THE SALEM WITCH TRYOUTS
by Kelly McClymer
YA Fantasy
www.KellyMcClymer.com
5 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, September 16, 2011!
About the Book:
Pru Stewart is at the top of her cheerleading game at her Beverly Hills High School, until her parents announce a sudden move across country. Not only is Pru going to have to change high schools, she's now going to a School for Witches. After being forbidden to do magic around mortals, she now not only has to take magic classes, she has to learn to cheer while flying -- literally.1) How did you get the idea for the novel?
I love telling this story. I got the idea for this story from mishearing something a speaker said at a writing panel on query hooks. The panelists were allowing audience participation in giving thumbs up or down to ideas, much like editors and agents have to do when they are queried. We were all having a lot of fun (I was thumbs up most of the time, which means I'd be a terrible agent or editor). And then they read off a title that sounded fantastic. The Salem Witch Tryouts. I sat forward, intrigued. Only to discover I'd misheard and it was the more traditional The Salem Witch Trials (another favorite history topic of mine). I couldn't help thinking that any book called The Salem Witch Tryouts would be interesting, and by the end of the panel, I had come up with the idea of a 16 year old cheerleading witch who has to transition from living like a mortal to living like a with -- complete with a change of high school, home, and team.
2) After this many books, how do you keep the content and story fresh? For you and your readers?
First, I'm a genre hopper. This annoys many readers, and I apologize to any I've annoyed along the way. But if the writer ain't happy, ain't nobody happy (to torture an adage almost beyond recognition). I've written short stories, novels, non-fiction, fantasy, romance, and science fiction. I have never written a thriller, and I don't expect to (just seeing a commercial for a horror movie gives me nightmares). But who really knows? Not me.
I let my characters speak to me. If they're constantly surprising me, then I can be assured they are doing the same for my readers.
3) This would make a great film. Any talks of turning your book into a movie?
Sony did take a 2 year option, but that has lapsed, so I think Hollywood has moved on to vampires and werewolves and dark witches. My funny Pru may come back into vogue one day, though. Fingers crossed. I really want to design a video game around her story, but I haven't had the time.
4) Thinking back to the way beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
I've learned to write in scenes. This probably sounds very simple, but for me it was not. I was an English major and most of my literary analysis was done with classics instead of the contemporary fiction I devoured outside of class. Gradually, I learned that the secret for me to keep the tension high, and the characters active was creating a scene that started with a challenge, upped the stakes all the way to the end of the scene -- which hopefully had a hook strong enough to make readers have to read the next scene, and the next.
I needed to do a lot of research for the Salem books because I was not a cheerleader in high school. My daughter was a cheerleader for two years, so I knew from the parenting side what was involved. Fortunately, I had some resources to bug with many questions about how things worked, and to help me figure out how they would work in mid-air, if the cheerleaders could fly.
About the Author:
Kelly McClymer started writing short science fiction stories, moved on to historical romance novels, and now writes YA with a fantasy twist. Recently having learned how to publish her backlist in ebook form, she is working on a series of connected short stories for her Salem Witch series to offer as ereads to those who want more of Pru, Samuel, Daniel and Dorklock. You can also visit the author online at: www.KellyMcClymer.com.
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1 comments:
Love the premise for the book and the story behind it. Sounds like this would be a fun read!
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