DEMETRA BRODSKY INTERVIEW AND DIVE SMACK GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Demetra Brodsky here to share about her YA psychological thriller DIVE SMACK. The blurb already has me intrigued. Demetra’s book released in June 2018 so I’m excited to pick her brain about what worked and what didn’t when her book released.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

Theo Mackey only remembers one thing for certain about the fire that destroyed his home: he lit the match.

Sure, it was an accident. But the blaze killed his mom and set his dad on a path to self-destruction. Everything else about that fateful night is full of gaping holes in Theo’s mind, for good reason. Maybe it’s better that way. As captain of the Ellis Hollow Diving Team, with straight A's and solid friends, he's only one semester away from securing a scholarship, and leaving his past behind.

But when a family history project gets assigned at school, new memories come rushing to the surface, memories that make him question what he really knows about his family, the night of the fire, and if he can trust anyone—including himself.

Hi Demetra! Thanks so much for joining us!

Thank you so much for having me. I’m so happy to share my writing journey with Literary Rambles readers.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I have a B.F.A. from The Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. I’m a three-time award winning Designer/Art Director. But the way I became a writer was a bit circumstantial. I lost my job as an Artist Manager in 2009 during the recession, like so many other people who were negatively affected, and decided to turn what some might see as a negative setback into an opportunity to follow a lifelong dream. I started freelancing designing and visiting the library with my youngest daughter who was devouring the Percy Jackson novels at the time. Being a first generation Greek American, the novels piqued my interest and led me to think about how much I’ve always wanted to write a book, even though I was pushed by family as a teenager to do something they deemed more practical. I took the chance I had, for better or worse, to freelance and dive (pun acknowledge, not intended) into writing. I knew virtually nothing about writing a book, but I set off for my local library to read as many books on the craft of writing as I could carry. That led to my first manuscript, which was, of course, a Greek Mythology. The rest is a long string of workshops, conferences, queries, and rejections until I was lucky enough to find representation that led to the publication of my debut novel.

2. Great how you transformed a hard situation into a positive change in your life. Where did you get the idea for DIVE SMACK?

I’ve always been drawn to stories about dark family secrets, but one of the seminal ideas for Dive Smack came from my friendship with 1992 Olympic Springboard Diver, Karen LaFace. The other comes from my love of hearing about people’s personal histories, as well as hearing about my own family’s history. My parents are Greek immigrants, and I’ve heard so many stories, both heartwarming and horrific about their lives, and the lives of my grandparents, that I began toying with the idea of writing a book about a boy who goes looking into his mother’s past. While I was deciding on a sport to give him, the idea for springboard diving presented itself as a great metaphor for his life spinning out of control. There’s a little more to it than that, but diving deeper into the novel’s inspiration would spoil all the twists.

3. What a great way to come up with an idea for a story.Your story sounds like a real page turner from reviews I read. How did you plot this out and make it a gripping story you don’t want to put down?

Thank you for the compliment. I did lay down a lot of breadcrumbs throughout the story and the way

I did that was by editing while I wrote the drafts, if I’m being honest. I know there’s a lot of advice out there that advises drafting quickly, but that’s not a technique that works for me. If I put something on page eighty-seven that I know I can reference with a hint on, let’s say, page seven, I go back and put that breadcrumb in, or at least a note to self that reminds me to do so, before going forward. The DIVE SMACK that eventually got printed is version thirteen of the story. I guess we can say some of those breadcrumbs got gobbled up in the revising. But if you read Dive Smack more than once, after getting through the twists and reveals, you should be able to spot the clues I left for the reader.

4. I write a lot like you. This is a psychological thriller with Theo trying to figure out what happened the night his mom died. What are some things you learned from writing this story about writing in this genre? 

DIVE SMACK taught me how much I prefer writing about monsters that exist in our everyday lives over mythical ones. Truth be told, Scooby Doo probably taught me that as I child, and I’ve held onto my love of seeing real monsters being unmasked by clever teens. I also learned to hold back gratification in order to make a reader suffer, by dropping smaller clues that built on each other over the course of a story. And I learned that I had the ability to scare myself. I really wanted DIVE SMACK to keep readers teetering on the edge of a proverbial diving board while they read.

5. Share a bit about Theo, your main character. Was it challenging at all to write from a male POV? Why? 

I honestly never had a problem writing from a male POV. Theo came to me fully formed. I always knew I was going to write this from his perspective. For me, writing is a bit like method acting. I just wholly assumed the characterization. I have two daughters, and I’m the youngest of three girls. My mother is also one of three daughters, and my father is the only male child in his family with five sisters. I guess that makes me a bit of outlier when it comes to writing what you know, but perhaps having a lot of male friends in high school helped.

Theo Mackey is a high school springboard diver that outwardly appears to have it all. He has good grades, good friends, and the girl he’s interested in is finally beginning to take notice. But underneath this façade there’s a darkness. He believes he’s responsible for the fire that took his mother’s life. And his dad, having never recovered from her death, dies in an car accident a year later. This leave Theo living with his alcoholic grandfather, a former fire chief that has no idea Theo feels responsible for the fire. To keep his grades up, Theo starts popping Adderall, a prescription given to him by his Uncle Phil, a psychiatrist and head of research at the local psychiatric hospital. When Theo gets assigned a family history project at school, new memories about the night of fire come rushing to the surface, making Theo question what he really knows about his family, the night of the fire, and if he can trust anyone—including himself.

Here are some random facts about Theo Mackey and why I love him:

He would do anything for his friends.

He likes his best friend Chip’s house better than his own.

He’s afraid of failure.

His crush on Iris Fiorello is hardcore.

He does the right thing even when he doesn’t want to.

