Interview with Kit Frick for I Killed Zoe Spanos

I Killed Zoe Spanos

by Kit Frick
Publisher: McElderry Books
Release Date: June 30th 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery


Synopsis:

“The YA thriller of the summer.” —Bustle

For fans of Sadie and Serial, this gripping thriller follows two teens whose lives become inextricably linked when one confesses to murder and the other becomes determined to uncover the real truth no matter the cost.

What happened to Zoe won’t stay buried…

When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe’s life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected—and that she knows what happened to her.

Two months later, Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth?

Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Kit Frick weaves a thrilling story of psychological suspense that twists and turns until the final page.

Can you briefly describe I KILLED ZOE SPANOS and its characters?

Think YA Rebecca set in the Hamptons. When Anna Cicconi confesses to playing a role in the death of local teen Zoe Spanos, she’s charged with manslaughter and concealing a body. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth?

In its most boiled-down form, Martina is our detective and Anna is our unreliable narrator / possible villain. But spoiler alert—it’s not that simple!

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

I have a special place in my heart for the story’s minor characters like Kaylee, Anna’s best friend from home; Paisley, her eight-year-old babysitting charge; and Aster, Zoe’s younger sister and Martina’s best friend. Sometimes the secondary characters are the most fun to write.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

When the idea for I Killed Zoe Spanos was bouncing around in my head, I’d recently re-read Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca for the fourth (fifth?) time and couldn’t help wondering: What if Rebecca de Winter had gone missing today, in the age of Serial and The Vanished and Bear Brook and all the other excellent true crime podcasts that have sprung up over the last five years? Then I landed on the Hamptons setting—the American equivalent of the tony English seaside town in Rebecca—and I Killed Zoe Spanos evolved from there.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Sia’s “Chandelier.” Anna comes to Herron Mills in part to escape her “party girl” past and make a fresh start—but of course nothing goes as planned. I think she’d relate quite a bit to the girl in Sia’s high-flying anthem.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

The only piece of “dream casting” I have worked out is the part of Caden Talbot, the boy next door at Windermere. I always see Jordan Fisher in my head when I picture Caden!

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

I Killed Zoe Spanos comes complete with its own mocktail: the Lemon Spritz! Think lemonade and seltzer; add a splash of rum to make it adult. :) Best consumed poolside or at the beach, of course.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish I KILLED ZOE SPANOS?

For more YA thrillers featuring podcasts, check out Sadie by Courtney Summers on the slim chance you haven’t already, as well as I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan (coming in October 2020) and Holly Jackson’s Good Girl, Bad Blood (which I’m hoping will be coming to the US soon!). On the adult side, I highly recommend Elizabeth Little’s Pretty as a Picture, Denise Mina’s Conviction, and Kathleen Barber’s Are You Sleeping (re-released in paperback and developed for TV as Truth Be Told) all of which feature (fictional) true crime podcasts woven into the narrative.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Endings! Many writers despair of the “murky middle,” but it’s endings that give me the most trouble. Not because I don’t know where I’m writing toward, because I generally do, but because getting all the necessary information to the reader in a mystery novel in a way that is both organic and surprising is a real challenge. It takes many drafts to get it just right.

What’s next for you?

My next book is still a secret! (Ssh.) I hope to be able to spill some details soon.

Kit Frick is a novelist, poet, and MacDowell Colony fellow from Pittsburgh, PA. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. When she isn’t putting complicated characters in impossible situations, Kit edits poetry and literary fiction for a small press and edits for private clients. She is the author of the young adult novels See All the Stars and All Eyes on Us, both from Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books, as well as the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs from New American Press. Her third YA thriller, I Killed Zoe Spanos, will release on June 2, 2020.

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Interview with Jamie Pacton for The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

by Jamie Pacton
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: May 5th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Kit Sweetly slays sexism, bad bosses, and bad luck to become a knight at a medieval-themed restaurant.

Working as a wench―i.e. waitress―at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.

Company policy allows only guys to be knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But the Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other wenches join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval―if they don’t get fired first.

Can you briefly describe THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY and its characters?

THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY is about 17-year-old Kit, a serving wench at the Castle, a medieval-themed restaurant. Kit desperately wants to be a knight like her older brother Chris, but only cis dudes can be knights according to company policy. One shift, Kit rides out in Chris’ place. Her triumph—and the moment she reveals “I AM NO MAN!”— is caught on video, and Kit goes viral. She uses her newfound fame to launch a campaign to change things at the Castle. She’s joined by a group of friends—fierce folks across the gender spectrum— and they band together to over throw the medieval notion that only cis guys can be knights. There’s also a sweet friends-to-lovers story between Kit and her bff Jett; and, a whole lot of economic ups and downs as Kit navigates the financial instability her family faces. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

I absolutely love Kit, and I put so many of my secret thoughts, strivings, wishes, and jokes into her. I kind of think all authors do that to some degree with their characters, but seventeen-year-old Kit and seventeen-year-old Jamie are very similar. That said, I also adore Jett, her bff and love interest; and, I very much want to be friends with her other bff, Layla. And, I also really like her brother, Chris. He’s the brother I wish I had. 

Overall, my goal in KIT was to write lots of characters that readers loved as much as I did, so they could see some of their own favorite people in my characters. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

I wrote a whole Twitter thread on this, but the short story is that a few months after the terrible results of the 2016 election, I took my youngest son to Medieval Times in Chicago. We’d talked a lot during the election cycle about feminism and a female president; and, although I didn’t go into the night of medieval fun and pageantry thinking I’d emerge with a book, as I watched the male knights ride and the female wenches serve us food (and as I talked with them), it occurred to me that we should have knights of all genders. And thus Kit’s quest was born. 

