Author Interview with Kristina McBride

What do you do when you're not writing? 

I love spending time with my family and friends. Preferably outdoors. My favorite thing to do, other than reading or writing, is to take a hike in the woods.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? 

Write. Write. And write some more. And don’t forget to read. It’s the best way to learn what to do . . . and, in some cases, what not to do.

What are your five favourite recent reads? 

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS – Rae Carson
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE – Sara Zarr
EVE – Anna Carey
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS – John Green
11/22/63 – Stephen King

What was the inspiration behind One Moment? 

This is going to sound kind of awful, but you asked, so here goes. My first book deal was for two books, but THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES wasn’t a series book, so the two books would be unrelated and stand alone. This was tricky, because after my first book was accepted, I started working diligently on my second. When I had 75-100 pages and a complete outline, my agent submitted all of this to my editor. And my editor rejected the book. Which was a horribly awful experience. My editor thought the idea was okay, but not dark enough to follow THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES, which, I agree, is quite dark. I was sad and upset and frustrated . . . so I decided to kill someone. (A character type of someone, not a real someone.) That’s dark, right? This was actually a pretty cool development, because I then started brainstorming all the ways I could kill a character. Which led to Joey’s little fall. And then the rest of the book. (And for the record, I am SO happy that my editor rejected that first idea, because if not for that, ONE MOMENT wouldn’t exist!)

How has it been different publishing a sophomore novel, compared to your debut, The Tension of Opposites? Has anything gotten easier? Harder? 

You know, I think the main thing that changed with ONE MOMENT is simply that I knew more of what to expect. I didn’t feel as defeated when I received a lengthy editorial letter, didn’t feel quite as antsy when I was in a waiting stage, and overall felt a little bit more confident. The whole process is difficult – almost every step of the way – but it’s a rewarding type of difficult that is so worth the struggle through to the end. 6. How would you sum up One Moment in five words? Tragic, heartbreaking, intense, thought-provoking, uplifting.

Kristina McBride has dreamed of being a published author since she was a child and lived across the street from a library. She loved her position as a high school English teacher for eight years, but decided to quit teaching and take a crack at her dream when she had her first child. She has two books for young adults: THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES (2010) and ONE MOMENT (2012). Kristina lives in Ohio with her husband and two young children, stealing as many moments as she can to write, write, write.

Thanks so much to Kristina for stopping by In The Next Room! To learn more about her novel, One Moment, stop by her website. Click here to check out the other stops on this tour.