On Transitioning After a Debut Book Release: Author Mackenzie Reed and The Wilde Trials Giveaway and My IWSG Post

 Happy New Year Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Mackenzie Reed back to celebrate the upcoming release of her YA thriller The Wilde Trials. She shared a fantastic guest post on rules to follow when you write a mystery when her debut novel, The Rosewood Hunt, was released in October 2023. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and am excited to read Mackenzie’s newest release.

Here's a blurb from Goodreads:

From the acclaimed author of The Rosewood Hunt comes a thrilling new mystery about a high-stakes competition packed with shocking twists, second chances, and deadly deceit, where allies—and enemies—are the people you’d least expect.

Chloe Gatti will do whatever it takes to win her elite boarding school’s annual competition, the Wilde Trials. In the two weeks leading up to graduation from Wilde Academy, a dozen seniors are chosen to compete in a series of seven ultimate physical and mental tests, and the winner will take home over half a million dollars—money that Chloe needs to help her sick sister.

But the competition is fierce, and includes her brooding ex-boyfriend, Hayes Stratford, whose brother was the only student to die during the Trials a few years ago. When someone starts blackmailing Chloe during the competition, she’s forced to strike a deal with Hayes—if he helps her discover who is sabotaging her, she’ll help him solve the mystery his brother left behind.

Following clues from Hayes’s brother, the unlikely allies discover that something isn’t right about the Wilde Trials. With a lifechanging prize looming over her head and her buried feelings for Hayes rising to the surface, Chloe will have to decide what’s really worth fighting for, and if the cost of competing outweighs the potential consequences, even if that includes ending up like Hayes’s brother—dead.

Fans of Jessica Goodman and Maureen Johnson will love this dark academia thriller with a romantic twist!

Before I get to Mackenzie’s interview, I have my IWSG post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: Rebecca Douglass, Beth Camp, Liza @ Middle Passages, and me!

Optional Question: Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of them change when you grew up? 
I’m going to skip the optional question. As some of you know, I post one to two middle grade author interviews and guest posts and join with a group of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday bloggers. Some of us in the group have been having Zoom meet-ups. One of the things we’ve been discussing is how to get more readers to read our group’s book reviews, interviews, and guest posts to help our blogs and the authors we feature.

One way to increase readership is to get more bloggers to join our group. We would then try to read and comment on each other’s blog posts like we do for the IWSG. People who join the group do not have to post something every Monday or read everyone’s blog post.

A few of us also review young adult books and feature young adult authors. We’re also thinking of starting a similar young adult group one or two Wednesdays each month.

Are any of you interested in joining one or both of these groups? Do you know any bloggers who might want to join us? If so, please email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com. Thanks so much for your help.

Interview With Mackenzie Reed

Hi Mackenzie! Thanks so much for joining us.

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

I grew up in a very creative family that always really encouraged my love of storytelling. When I was 10, I wrote my first song, and then I went on to primarily focus on songwriting throughout high school. In middle school, I rediscovered my love of reading and set out to write a book. I actually didn’t finish it until I was in college, but after that, I couldn’t stop! That book turned into a trilogy which I queried agents with. I ended up needing to shelve it, but then the next book I wrote connected me with my current agent. All in all, I’d always been a writer, it just took me a bit to realize books were the medium I wanted to make a career with.

2. It’s cool that you kept writing even though your first book took so long to finish and then loved writing. Where did you get your idea for The Wilde Trials?

The main characters – Chloe and Hayes – have been with me for ages. They’re angry exes who have to team up to solve a mystery, and that dynamic had really stuck with me, so I knew that whatever I wrote next, I wanted them at the center. I combined that with my love of competition books like The Hunger Games and Panic. I’ve been really into dark academia and went to a competitive private school myself, so the idea that teens could literally compete for the coveted valedictorian title felt like something I would love to read. Setting is also a big deal to me, so hosting the competition at the original school which is essentially an abandoned estate deep in the forest felt so delightfully creepy and like the perfect grounds for an increasingly dangerous competition full of morally gray academic rivals. Whenever I dream up new ideas, I like to think of what question it answers. This one is definitely: What would you do to win? Chloe’s answer is: Whatever it takes.

