Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Cult
Rate: INSERT YOUR RATE HERE
Synopsis:
Just like any average seventeen year old, Twig loves her family. She has a caring mother and a controlling father. Her brothers are sisters are committed to her family’s prosperity…
All one hundred and eighty three of them.
Twig lives in the Family, a collective society located in the rainforest of Costa Rica. The Family members coexist with the values of complete openness and honesty, and a shared fear of contagious infection in the outside world.
So when Adam, their Father, prophet, and savior, announces that Twig will be his new bride, she is overjoyed and honored. But when an injury forces her to leave the grounds, Twig finds that the world outside is not necessarily as toxic as she was made to believe. When she meets Leo, an American boy with a killer smile, she begins to question everything about her life within the Family, and the cult to which she belongs.
But when it comes to your Family, you don’t always get a choice.
How long does it take you to write a book from start to finish?
Today we welcome Marissa for an interview!
How long does it take you to write a book from start to finish?
This can vary, but if I'm really into it and going to take it to
fruition - I should crank out a rough first draft in six months. After that -
edits and rewrites can honestly take years depending how many outside forces
are involved!
Rewriting can be painful, but I think it is what really
strengthens you as a writer.
How do you come up with themes for your stories?
I'm really interested in things that are slightly off key.
Things that could happen in 'real life' but probably wouldn't. Paul Auster does
this really well. (i.e. Music of Chance or Leviathan.)
I used to practice psychotherapy too. I just love turning that
on its head - the unethical therapist who crosses all of those carefully
created boundaries.
I take those kernals and blow them out into a narrative.
What elements do you think make a great story line?
You can have outrageous events, but you have to have true
reactions and emtions. JJ Abrams does this so well: think Sydney Bristow and
Alias.
What was the hardest thing about writing a book?
Rewrites. It was hard at times to have to do a rewrite for the
agent and then another for the publisher, etc. etc. I have to say though - most
times it actually strengthened the book. I was really lucky to be working with
smart people who really knew their stuff.
That said - I encourage authors to take people's notes and
consider if they feel right and true for them.
What kinds of things do you like to do outside of writing?
I love to be outside: hiking, exercising, swimming, walking on
the beach with my family. I love to paint and draw and collage. I just love to play in general!
What kinds of advice would you give to someone who wants to start
writing?
Don't worry about getting things perfect. That can be
paralyzing. Just get out a pen and a pad or your laptop and start throwing
ideas or phrases out. Really get
into the art of it. (Even paste magazine images onto a poster board!)
Then, once your read - outline your beginning, middle and end -
if that feels right to your process. I have a blog post on this:
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Marissa Kennerson received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley. Before earning her master’s degree in psychology and art therapy, she worked for Wired and Glamour. She lives in California with her family. The Family is her first novel (Full Fathom Five Digital) and will be coming out October 2014.
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