Welcome back, readers, to the 2016 Debut Author Series! March was full of great debut novels, so I couldn’t resist posting twice.
For those of you just joining, I’ve been hosting a 2016 Debut Author Series, where I post short, Proust-inspired questionnaires with a 2016 debut author every month. Our fourth author is the wonderful Kerry Klettler, author of The First Time She Drowned.
- What character trait would you thieve from someone else (and who from)?
Quick-wit from author Jeff Zentner who makes me laugh so loud every day that I feel like I’m constantly scaring my neighbors.
- What’s the last lie you told?
That a mouse broke into the freezer and ate all the ice cream. I don’t think I was believed. - If you could punch one person on the planet with absolutely no repercussions, who would it be?
Anyone who would deliberately hurt a child. Then again I can’t imagine a lower depth of misery than being that kind of person so maybe life already has punched them…? - What possession do you consider your “precious”?
So, something you’d fight to the death for on the slopes of Mt. Doom. My surfboard. - Best one line writing advice you’ve ever gotten?
Study screenplay structure. (Thank you Jennifer E Smith!) - What book do you wish you’d written?
Well first of all, yours! Beyond that, oh, so many. I think the books I always wish I’d written are books that capture something I want to say or that resonate with me on a very personal level. So OLIVE KITTERIDGE and THE PRINCE OF TIDES in adult lit. In YA, Jennifer Niven’s ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES, David Arnold’s MOSQUITOLAND and Jeff Zentner’s THE SERPENT KING. There are other books I have loved as much and thought were equally as brilliant, but those were the ones that conveyed very specific things that I feel deeply about.
- You can only listen to one song for the rest of your life. What is it?
This is cruel Sabaa. Maybe something old school and chill like James Taylor Rockabye Sweet Baby James because it’s happy and soothing and brings back good memories. Could suit a lot of moods. - You magically obtain the ability to cast one and only one spell from the Harry Potter universe—but you can cast it as much as you like. Which one is it?
Oh boy! Probably Legilimens. I know it could be potentially painful to know the thoughts of others so there’s definitely a big downside, but I also imagine it would build so much understanding and empathy to see other people’s memories. - With only your wit and an oft-malfunctioning magic wand, you are forced into a death match with either Shelob, the enormous spider from Lord of the Rings, or Voldemort. Who do you choose?
Voldemort. I’m bug phobic. - Describe your debut novel in one sentence.
Released from a psychiatric ward after years of being locked up for something she insists she didn’t do, Cassie O’Malley struggles on the outside as dark secrets from her past emerge and the estranged mother who had her committed reappears, throwing everything Cassie believes about herself into question.
The First Time She Drowned was released on March 15, 2016. You can follow Kerry on Twitter, @kkletter.
Thank you for your participation, Kerry! And as always, thank you READERS! Check back soon for more debut author interviews (: