Eleven Up: Interview with Gretchen McNeil, author of POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil, author of POSSESS

Wait, what?

Shhh. Just go with it.

Um, okay. So I’m ever so pleased to welcome the amazingly talented, dazzlingly charming and absolutely perfect in every –

Really?

Too much?

Yeah, tiny bit.

Fine! Sheesh. What’s the point of interviewing myself if I can’t have a little fun with it? Anyway, I’d like to welcome Gretchen McNeil to the blog.

Here’s the scoop on her YA horror/paranormal debut POSSESS from Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Sounds awesome, right? Okay, here we go!

So Gretchen, how did you come up with the idea for POSSESS?

Why are you asking me questions you already know the answer to?

Well, technically, this is for the blog readers. And since they, hopefully, aren’t in our head, I think you’ll probably need to elaborate a tad.

Oh. Right. Sorry, this is already getting confusing.

Tell me about it.

Anyway, I wanted to write something creepy and in the horror vein. Some of my dearest reading memories from my childhood and teen years were reading scary stories. Everything from SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK to R.L. Stine to gothic tales like WUTHERING HEIGHTS and THE WOMAN IN WHITE. Reading with a flashlight under the covers, that creepy cold feeling spreading down your spine, every hair on the back of your neck standing straight up. Love it!

So I wanted to do that and when I started to think about the things that scare me the most, exorcisms and demonic possession were right at the top of the list.

Do you think being possessed is kind of like hearing more than one voice in your head? Or interviewing yourself on a blog?

I can only assume so. Only less annoying.

Right. Now, exorcism and demonic possession are sort of out of the common realm of experience for most people. Did you do a lot of research?

I did. I’m a big, nerdy researcher by nature, and I amassed a wild collection of first hand accounts by exorcists and demonologists from all around the world. I found the most compelling books to be the ones written from a skeptic’s viewpoint.

And did you attend any exorcisms? Maybe try one out on yourself.

*glares* No, but maybe I should have.

Moving on, tell us a little about Bridget Liu, your protagonist.

Bridget’s kind of a wounded bird in many ways. She has a secret she’s hiding from everyone close to her, she’s dealing with a traumatic personal loss, she has problems at home, a non-existent love life and a girl at school who’s making her life a living hell. She’s fiercely protective of her feelings and tends to push people away, rather than let them in.

Unlike you.

Yeah, well that might change. Move over, you’re hogging the sofa.

Sorry. And why did you choose to make Bridget bi-racial?

You mean what made us decide?

Yes, whatever! JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!

Simmer down. POSSESS is set in my hometown of San Francisco, and I wanted it to look like the San Francisco I know. My high school was 40% Asian. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Taiwanese. There was a tremendous range of diversity just within the Asian community. I wanted my characters to reflect that heritage.

So, scary story, set in San Francisco, half-Asian main character. Huh. What else do you want to talk about?

Aren’t you supposed to be driving this interview train?

You mean aren’t we?

Whatever. This joke is getting old.

Fine. How about you explain why you’re simultaneously an Apocalypsie and a 2011 debut author?

You had to go there, didn’t you?

Kinda hard to avoid it, given the circumstance.

Well, POSSESS was originally scheduled for Winter 2012, then got bumped up to Fall 2011. Funnily enough, I do have a book scheduled for Fall 2012 now. It’s called TEN, also with Balzer + Bray. It’s a horror/suspense novel about ten teens trapped on an island getting hunted down by a serial killer one-by-one.

Ah, I see. So a light and fluffy follow-up to POSSESS.

Funny.

I try.

Try harder.

Well, I’d say it’s about time to wrap up this little exercise in schizophrenia. Why don’t you tell us – them – everyone – what I is you do in your free time.

Sure! Before my writing career, I was an opera singer. Oh, and a television producer. Oh, and a voice over artist. I don’t really do any of those things anymore, but I do sing with a circus troupe here in Los Angeles. Cirque Berzerk. We’ve been performing since 2008 and it’s an incredible, amazing, whacky and utterly fulfilling experience.

I don’t think anyone is surprised that you’re in the circus.

Yeah. Probably not.

Okay! So a big round of applause for me and be sure to look for POSSESS on shelves August 23, 2011 from Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins.