He has two moles on his face.

He likes classic rock.

His car is named after Bumblebee the Transformer.

His teammates call him The Big Mack because he’s tall for a diver.

6. Your agents are Suzie Townsend and Devin Ross. How did they become your agents and what was your road to publication like? I know that you’ve described it as bumpy.

Suzie and Devin are amazing, first off, but they weren’t my first agents. I was represented by someone else for four years, and that’s the agent that sold Dive Smack. As you get further along in this business you start to assess what kind of partnership you want for your career. I adored my first agent, but I was looking for an agent, or agents in my case, that were a bit more proactive and could give me strong direction in terms of marketing, publicity, and my long-term career goals. It was a hard decision to leave my first agent and query again, considering it took me six years to find the first one, but in the end I know I made the right decision. I couldn’t be happier about my team, and I’m grateful every single day that they brought me into the New Leaf Literary family.

In terms of my journey being bumpy, I think new authors often fantasize that once they get the first book deal all the subsequent books will fall easily into place. That’s the dream, but it wasn’t the case for me. I offered my next book to my editor, and she didn’t love it enough to want to take on the project. That was quite a blow, because that book is hands down my favorite book I’ve written. When I was done licking my wounds, I went back to her with 13 new pitches and she chose the one that she liked the most, and that’s the book I’m currently working on.

7. I like your idea of pitches to an editor before writing a whole book. Your book released about seven months ago. What has surprised you about the time leading up to your book release and the months afterward? 

One of the things that surprised me the most around the entire publishing process was how slowly everything moves along, at least initially. Timelines quickly turns into a frenetic race to get everything done in the month or two leading to publication. Those two months are when the publisher and the author are trying to build awareness and momentum for the book and you’re answering a lot of interview questions and going to events and conferences, all while planning your launch party. In the months after, it’s important to keep that momentum going, which is no small feat. I had it in my head that people must be getting sick of hearing about my book, but I also didn’t want it to fall out of sight. I think there’s a delicate and precarious balance between keeping awareness going and cramming your book down the everyone’s social media feeds.

8. What did you do to promote your book both leading up to its release and once it did release? What do you think worked and what didn’t? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Bloggers, like yourself, have been a godsend for me. I reached out to some bloggers a few months before release, choosing a handful that posted about loving thrillers, and so many of them got back to me with great enthusiasm. Not only that, they helped me make contact with other bloggers in their circle, and the love for DIVE SMACK spread outward from those connections. They raised so much awareness for my book, helped me with giveaways and cross-promotion, invited me to be a guest on their podcasts, and hosted blog tours. I honestly couldn’t have done it without them. They were a lifeline filled with hope and possibility that made the journey so enjoyable. Another thing I did was get on the phone with an outside publicist, suggested to me by favorite blogger. I spoke to that publicist for an hour, which worked for my budget, and she made some valuable suggestions about my social media marketing efforts. I joined International Thriller Writers, who has an incredible debut author program. I reached out to different festivals and said yes to any and all panels invitations. I also joined forces with other debut thrillers authors so we could put together monthly group giveaways. That was fun and a great way to gain more followers and readers.

One of my biggest and best supporters is Mysterious Galaxy, my local bookstore here in San Diego. The owners and booksellers were instrumental in spreading the word about my book. They even got it into the local newspaper, and helped get me a spot on a panel at Comic Con International. I am so grateful to have this incredible, and actively bookish group of people so close to home. They once introduced me before a panel by saying I felt like family. The feeling is mutual.

There wasn’t anything I found that didn’t work. All awareness for a book is good awareness. If I had to do anything differently, I might have started making new contacts at least six months or more before publication to accommodate the schedules of bloggers. 

9. All this is such great advice. Thanks for sharing everything that worked for you. Now that you have gone through a debut book release, what advice do you have for other writers who will become a debut author in the future?

Learn about book marketing and try to develop a plan for how you’re going to raise awareness for you book early on. Make schedules and stick to them. And above all else be gracious, giving, and kind to bloggers and booksellers. Many of them blog and evangelize the books they love for free and on their own time, out of a place of devotion to reading, and they are truly the most giving group of people I’ve ever met.

10. What are you working on now?

At the moment, my projects are slightly under wraps, but I can say I have a YA thriller about three sisters who uncover some secrets close to home, and maybe the end of the world as we know it. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to . . . Well, I’m a thriller writer, you know how the rest of that saying goes. But please, stay tuned for things to news to come. I’m looking forward to making some announcements soon.

Thanks so much for sharing, Demetra. You can find Demetra at:

Instagram: @demebrodsky

Twitter: @demetrabrodsky.

Tumblr: http://demetrabrodsky.tumblr.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demetrabrodsky
https://www.facebook.com/demetrabrodskyauthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32173182-dive-smack

Website: http://www.demetrabrodsky.com

Demetra has generously offered a signed hardback of DIVE SMACK for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through January 19th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This giveaway is U.S.

Here's what's coming up

Monday, January 14th I have an interview with Amy Tipton, a former agent who has an editorial service with a query critique or five-page critique giveaway--winner's choice

Monday, January 21st I'm off

Monday, January 28th I have an interview with debut author Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo and a giveaway of her MG contemporary RUBY IN THE SKY

Wednesday, February 6th I have a guest post by debut author Addie Thorley with her agent Katelyn Detweiler with a giveaway of Addie's YA historical fantasy AN AFFAIR OF POISONS and a query critique giveaway by Katelyn

Monday, February 11th I have an interview with debut author Astrid Scholte and a giveaway of her YA fantasy FOUR DEAD QUEENS

Wednesday, February 13th I have an agent spotlight interview and query critique giveaway with Amy Stapp

Hope to see you on Monday!