Donna Weidner is the lucky winner of the copy of Every Missing Piece by Melanie Conklin.
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Hello Mixed-Up Filers! Are we in for a treat today! Years ago, I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with Tina Dubois, literary agent with ICM Partners. Besides running a great workshop, she couldn’t have been nicer! So, I’m pleased to let all of you get a chance to meet her here at Mixed-Up Files.
JR: Hi Tina, thanks for joining us today!
TD: Thanks so much for having me and for your kind introduction! I’m glad our paths continue to cross.
JR: To start, I see you live in Brooklyn. I’m a Brooklyn boy, myself. Sheepshead Bay/Gravesend area. What is it about the city that appeals to you?
TD: The energy, the pace, the people!
JR: I agree with that. You also lived in London, one of my favorite places. How has living in different areas helped influence your tastes?
TD: I want my list to reflect a far greater swath of experiences and points of view than my own. Moving from a small town in New England to study in London surely helped shape that.
JR: Could you tell us a little bit about your path to becoming an agent and also about ICM?
TD: Shortly after receiving my MFA in Poetry from Brooklyn College, I got a job as an assistant to two amazing agents at a boutique literary agency. They taught me every aspect of the business, from pitch letters to contract language to foreign rights. I moved to ICM a few years later and began building my own list under the mentorship of another amazing woman.
ICM Partners is one of the oldest and largest agencies in the world, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and London. I’m very fortunate to work with such incredible colleagues representing the most talented people across so many disciplines: music, comedy, theater, broadcasting, television, film, podcasting, speakers, publishing, you name it!
JR: What was the first book you sold?
TD: Anne Ursu’s middle grade fantasy trilogy, The Cronus Chronicles. It set a high bar, and I’m so grateful to Anne for trusting me with those books—with all of her children’s books!
JR: What do you enjoy the most about your job?
TD: I love working with my authors. They are so talented: creative and smart and funny. And hardworking!
JR: What sort of books do you look for?
TD: I’m looking for middle-grade and YA fiction across all genres. I’m also interested in middle-grade and YA nonfiction, specifically memoir (including graphic memoirs), history/biography, pop culture, and social issues. I want diverse voices/#ownvoices. I want books with something important to say about the world we live in and that challenge the status quo. I have a soft spot for unpredictable magic and characters facing impossible choices. I love books that make me laugh and cry in equal measure.
JR: Are you very hands-on with your authors?
TD: Yes. I like to be involved with every aspect of the publishing process. It’s really a collaboration with my authors—from the submission strategy to the editorial vision to the cover design to the marketing and publicity plan. The focus is always on creating the best book, considering the market it’s being published into, and anticipating how the author’s career is being shaped with each book being published. I’m also an editorial agent, so it’s not unusual for me to do a round (or two) of edits before going out with a project.
JR: With everything that’s going on, what’s the state of publishing right now?
TD: My answer to this question changes moment to moment. There are terrible, impossible losses—book sales, jobs, lives. There are also heartwarming acts of generosity and kindness—established authors using their robust platforms to support debuts; booksellers and libraries serving their communities with remote events. None of these things erase the very real hardships facing us right now, and I can’t pretend to know what’s to come. But I am grateful for the publishing people who are working hard to give us stories to help make sense of our world–and real facts for when certain voices in that world speak nonsense.
JR: What advice can you give to authors?
TD: Write from your most empathic, beautiful self, pursue whatever fascinates and scares you, and read widely.
JR: That’s great advice. I always like to ask, what was your favorite book as a child?
TD: I don’t know that I had a favorite—or rather, my favorite was always whatever book I was currently reading—but I know Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson resonated deeply with me.
JR: What’s one thing from your childhood that you wish could come back?
TD: The raucous family gatherings we used to have when my mémère was alive. All the aunts and uncles and cousins still get together, but it’s not the same without my mémère’s cooking and her smile. She was full of mischief, and she loved us grandkids. My sons would’ve adored her.
JR: Very sweet. One of my grandmothers never got to meet my kids and I always wish she had. How can people follow you on social media?
TD: @tinaduboisny
JR: Okay, before I let you go, a few months ago, you posted a photo of you holding a duck, and made it seem like it’s a ritual. I need to hear the story behind that.
TD: Oh, jeez, how do I explain this? Several years ago when I was home for the holidays, my oldest childhood friend took a photo of me with one of her chickens perched on my head. The following year, it was two chickens. Then three. Then four. This past year, she added ducks to the mix. Every year I insist it’ll be the last (because claws and beaks and dignity), but you will not find two people laughing harder, and so the tradition continues.
JR: It did look like you were having a lot of fun, but I suggest you quit before it reaches vultures! I’d like to thank you again for taking the time to speak to us today!
TD: Thanks so much for having me! It was a pleasure getting to chat books–and birds!—with you, Jonathan.
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Today I’m thrilled to interview Melanie Conklin about her new novel Every Missing Piece. It was great hearing about her writing process as well as the fabulous Everywhere Book Fest, which she helped create. Read the interview below and then write us in the comments section for a chance to win a copy of the book (U.S. residents only). I’ll pick a winner Saturday night at 11:59 PM and announce on Sunday. Enjoy the interview and good luck!
First, here’s a bit about Melanie and her book.
Maddy Gaines sees danger everywhere she looks: at the bus stop, around the roller rink, in the woods, and (especially) by the ocean. When Maddy meets a mysterious boy setting booby traps in the North Carolina woods, she suspects the worst.
