More information about Rachel and THE LOST PLANET can be found at Embarrassment is only temporary, forgetfulness conquers all. Not afraid of: making a fool of myself if it’s for a good cause. And even after it’s gone, I can’t stop rubbing my skin and my hair to make sure it didn’t somehow sneak onto me.
It’s so cliché, but there’s some deep part in my lizard brain that just PANICS when I see one. SA: Finally, as this community is fearless, we’d like to know something you are afraid of and something you are not afraid of.Īfraid of: spiders. It’s just such a different beast from writing that first book in your free time without a deadline or people watching you. Something I didn’t expect, even though I’d read about it, is how incredibly challenging writing a book under contract is. It’s been a fantastic ride! Everyone at Macmillan and New Leaf has been so wonderful and supportive, I couldn’t ask for a better experience. SA: How has the debut process been for you so far? Anything you didn’t expect? When I started writing again as an adult, I tried a few different genres/age categories, but it quickly became apparent to me that middle grade was my sweet spot. That was the age where I really fell in love with both reading and writing.
SA: What drew you to write for the middle-grade audience? It was! I confess that I hit a lot of dead ends trying to weave this complex mystery, and ended up pretty much rewriting the whole thing during my revisions, but finishing it was incredibly satisfying. SA: THE LOST PLANET was really fun to read, adventure after adventure. He’s so snarky and has such a superior attitude, but at his core he’s really caring and vulnerable. Mina was a hoot to write, but I think my favorite was Parker. SA: Who was your favorite character to write? (confession: I’m fascinated with Mina…I think there’s more there) I tried changing it at one point to more of a “lost in the desert” opening, but that didn’t feel right and so I went back to the original. It actually was my original opening, with a few semantic tweaks. It’s not really possible to stop reading once you start.
I loved how THE LOST PLANET opened, with Chase having no idea of who he is or how he got there, not even his name. SA: Openings are so critical to grabbing the reader.
Once I had some characters in mind, it took some brainstorming to find my premise of a lost boy on a foreign planet, and I ran with it from there. I wanted to write something for kids that was big and exciting and action-based, and space seemed like it could be a fun setting to play around in. SA: Congratulations on your debut, Rachel! Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to write THE LOST PLANET? What was your inspiration? Today we’re interviewing OneFourKidLit author Rachel Searles, whose middle-grade adventure THE LOST PLANET comes out today! Follow 2015 YA & MG Debut Authors on Follow us on Twitter
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