading, walking, hanging out with hubby, with friends, girls’ nights out, riding my bike, yoga. watching movies, eating sushi….And even though it’s my official “day job”, writing songs. I’ve had so little time for it recently that I’m itching to get back to it.
LTS: You’ve had a very exciting life as a pop performer and songwriter! When did writing stories for children happen? Was it always your dream to become a published author?
KG: I always loved writing stories, and when I was about 7 thought briefly about being an author when I grew up. I even made up a pen name: Jean Bracklesham. (I know. The mind boggles.) After that short burst of literary ambition, though, I never considered writing fiction for a living. Perhaps because in my tweens, pop music entered my radar big time, and then at 14 or so I became interested in psychology, which ended up being my degree subject.
So the first serious seed of writing for kids didn’t come till my early 20s, when I wrote a rhyming picture book illustrated by my artist sister. After that, music took over as a career. But that seed kept pushing up at the back of my mind for years till eventually I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
LTS: I read an excerpt from your debut novel, The Flame in the Mist, and I love how your writing style drew me immediately into the story! What was the inspiration behind this story and can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist, Jemma Agromond?
KG: Ooh, good to hear that you were drawn right in! The initial inspiration came from a workshop I took where participants were asked to write about their childhoods as a fairy tale. I wrote about a girl who lived in an isolated castle high on a crag—no, I never lived in a castle! But we’re talking fairy tale, so I morphed the facts: Growing up in house a couple of miles from the nearest village, which at 2 or 3 felt like a huge distance, plus having little contact with kids outside the family on a daily basis until I went to school, which gave an added sense of isolation. Then in my teens, I’d fantasize that I’d been dropped into the wrong family. Those things provided key ingredients for the setting of Jemma’s story: Agromond Castle, miles from the nearest village, and Jemma literally being in the wrong family. (See below!)
About Jemma, she’s a healer, a shaman of sorts—which she doesn’t know at first. As well as having supernatural powers, she’s resourceful and courageous, and humanly headstrong, and often doesn’t listen to advice. Oh, and she has two indispensible friends, Noodle and Pie, who are telepathic golden rats.
LTS: Telepathic golden rats? I love it! Now, without giving away too much, can you reveal what’s in store for the readers when they crack open The Flame in the Mist?
KG: It’s a dark fantasy based in a parallel, past-tymes version of England (where I’m from). There’s ghosts, a couple of monsters, the very nasty antagonists, the Agromond family—and main character Jemma, who makes the shocking discovery the night before her thirteenth birthday that the Agromonds are not her family at all, but abducted her as a baby in order to steal her powers…and so her adventures begin. Throw in some mystery (who is she, really? What’s the story behind her real family’s long vendetta with the Agromonds?), some adventure (she can hardly hang around at Agromond Castle once she discovers the grim truth), and the allies who help her (the main ones being Noodle and Pie, and friend-slash-crush Digby) and, later on in the book, a few ancestors and otherwordly beings, and that should give readers a flavor of the book!
LTS: The road to publication is difficult at the best of times. Was it difficult for you to land an agent? Do you have any advice you’d like to share with the author struggling to find representation?
KG: Actually, I don’t have an agent, so I’m not the best advice on that one. I did query a few, though, before I met my editor, and know from experience that we often think we’re ready to start submitting when we’re not! Looking back at the ms I first sent out…well, it’s a long way from the book it became. So once you think you’ve finished your manuscript, wait. At least 2 months. Then revise. Then have at least a couple of trusted beta readers give you feedback, and revise again. At that point, you might just be ready!
Also, having a tight query letter is essential. Research what each agent is looking for and don’t submit something out of their stated preferences.
LTS: Becoming a published author is truly a difficult road to travel. Can you share that exciting moment when you sold your story to Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s Books)?
KG: Love to! It was really a series of moments. I met my editor at a SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference. Any would-be children’s author reading this who is not a member – sign up now! Whether you’re a picture book writer, illustrator, middle grade author, or YA, the SCBWI runs fantastic conferences which often provide opportunities to meet, and have critique sessions with, agents and editors. If an editor from a major house requests to see your work, then you can send it to them without an agent. That’s what happened to me. I was assigned to Michelle Poploff of Delacorte Press, and at the end of my session, she requested the whole manuscript. That was thrill number 1…many walking-on-air days followed!