Your Writing Process: On Writing a Second Thriller

3. From the tips you shared in your guest post when The Rosewood Hunt was released, it sounds like you have a good system when plotting out a thriller. Has your process changed at all for The Wilde Trials or as you are writing new manuscripts? Also, how have you sped up the process of plotting out your stories now that you’re published and need to keep selling books on a regular basis?

Such a great question! The Wilde Trials was a little more mystery heavy, so something I had to be conscious of was making the setting work for the plot. I had to figure out how to move my characters throughout the estate in a way that kept the plot moving but also furthered the mystery. My process is still pretty similar, but I did have a revelation that as much as I plot books beforehand, I never really nail down the specifics of Act 2 (also known as the Fun and Games section) until I’m drafting it. This used to be incredibly frustrating, but now I’m giving myself the grace to have fun with it and trust myself to figure it out as I go, and it’s been a monumental shift.

4. It’s always great when you figure out a system that works for you. Good mysteries and thrillers not only have strong plots with lots of twists but also compelling characters. Share how Chole developed as a character and about your character development process in general.

Creating compelling characters is so incredibly important to me because they often drive my books. Chloe

started as a character that is very head strong and intelligent, but with an undercurrent of always feeling like she has something to prove. Her initial motive for entering The Wilde Trials is clear: she wants to win money for her sick sister. But on a deeper level, after getting bullied at Wilde Academy by a group of students who think she doesn’t deserve to be there due to her partial scholarship, she really wants to prove that she does belong there.

When developing characters like Chloe, I find it really important to keep them as real and multi-faceted as possible. She’s incredibly smart and driven, but she’s also heartbroken over her fractured relationship with Hayes. At the same time, she’s on track to go to medical school to become a doctor. That’s not talked about too much, but I feel like she’s very eldest daughter-coded in that she feels a lot of pressure to be the best and eventually be in a position to support her family, if needed. And that’s a lot for an eighteen-year-old girl to carry, so she’s not always going to do or say the right thing. I think that’s a reality for a lot of teens. Giving my characters internal and external goals, along with fears, keeps them real and well-rounded.

5. What was a challenge in writing The Wilde Trials, either before you submitted it or when you were working with your editor? How have you overcome it?

I had a very tight deadline to write The Wilde Trials during in order to keep us on track for its current launch date, so I wrote the whole book in 36 days. I tend to be a faster writer in general, but not that fast. In the beginning, so much of this book felt like I was barreling toward the finish line with absolutely zero idea if anything I was writing was good or even made sense. All I knew were the characters and plot and I just had to hope and pray it all connected how I envisioned.

But the most wild thing of it all is it did. I overcame that fear by just writing it because I had to, but it taught me a valuable lesson in realizing how far I’ve come as a writer. I really do know what I’m doing to an extent, which is definitely the feeling I’d hoped I’d have after writing several books. This book taught me to trust myself and that I always end up figuring it out and overcoming the hurdles.

Your Journey to Publication

6. I’m glad you can write a book in 36 days. The thought of having to do that terrifies me. Your agent is Amy Bishop-Wycisk. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publishing your first book like?

Amy and I connected after I was a mentee in RevPit, which was an online competition where my manuscript was chosen by an editor and we worked together to revise it in time for an agent showcase. Amy requested to read it based off the showcase, and the rest is history! That book actually didn’t end up selling, but Amy is an amazing agent and I’m so grateful to have her in my corner.

