Hey guys! I had the amazing opportunity of interviewing the author of one of my latest reads (Bury the Lead)! You can read my review here. Thank you so much to Mischa and BHC Press for the interview!
Mischa Thrace enjoys writing fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, My Whole Truth (Flux Books), earned rave reviews. She has worked as an English teacher, a horse trainer, a baker, a librarian, and has amassed enough random skills to survive most apocalypses. Her forthcoming novel, Bury the Lead, will be released June 2021 by BHC Press.
She loves tea, all things geek, and not getting ax-murdered on long walks in the woods. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and the best one-eyed dog in the world.
Interview
First round — General questions
Q1: If you got stranded on a deserted island, what 3 books would you want with you?
Watership Down, Hannibal, and The Horse Whisperer. I rarely re-read books (there’s so many new ones to explore!) but when I was younger I had a hard time with OCD and these were my go-to books to help shut my brain off. If I’m going to be stranded, at least I know these are three I’m happy to read a million times!
Q2: Favorite place to read a book?
Definitely my window seat, followed closely by the bathtub – extra bubbles, of course!
Q3: Last book you read?
An ARC of The Key to You and Me by Jaye Robin Brown, which was a lot of fun, especially for horse girls who want books that feature riders without falling into the typical ‘horse book’ tropes.
Q4: Book writing routine?
Every book has been different – My Whole Truth was written in secret over a year of Mondays, but Bury the Lead and my next super-secret project were both binge-written over the course of about six weeks. I’m currently working on book four, and let me tell you, the pandemic has not been kind to my productivity!
Q5: Favorite snack and drink to have when writing?
Tea, in vast quantities, is my main writing fuel. I don’t necessarily need snacks on hand for writing, but if holiday candy is out, all bets are off!
Q6: What character would you want to be stuck in an elevator with? (From a book of yours or not)
Ooh, this is a great question! From Bury the Lead I would have to say Ravi’s dad, because hopefully he’d have plenty of donuts to keep us fed! From someone else’s book I think I’d have to take a risk and go with Hannibal, although who knows if I’d make it out alive!
Q7: If you could only read one author for the rest of your life, who would it be?
Oh, this is tough… Today the answer would be Clare Mackintosh, but catch me in a different mood and the that could change!
Q8: Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook?
All of the above! I typically have an audiobook going in the car, at least one physical book at home, and an ebook on my phone. (All different titles, although I try to keep them in different genres for the sake of my sanity!)
Second round — Bury the Lead questions
Q1: What was the overall inspiration or reason that led you to write this particular story?
The initial inspiration was actually the killer’s identity, which we obviously can’t talk about here! But beyond that, I also knew I wanted to write something vaguely Sherlockian without it actually being a Sherlock retelling and that I wanted a murder scene that readers really felt. Crime novels are full of great twists and unique killers, but it wasn’t until I read Cody McFadyen’s Face of Death that I came across a literary murder that was genuinely heart wrenching. The emotional impact of that scene definitely inspired some of my choices for Bury the Lead and hopefully I pulled it off!
Q2: Bury the Lead follows the journey of Kennedy, a high schooler who aspires to be an investigative journalist. What inspired you to follow that route?
I knew I wanted a character who was inspired by Sherlock, but not actually a consulting detective. Investigative reporting was something that let me keep one foot in detecting and one foot firmly in a realistic high school setting. It also made Ravi, as a photographer, the natural Watson to her Sherlock.
Q3: Nowadays, and thankfully, minorities are getting more representation and support. Kennedy is asexual and that is a big part of who she is and how her relationships work. Why did you choose to include this in the book? And what do you think it means for other asexual readers?
Quite simply, Kennedy is asexual because I am and because we need more positive representation. Had I been able to read about ace characters when I was in high school I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time asking doctors what was ‘wrong’ with me. It wasn’t until my twenties that I figured out this is a normal way to be and I like the idea of portraying characters who have already arrived at that truth and can give a glimpse of what navigating ace relationships can be like.
Q4: This is your second book. How was it different to write Bury the Lead in comparison with My Whole Truth?
Completely different! My Whole Truth was written in secret, on my days off, because I didn’t want to tell anyone I was doing it in case it didn’t get published. (Brains are dumb!) But when I started drafting Bury the Lead, I already had a book out in the world so there was no need to hide it and I wrote the entire thing in just over a month.
Q5: What can we expect from you next?
I can’t be too specific yet, but I can say there’s murder, a college setting, and like Bury the Lead, plenty of baked goods!
Anything else you want to add?
Just that I’m honored to be featured! The book blogging community is such a vibrant place and they do so much (often unpaid) labor for publishing - they deserve all the thanks and recognition for their valuable work!!