A month after sending Michelle the ms, I received an email from her saying she was interested and was sending it back, along with an editorial letter. That, and its arrival next day in a Random House labeled envelope was thrill number 2. I mean…a RANDOM HOUSE envelope! Those little houses on the logo…being delivered to my home!!
Michelle asked for quite a few revisions, which took months (various things held me up, including my father’s passing), but once I resubmitted, she got back to me within three weeks saying she wanted to acquire the book. And THAT was thrill number 3, and definitely the loudest of all!
LTS: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on the road to publication?
KG: Patience! Keep honing your manuscript. Get critiques, whether from peers or query rejections. Give critiquers’ comments serious consideration, especially those you really don’t want to hear! And be prepared to kill some darlings.
Caveat: you need to know who to trust to give you accurate feedback. Some people can even be undermining, though thank goodness that’s rare. It took a while for me to find the 2 or 3 friends I now exchange work with.
LTS: Still on the subject of writing styles, are you a plotter or pantser? The readers would like to know if you tend to plot out your story line in great detail or if your writing is more organic with the characters and events unfolding as you write.
KG: I’m both. I like to outline and know where I’m going, but also give myself free rein within those boundaries. When characters do or say things that surprise me, I think that makes the story surprising for the reader too. Several people have told me that the twists and turns in The Flame in the Mist kept them on their toes and is one of the things they loved about the book. In all likelihood, those twists and turns weren’t planned!
That said, though, sometimes unexpected tangents can get a bit unwieldy and need to be reined in. It’s important to keep in mind where the story’s going, and that all the narrative ultimately needs to serve that end.
LTS: Some authors meditate, others need to fuel up on coffee or listen to music. Do you have any rituals, ones that can be shared with the readers, that you must do before you hunker down for a writing session?
KG: Not really. I occasionally meditate to find the answer to a stuck point—the whole prologue came to me that way, for example. The only thing I find works consistently for me is to write first thing, before the rest of life distracts me! And a cup of tea definitely helps. Oh, and I never listen to music while I’m writing.
LTS: At one time or another, most writers hit the wall and their work stalls because of the dreaded writer’s block. What do you do to get around or over this mental wall to resume writing?
KG: When it’s a really big one that meditating won’t shift, I’ll do writing exercises, journal, free-write—things to loosen the cogs. But sometimes I do something completely different. Go for a walk, to the movies, call a friend…My mind often works best when I’m not hassling it.
LTS: Who is your favourite author and how has he/she inspired you to write or influenced your writing style or choice of genre?
KG: As a kid my favorite author was Enid Blyton. She wrote mystery adventures, so I’m sure that’s where that side of my writing came from. I’ve also always loved historical fiction, Dickens being a prime Brit example—my taste for foggy historical English settings probably comes from him. A more recent favorite historical author is Philippa Gregory, especially her books set in Tudor times. She recently started writing YA historical too, but I haven’t read any of those yet.
When I set out studying kidlit and taking fiction writing courses, an author who definitely inspired my choice of genre was Philip Pullman. I loved the book’s main character Lyra and the parallel England of The Golden Compass. Then of course there’s Harry Potter. Terrific story telling and world building. But in both cases, the fantasy worlds, like that in The Flame in the Mist, are based in recognizable reality.
LTS: What do you foresee in your future over the next five years and do you hope to branch out from YA fantasy into other genres? Can your fans expect a sequel to The Flame in the Mist in the near future?
KG: I see more books! I’m not a fast writer, though (No NaNoWriMo for me, though it’s a useful tool), so over five years…Hmm. I’d hope for another three books out. And yes, although The Flame in the Mist was bought as a standalone, I’m writing a sequel, andby the end of the year plan also to start on at least one of three other ideas I have brewing. So far, they’re all YA or MG, but I’ve had a picture book idea too—I’m just not sure yet how to write it! I don’t discount the idea of writing adult fiction some day too. We’ll see…Oh, and I’m sure there’ll be a few more songs along the way!
LTS: Thank you so much for taking time from your crazy, busy book tour schedule to share in your writing experiences and your story, Kit! I’ll catch you on Twitter!
Ok, Lorna! Thank you so much for interviewing me and hosting me on your blog—and for being such a generous tweep. All the best with your movie projects!
For more information about Kit Grindstaff and her novel, please check out:
Website:
Follow Kit on Facebook and on Twitter: .kitgrindstaff
Where to buy the book: Amazon, BN.com, Indiebound