Ciao!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debut with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins, August 23, 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2012 release. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday."

POSSESSION Giveaway Winner!

Thank you all SO much for entering our Apocalypsies POSSESSION giveaway! I want to thank Elana for donating the ARC and giving such amazing advice in her interview. All of us in the writing community are lucky to have her as a colleague!

So all of the entries were assigned a number and then I mosied over to random.org to select the winner who is...

SARA M!

WOO HOO!!!!!

Sara, I'll be contacting you via email about your prize and to everyone else who entered, never fear! POSSESSION is available in bookstores now. :)

Eleven Up: Interview and Giveaway with Elana Johnson

Gretchen McNeil here, and I have an ANNOUNCEMENT!!! I have an ARC of POSSESSION which we are giving away as part of this interview. Details below...

But for now, let me introduce one of my favorite people in the YA writing community: Elana Johnson.

First off, the novel - POSSESSION.

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Awesome right? Now for Elana...

When Elana and I were discussing what we wanted to do for this interview, we immediately latched onto the idea of doing an interview that would benefit both the Apocalypsies and the book blogging readership as a whole. For those of you who don't know, Elana has been involved in the online writing community for many years. She has been involved with QueryTracker.net, blogs with the League of Extraordinary Writers and is one of the founders and organizers of WriteonCon. In addition, she's written one of the best how-to-write-a-query-letter manifestos of all time in FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL and has shared advice with writer and bloggers alike on BUILDING A BETTER BLOG.

Right? Talk about a Rockstar.

I remember when I originally heard that POSSESSION had sold. While I'm always happy for the successes of other writers, Elana's sale filled me with singular glee. It's always amazing when a writer that has given so much to the community has overwhelming success. She doesn't know it, but I'm a fangirl.

So without further ado, I give you Elana Johnson's BEST ADVICE WHEN LAUNCHING A BOOK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Put on your happy face. You know how the Internet is a public place? And you know how people get all awkward when someone unloads all their problems? Yeah, don’t do that.

Put on your happy face. On your blog. On twitter. On Facebook. It’s okay to say you’re sick or that you need a vacation, but that’s about the extent of things. In my non-professional opinion, I didn’t ever put anything about how edits were killing me, or that there was no way I could make my deadline—and I’ve seen a number of authors do that.

For me, I wanted my editor and agent to think that everything, and I mean everything, was smooth sailing in the Elana Johnson Edit World. Even if I had no freaking clue how to fix something, and I might be pulling an all-nighter to get those edits done.

Keep those convos for your CP’s and besties through email.


2. Ask a lot of questions. If you’re like me, you don’t want to “bother” your agent/editor with the little things.

Get over yourself. Do it anyway. Just do it in a way that it seems like you’re asking because you want to know, not because you’re concerned. Or because you’re unhappy with what’s happened or what will happen.

That’s the fine line. You have to ask neutrally.

I found that the more informed I seemed, the better response I received. From everyone. My agent. My editor. My publicity and marketing team. When I met them in New York, they all said, “You know so much.” Or “You’re in the know.”

Secret: I’m not. I’m just really good at pretending like I am. I do this by asking detailed and specific questions of the right people at the right time. So ask yourself, “Should I ask my agent or editor this?” And “Is this something I can figure out and then ask a clarifying question that is specific to my book?” Or “Should I email This-Other-Amazing-Author-Who-Might-Know first?”

But don’t be afraid to ask questions.


3. Find a support group. You will need them. Unless you’re like, a sociopath or something. Trust me, you will need them. And it needs to be someone who won’t hate you when you email five times a day for reassurance or whining.


4. Use your connections. You may not even know you have them. For example, I just discovered that the Customer Service Rep at my local Barnes & Noble is the father of three girls I teach. So I emailed him to say so. He then sent out an email to all the teachers who hold Educator cards in my county (that’s three districts!) to tell them about the local author and fellow teacher who’s having an event.

You may not have that. You might. You NEVER know where your contacts will come from. So be sure to follow #1 and have your happy face on all the time. Listen. Lurk. You’ll find connections that will help you network.


