Today, I'm thrilled to have Kristina McBride, author of the recently released The Bakersville Dozen, here to answer a few questions! While I haven't read The Bakersville Dozen yet, I have read Kristina's debut The Tension of Opposites and it was GOOD. So I can vouch that Kristina is one author who you need to keep an eye on, especially if you love mystery, thriller type reads.
So without a further ado....
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What
are the top three reasons why readers should consider picking up The
Bakersville Dozen this summer?
1. The Bakersville Dozen
is a fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns to keep readers on their
toes.
2. There’s a romance in the
midst of the insanity, which balances out some of the creep-factor.
3. The book is set during the
summer months and includes scenes at a pond, a park, and an ice cream parlor –
nothing says summer like those three locations!
The
book opens as Bailey is unloading her locker on her last day of senior year and
finds a clue inviting her to participate in a scavenger hunt. She’s excited, sure
that her boyfriend has planned the hunt as a way to distract her from a string
of troubling events she’s been facing since the fall. She’s ready to welcome
summer – Hello, Freedom! – but this year is weighed down by the troubling
mystery behind an unflattering video-gone-viral, featuring her and twelve other
girls from her graduating class. Each girl has been labeled with a scandalous
nickname, which is bad enough, but to make matters worse, five girls have gone
missing in the last five months. Bailey is struggling to balance the fear of
knowing she could be the next victim against her desire to feel normal again by
following the first clue in the hunt and then heading to the end-of-school
party that’s been planned for the weekend.
My
advice? Trust your gut instincts, Bailey. Someone’s close, and you don’t want
to be the next target.
I
love the comparison to Pretty Little
Liars – the series has so many layers of mystery, and I’m a huge fan as
well. My initial inspiration for The
Bakersville Dozen was to combine something fun and light (the scavenger
hunt) with something dark and troubling (the video-gone-viral and kidnappings).
It evolved and veered into darker territory as I brainstormed and then even
more as I wrote.
I
think the main challenge with any mystery is how to keep your readers guessing.
I had some ideas of who the antagonist was when I started drafting, but I
deliberately kept myself from making any solid decisions as to exactly which
character was the one until I had arrived at the string of closing scenes. I
figured that if I didn’t know for sure who the culprit was, the reader wouldn’t
either. My agent and editor offered up some helpful suggestions as I moved
through the editing process.
Using
the No Spoilers rule (which is the best rule to follow in moments like these),
I think I’ll go with a scene from the opening chapters. When Bailey receives
the first clue, she is ready to roll, heading to the first location in the
scavenger hunt as fast as possible. When she arrives at her “summer’s most
treasured spot” – a pond in the woods behind her house – she finds one of the
missing girls . . . dead. This is
when the story takes its first turn into dark territory. I really loved playing
with the character’s emotions as they looked down at the body of this girl
they’d known all of their lives, a girl who had just been missing and was now
all the way gone. (While this might feel like a spoiler, I swear it’s not. This
info is included in the jacket flap copy.)
The
hardest part was not knowing who the kidnapper/killer was. I’m a plotter, so I
like to know where I’m going with a book when I begin. I don’t always stick to
my plan, but it helps to have a roadmap of sorts to kick off the project.
Having so many options to pin the Bad Guy label on was fun in the end, offering
plenty of time to play with the plot as I drafted.
The
easiest part became that playing around, which feels odd to write since I’m a
plotter, but it’s an epiphany of sorts. Not knowing who the bad guy was gave me
a thrill of discovery and also the freedom to just follow the story where it
led me. Maybe I should try to fly by the seat of my pants more often!
I
usually struggle with titles. Like, really struggle. With my last book, A Million Times Goodnight, we asked an
assistant who worked with my agent to read a draft and offer title suggestions.
Once I saw the list of ideas, I knew A
Million Times Goodnight was the right choice. But before that point, I had
been at a total loss. Oddly, when it came to The Bakersville Dozen, the title came to me without any struggle. I
knew there were thirteen girls involved in the viral video, which is a baker’s
dozen, and it just fit to name the town (Bakersville, Ohio) and the video in
line with this theme.
My
favorite part of being an author – I’d have to say starting a new project,
sinking into a new location and getting to know new characters, figuring out
all those little connections and twists and turns. There’s a little bit of
something magical involved that I have no control over, and the feeling is one
that nothing else can compare to.
My
least favorite part of being an author – It makes me nervous to be honest about
this one! I struggle with self-promotion. The “Here! Look at me! Buy my book!”
side of this business makes me feel awkward on social media sites because it
really does not fit my personality. This doesn’t mean I don’t love my readers –
I do! So much! I’m beyond grateful to hear from readers and I love interacting
online. I just don’t like to feel like I’m pushing someone to buy something. It
feels icky.
I can definitely see your point there! I would feel awkward as well! I What’s up next for you book wise? Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’ve had a rough year, losing my father to a cancer that hit hard and fast. Dealing with this and everything that came along with it has overtaken my life, which hasn’t left much time or energy for writing. But things have settled some, so I’m brainstorming now and cannot wait to begin a new project this fall. Hopefully I’ll have some book news to share in the near future!
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You have four days to locate five treasured trophies. Break the rules and you all die. Happy hunting!
Back in September, the town of Bakersville, Ohio made national news when a video went viral featuring thirteen of the high school’s elite in compromising positions. Now it’s May, and every month since the “Bakersville Dozen” made their infamous appearance on the national stage, one girl has gone missing. Officials are no closer to identifying the criminal.
Bailey “Like a Virgin” Holzman is getting really fed up with the scrutiny. She just wants to enjoy the rest of her senior year and have an epic summer before heading off to college. So when she discovers a note in her locker on the last day of school inviting her on a scavenger hunt, she thinks it’s just a sweet surprise from her boyfriend trying to cheer her up.
But following the clue leads her, instead, to the first official casualty. And another sinister envelope. The killer is close, and it could be anyone. Even the people Bailey’s always trusted most—her best friend, her perfect boyfriend, or the boy-next-door she’s always pined for.
With the clock ticking, she faces a terrifying choice: play the game by the killer’s rules—follow the clues, tell no one, and no cops—for a chance to save the rest of the missing girls, or risk becoming the next grisly victim.
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