When I had the idea to write The Rosewood Hunt, I sent it to her and she loved it, so I started writing it and it ended up selling to HarperCollins after only being on sub for about a month, which was a vastly different experience than when my first book was on submission to editors. We’ve been working together for almost five years now and she’s had such a massive impact on me as a writer and the trajectory of my career. The advice “no agent is better than a bad agent” is truly so important to adhere to. I know it can be so discouraging to not secure representation right off the bat, but when someone’s going to be your business partner, it’s in your best interests to find someone who is excited to support and grow with you.

7. Other authors say the same thing about it doesn’t work if you have a “bad” agent. What was the process like of submitting your second book to your agent and publisher? Did having a publishing contract already make the submission process any easier?

This varies greatly from person-to-person, but for me, it was actually harder! When I wrote The Rosewood Hunt, the only person whose approval I needed was Amy’s because I didn’t have a publisher. For my second book, I needed the approval of my whole team, which consisted of my agent, editors, and I believe even the sales and marketing teams at my publisher. That’s a much broader group to please and Chloe and Hayes’s story initially looked a bit different. I had also sent a few pitches, so there was the potential to write something else entirely. It took a few months for us all to align on what the current story is, and while I love it so much and wouldn’t change a thing, it was a learning curve for sure to write something under that kind of pressure.  

8. It’s kind of good that you got all the approval before you spent your time and energy writing the book. I saw on your website that Mirabel Michelsen of United Talent Agency are your agents for film rights. How did they become your agents and what made you decide to be represented by them for trying to sell movie rights to your books?

This is one of my favorite stories to tell because I don’t get asked it very often! My agency had brought The Rosewood Hunt to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy, and it was apparently a hit. At the fair, there were scouts for United Talent Agency, and somehow the book got to Mirabel. She’s worked with Amy before, so they set up a call with me and it was an absolute dream. UTA is an amazing agency, and it was a no brainer that I’d love to have Mirabel in my corner! She had really great visions for The Rosewood Hunt and where the film rights might find the best home, so I felt really supported and aligned in that. When it comes to agents of any kind, it’s important to me to work with someone who doesn’t just love a specific book but also my style so we can collaborate for future books as well, so I’m delighted that she also loves The Wilde Trials and my other books.

On Promoting Your Book

9. How are you planning to promote The Wilde Trials? Has your approach to marketing changed since you were a debut author?

It has changed a bit! What I did for The Rosewood Hunt was largely focused on me being a debut author, so I had to do a bit of a branding shift since I’m no longer that. I primarily use my socials to promote, and that has stayed the same. With this book, I’m playing up the exes-to-lovers dynamic between Chloe and Hayes because I do think the romance is a little more present from the start in The Wilde Trials. That seems to really resonate with readers who love romantic tension!

10. What is your favorite social media platform? Has it changed since you were a debut author? If so, why?

I’ve always had the easiest time on TikTok, and that remains true. I love filming short form content and have the biggest community of followers on there, so I plan to continue prioritizing that one as long as it’s around. But I do like Instagram and am slowly but surely growing on there as well! Instagram is becoming more of a focus now just because I think it will prevail as the most stable platform moving forward.

11. What are you working on now?

I just finished the first draft of a new YA thriller that’s like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets And Then There Were None. I can’t say too much about it yet, but I will say that this book is unlike anything I’ve ever written before or anything I ever thought I could write. I’m so proud of myself for taking a chance and doing it. I love it and think it has pushed me and helped me grow in all the best ways. I’m so excited to be able to talk more about it soon, so stay tuned!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Mackenzie. You can find Mackenzie at: Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Lemon8.

Giveaway Details

Mackenzie is generously offering a hardback of The Wilde Trials for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by January 18th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or follow Mackenzie on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, January 13th I have an agent spotlight interview with Estelle Laure and a query critique giveaway

Wednesday, January 15th I have an agent spotlight interview with Jon Cobb and a query critique giveaway

Thursday, January 16th I'm participating in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop

Monday, January 27th I have an interview with debut author Nicole Hewitt and a giveaway of her MG The Song of Orphan’s Garden

I hope to see you on Monday!