And, for more general thoughts on inspiration (not sure if you just meant for KIT or otherwise), this is from my website.

I definitely pull deeply from my own life and past experiences, but I’m also currently writing a fantasy novel randomly inspired by a quirky boutique name in a tiny town near where I live. I’ve also pulled stories from historical tidbits I found while researching other books; from questions that pop into my mind; and, from trying to figure out what a certain type of character would do in a certain situation. I also get ideas from smashing two or more book/movie/tv comps together and challenging myself to think about what the resulting story might look like. Oh! And sometimes I scroll through MSWL threads on twitter to see what agents and editors are asking for and that can be inspiring in surprising ways. 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Uhm….I am really terrible with questions like this because I can never pick one song! 

I listened to a lot of Santigold while writing KIT, and Disparate Youth is the song I always hear in my head when I think of Kit and her friends out there jousting. 

That said, any of the Queen songs from A Knight’s Tale and possibly the Beatles “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” would also work. And I have like ten others I really want to mention here…. J 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Kit: Sophia Lillis

Jett: Karan Brar

Layla: Skai Jackson 

Alex: Bex Taylor Klaus

Lizzy: Danielle MacDonald

Mags: Chelsea Zhang

Penny: Jazz Jennings 

Chris: George MacKay

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Take my book to the Ren Faire or a medieval-themed restaurant for the perfect book date! You can feast on chicken legs and drink out of fancy goblets while watching the jousts.

If that’s not available, then I recommend staying in, watching A Knight’s Tale, and snacking on anything that you can use sword fight with should the need arise (carrot sticks, chicken legs, pretzel rods, etc.). 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY?

Absolutely! I think of Jen De Luca’s adult romance WELL MET as the older sister of KIT. It’s set in a Ren Faire, full of great Shakespeare jokes, and absolutely a delight. If you’re looking for a YA feminist rom-com with great banter, incredibly loveable characters, and a unique setting, I highly recommend Rachel Lynn Solomon’s forthcoming book TODAY, TONIGHT, TOMORROW. It’s a sheer joy of a story and I fell totally in love with her characters. 

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

I love almost every part of the writing process, but slogging through a first draft is the hardest part for me. I have a surplus of ideas; I love planning out a story and having the pieces of it slot into place; and, revisions are so much fun. But, that first pass is an uphill grind because there’s a 70,000 word blank space between what I imagine the book can be and actually getting it on the page. I tend to draft very quickly and messily, just so I can get the story down and then I go back and make it better. 

What’s next for you?

My next book with Page Street is called LUCKY GIRL and it’ll come out in 2021. Like KIT, LUCKY GIRL is funny YA contemporary that also takes a look at some hard stuff. It’s about 17-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather, a normal girl in a small Wisconsin town who bought a lotto ticket and won 58 million dollars. The only problem is that Jane was a minor when she purchased the ticket, which means if she tries to cash it, she’ll lose the money and be guilty of a misdemeanour. Jane desperately needs to find someone to cash the ticket for her, but she can’t give it to her hoarder mother; her hippie grandmother wants nothing to do with it; and, that leaves Jane’s 18-year-old ex-boyfriend Holden, who’s she’s still not over. Schemes, heists, and betrayals occur as Jane navigates her lucky break and tries to get over her broken heart. Luckily, like Kit, she’s got a wonderful best friend by her side to help her through whatever life throws at her. 

Beyond that, I’m also drafting a YA fantasy and working on some MG projects. Because I’m always juggling a few books at once. :)

Jamie Pacton writes all sorts of books: dark, feminist YA fantasy; contemporary YA stories with a funny + geeky bent; funny MG adventure-fantasy; and, even the occasional adult rom-com. She was a Pitch Wars mentee in 2015 and she mentored YA in 2016, 2017, and 2018. She grew up minutes away from the National Storytelling Center in the mountains of East Tennessee; she’s the oldest of ten kids; and, she currently lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband, their two kids, and a dog named Lego. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly (forthcoming May 5, 2020) is her Young Adult debut.

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Cover Reveal: Don't Call Me Kit Kat by K.J. Farnham

Don't Call Me Kit Kat

by K.J. Farnham

Release Date: May 15th 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Junior high is where things really start to happen. Cliques form and break apart. Couples are made and destroyed. And a reputation is solidified that you won’t ever be able to escape. Everything you do and say, and everyone you spend your time with, matters.

Katie Mills knows that. She gets it. That’s why she tried so hard to get in with the cool girls at school. And why she was so devastated when those efforts found her detained for shoplifting and laughed out of cheer squad tryouts.

But Katie has more to worry about than just fitting in. Her parents are divorced and always fighting. Her sister never has time for her. And her friends all seem to be drifting apart. Even worse? The boy she has a crush on is dating the mean girl at school.

Everything is a mess, and Katie doesn’t feel like she has control over any of it. Certainly not over her weight, which has always topped out at slightly pudgier than normal—at least, according to her mother.

So when she happens to catch one of the popular girls throwing up in the bathroom one day, it sparks an idea. A match that quickly engulfs her life in flames.

Is there any going back once she gets started down this path?

And would she even want to if she could?

Born and raised in a suburb of Milwaukee, K. J. Farnham was a teacher for 12 years and became a freelance writer in 2012. She holds a bachelor's degree from UW-Milwaukee and a master's degree from Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. A sequel to "Click Date Repeat" is in the works, and she plans to publish her next novel, "Don't Call Me Kit Kat," in the spring of 2015.