5. Don’t try to be old when you’re new. Right now, you’re new. You’re a debut author. No one is going to treat you like Brandon Mull or Holly Black. Schools are not going to be clamoring for your attention. Conferences aren’t going to feature you as their keynote speaker.

Yet.

Just accept the fact that you’re new. Unproven. Valuable, yes. But you’re not old yet. And that’s okay. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aspire to speak at conferences or sign at book festivals. It just means that most people (organizers and librarians and educators) aren’t going to fall all over you until you have a product. And that product is your book.

So have patience, Obi Wan. You’ll get there. ‘


6. Let your publicist and marketing department do their job. I know we’ve all heard over and over that every author has to do some self-promotion. This is true. But really, let your publicist do their job. Let the marketing team as well. They have better and stronger connections than you do, trust me. For example, my publicist sets up my newspaper interviews. She gets me into book festivals. The marketing people send out my ARCs. They design and help with promotional things, like banners and contests.

Find the things you can do, and do those. (Some things are blog tours, ARC contests, generating buzz, participating in online forums to get your name out there, etc.)


7. Don’t compare yourself to other authors. I’m 99% sure that most of you have been comparing yourself and your experience to mine as you’ve been reading this. I can hear you going, “She has a publicity team and a marketing team? Will I get that?? What if I don’t???”

Don’t panic. And don’t compare. Not all titles receive the same marketing money. It is a fact of life. Your book is already a success because somebody bought it. They believe in it. They want it to do well.

No matter what, at the end of all this, you’ll have a published book. And not everyone can say that.

So no comparing. You may not get on the BEA Buzz Panel. Few do. You may not be the next J.K. Rowling. Few are.


8. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is a huge accomplishment! Enjoy yourself. Don’t get all caught up in cover art and that so-and-so got their ARCs first. That sucks all the joy from your publishing experience. Trust me, I know.

This is a big roller coaster. And you’re on it, and you can’t get off. Don’t try. Don’t wish you could. Enjoy the ride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For someone like me who's launching a book in just under three months, this advice is priceless. I suspect for anyone who's writing a book or thinking about writing a book... it's priceless as well. Wow. Awesome.

So do you want to read the amazing POSSESSION that literally the entire Interwebz is talking about? HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!

The Rules:

Follow the Apocalypsies Blog: +1 entry

Tweet about this Interview: +1 entry

Facebook or Blog about this Interview: +2 entries each

Total your points with links and your email address in the comments.

This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Contest is open until 9pm PST Thursday, June 9th, and the winner will be announced on this blog Friday, June 10th.

Ready? O-K!

The End (Of The Month) Is Nigh!

Yes, we're a new group, but we still have news! As we grow we'll have more frequent posts about what we're up to, but here's what's going on with us so far as 2010 draws to a close:

Deal news for Veronica Rossi: Veronica's UNDER THE NEVER SKY is making a big splash internationally, and the dystopian romance series has been optioned by Warner Brothers. Read more in this Publishers Weekly article.

U.S. sale for Susanne Winnacker: Susanne's debut THE OTHER LIFE first sold to Usborne in the U.K, and this month Marshall Cavendish picked up the novel for publication in the U.S. Both publishers plan to release the novel in 2012.

POSSESS book trailer: Check out the awesome trailer for Gretchen McNeil's POSSESS. Spooky!


We're keeping busy as a group, adding new members each week, getting our individual bios posted, interviewing the 2011 debut Elevensies, and of course writing--revising or copyediting our debuts, or working on our next books.


Happy New Year, everyone!

Gretchen McNeil: POSSESS

BIO: Gretchen McNeil writes YA urban fantasy, paranormal and historical fiction and is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown. She is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is a founding member of vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday" and is an active member of The Enchanted Inkpot, a group blog of YA and middle grade fantasy writers. Born and raised in San Francisco, Gretchen currently resides in Los Angeles.

DEBUT: POSSESS (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Fall 2011)

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu discovers (a) she's a teenage exorcist, (b) the rash of demonic possessions in her home town of San Francisco are not isolated incidents, and (c) she's the only one who can stop them.

View the POSSESS trailer!

5 BOOKS FOR THE APOCALYPSE: Pride and Prejudice, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Scarlet Pimpernel