Maddy is certain she’s found Billy Holcomb–the boy who went missing in the fall. Except, maybe it’s not him. It’s been six months since he disappeared. And who will believe her anyway? Definitely not her mom or her stepdad . . . or the chief of police.
As Maddy tries to uncover the truth about Billy Holcomb, ghosts from her own past surface, her best friend starts to slip away, and Maddy’s world tilts once again. Can she put the pieces of her life back together, even if some of them are lost forever?
Melanie Conklin grew up in North Carolina and worked as a product designer for ten years before she began her writing career. Her debut middle grade novel, Counting Thyme, is a Bank Street Best Children’s Book, winner of the International Literacy Association Teacher’s Choice Award, and nominated to four state reading lists. Her second novel for young readers, Every Missing Piece, was published this week with Little, Brown. When she’s not writing, Melanie spends her time doodling and dreaming up new ways to be creative. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Connect with her on twitter @MLConklin.
What was the inspiration for Every Missing Piece?
The funny thing is that when I begin to write a story, I often don’t know why I’m writing it, and I usually haven’t discovered what my inspiration actually is. When I started writing Every Missing Piece, I had this question in my mind as to what would happen if you found a missing child. Especially if you were also a child. As the plot of the story came together, I found that I was writing about a family facing a very difficult time. Somehow, that is always the story I tell, just in different forms.
You’ve been praised for your “fine Southern storytelling” in reviews. Can you tell us a little about how your own upbringing in North Carolina played a part in your writing of this novel?
My first book, Counting Thyme, had a lot to do with how I felt about living in New York City for the first time. In Every Missing Piece, I wanted to tell the story of what it felt like to grow up in North Carolina. My parents were from up North, so we didn’t always fit in with the expectations of a small Southern town. It was difficult for me to deal with being an outsider as a kid, but over time I also experienced the affection and loyalty of a close-knit community. I hope those good reviews mean that I managed to communicate these qualities in a genuine and honest way, because I have a lot of love for North Carolina.
I know many readers and writers are fascinated by the process of writing and publishing a novel. Can you tell us a little bit about your title and the first line of the novel? Did you have both before you started? Did they evolve? If so, what were some of the titles and first lines that you didn’t use?
The title of Every Missing Piece used to be “All the Missing Pieces.” I tweaked the title during revisions with my editor, Tracey Keevan. That’s not a very big change, but it felt big to me! I usually figure out my titles very early in the writing process and they stay the same the whole way through. I like thematic titles that give the reader multiple meanings as they read. Originally, Every Missing Piece had a completely different opening chapter, but we cut it during revisions because it wasn’t needed. Sometimes less is more.
I love the idea of thematic titles. Do you find that there are themes in common with both of your novels that are important to you?
Themes are interesting. I remember learning about themes back in grade school and wondering how authors managed to wind thematic ideas throughout their stories. Now I know that themes aren’t something you plan in advance. Themes just happen organically, and yes, I tend to revisit the same ones over and over. Some common themes you’ll see in both of my books: family, secrets, friendship, and food. There is always a strong thread of food as comfort and community in my stories. Probably also because I’m always hungry!
Ha! I love reading and writing about food as well. Why have you chosen to write for the age group of middle-grade readers?
I wasn’t very familiar with the term “middle grade” when I first started writing, but it didn’t take long to figure out that I like stories set in middle school. There’s a part of me that’s still that age, I think. It’s such a tough time in a kid’s life, when you are growing up whether you want to or not. I certainly never felt ready to grow up. I think I was the last girl in sixth grade to buy a bra! And that was only because my best friends basically forced me to. So it makes sense that I tend to revisit those times in my life, when I was learning how to be a friend, how to be a daughter, and how to be me. I love that middle grade stories always have a sense of wonder and adventure to them. We are in a golden age of middle grade literature for sure! Some recent recommendations from me: Love Like Sky by Leslie Youngblood, Just South of Home by Karen Strong, and Ultraball by Jeff Chen.
Thanks for those recommendations. What would you like readers to come away with after reading Every Missing Piece?
I hope that readers come away from Every Missing Piece with love in their hearts for flawed characters, because we all have flaws. I tend to write about grownups who have made bad choices. As a kid, it took me a while to learn that grownups can make mistakes, too. In this story, I explored the idea of what makes people good or bad quite a bit. Life is not always that simple. People are complicated, and they don’t fit neatly into boxes. Hopefully this story gives readers some food for thought, and they are excited to discuss it with their friends.
Can you give our readers who also write one of your best pieces of writing craft advice?
My favorite piece of writing advice is to be kind to yourself. As writers, we are encouraged to accept criticism of our work, and often that can lead to being super critical of ourselves all the time. When you are drafting, do your best to put your inner critic to bed. There will be time for analysis later. Drafting should be about exploration, so let your subconscious take you where you want to go and enjoy yourself!
Great advice! Would you like to tell us a little about the Everywhere Book Fest?
I was in the midst of cancelling my book tour when my friend Christina Soontornvat (A Wish in the Dark) asked me if I would like to help her and Ellen Oh (The Dragon Egg Princess) create a digital book festival in place of Covid closures. I wasn’t doing anything at the time, so I said yes! LOL. We had no idea that Everywhere Book Fest would grow to be such a signficant event in the publishing world, but I’m so happy that viewers found the sense of community and celebration that we were hoping for. If you missed the festival, all of our content is still available on our website and Youtube page!
Thanks, Melanie, for a great interview!
To get to the Everywhere Book Fest Youtube Page, click here.
To order a signed copy of Every Missing Piece, click here.
And don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a copy of Every Missing Piece.
