What's So Controversial about WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE?

When someone says the word “controversial,” my ears perk up. I rub my hands together and lean in so I don’t miss a word. I’ve never been a strict “rules follower” kind of person, which has gotten me into a fair bit of trouble over the years, so let’s just say I enjoy hearing stories about others like me.

Even as an adult, I despise rules that don’t make sense––rules that someone deemed necessary but aren’t really. For example, recently I was in a public bathroom and I saw the note, “Only one towel per person” taped to the hand towel dispenser. I was like, “Seriously? You’re going to dictate that?” So of course I took two. All right, three. But I wanted to take like 50, to show that unknown rule maker that she can’t boss me around. (Hopefully I’ll mature one day soon…)

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So when you ask what’s controversial about my novel, “Wanted:  Dead or In Love,” my immediate answer is EVERYTHING. Starting with the main character, Monroe. She swears a lot, has been arrested three times in the past year, she makes snap decisions, and worst of all, she inadvertently starts falling for a guy who would make any parent scream, “He’s no good for you!” But my response is, “Hey, busybody. Monroe represents real girls who are confused about who to love and who make decisions without consulting their parents first.” And who’s to say Monroe’s decisions are wrong­­? They’re just different than ones her parents would make. (Okay, some decisions of hers might be wrong, but she’s under a lot of pressure.)

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I expect there will be some (maybe even a lot) of readers who will get all “Barney Fife” over my book, bustling about in overblown indignation. After all, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow––downright nasty criminals from the 1930’s who were in love––come back to life, and they’re not necessarily typecast as “the bad guys.” No doubt about it, Bonnie and Clyde did a lot of horrific things in their day and were eventually gunned down for it by a posse of tough crime fighters called The Texas Rangers.

I’m not making excuses for Bonnie and Clyde––they deserved to have been stopped. I think what I tried to show is that most of us––Bonnie and Clyde included––are not solidly “all good” or “all bad.” Many of us make decisions that seem like a good idea at the time that later turn out to be not-so-great. Monroe has always lived by the motto, “You Only Live Once,” but when she faces the counterpart to that, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” she starts to reconsider. If she could do it all over again, she might say, “Yes, you are in charge of your own destiny. Just make sure it’s the destiny you really want.”

            That’s the thing with Monroe––sometimes she’s in too far to heed her own advice.

Tell me about your book, or a book you've read - what were you most worried about?

Kym Brunner

Wanted: Dead or in Love, Merit Press, May 2014
One Smart Cookie, Omnific Publishing, Spring 2014


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Bio:
Kym Brunner's method of creating a manuscript: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. She lives in Arlington Heights with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua. She's repped by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency.

Writing Tip: ADD INTRIGUE TO YOUR STORY by KYM BRUNNER

Sounds hard, but it's not. Here's my tip in a nutshell:

Make a list of things that intrigue you. Yeah, that’s right. What was something you encountered recently that YOU thought was cool, interesting, gross, unbelievable, extremely weird, or compelling? Go ahead…think of two things now. I’ll wait.

You see how easy that was?

Incorporating things you hear and see every day that interest you probably means it will interest someone else too. Not that you have to build your entire story around that one thing, but you could give that quality to one of your minor characters.
 
I often see something on TV or overhear a conversation that makes me say, “Whoa. What's that all about?” Like a few weeks ago when I was watching the Lisa Ling show, Our America, when she had a story about a little boy who was definitely 100% "girl-brained."

I'd have to say that story definitely intrigued me.

Now I might not be the person to write a transgender story, but perhaps I could use this information in some other way in a story I'm writing. Maybe the daughter of a co-worker is considering a transgender operation, or maybe a sibling has been playing with dolls...who knows?

In any case, I write down any tidbits on my NOTES on my phone, so they I can use those ideas later in a future story. I might jot down a funny line I’ve overheard, like recently when my college-aged daughter said that a cheese sample at the grocery store tasted like regurgitated gym shoe. (I mean, tasting like a gym shoe is bad enough, but a regurgitated one? Ick!)  Could be a funny line for a character to say some day.

A word of advice: write clear notes. Sometimes I look at my intriguing tidbits and think, "Huh?" Like the note that said: THE ANGEL AND THE MAN IN THE MOON, which I guess I thought was super interesting but have absolutely no idea what I was referring to. If you know, please tell me because I'm curious, too.


Kym Brunner

Wanted: Dead or in Love, Merit Press, May 2014
One Smart Cookie, Omnific Publishing, Spring 2014


Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Bio:
Kym Brunner's method of creating a manuscript: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. She lives in Arlington Heights with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua. She's repped by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency.

Hungry for a chuckle? Check out a sample of Kym Brunner's ONE SMART COOKIE!

CHAPTER ONE

While hiding out in the back room of our family-owned Polish bakery, I spy my mother's therapist––the June issue of Cosmo––lying on a shelf next to the flour. I flip through it, searching for my favorite feature, the relationship quiz.

My mother’s voice terminates my bliss. “Sophie! Come here. It’s getting busy now.” Her Polish accent isn’t nearly as thick as my grandma's, but it’s still undeniable.

“Be right there!” It can’t be that big of a rush, so I’m staying put until I finish this month’s quiz, which is titled, “What’s Your Guy-Q?” Given that I’ve only gone on three dates in my sixteen years––one with a moron, one with a liar, and one with a perv––I’m pretty sure my knowledge of guys will rank somewhere between dumbass and totally clueless.

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Too bad my best friend Teegan wasn’t here now, because she’s had a smorgasbord of boyfriends. She’d ace this quiz for sure. Luckily, she tells me everything. I concentrate on what she’s confided to me in the past, zipping through the first eleven questions. I can’t believe how easy it is to figure out which answers will give me the highest points. If only school were this easy, I’d have straight B’s.

Five minutes later, Mom’s slacker alarm goes off. “Sophie, let’s go!”

“One second!” I answer the last question and tally up my points. Hmm…weird. A thirteen. Must be one of those quizzes where a low score is better. I scan the ratings on the bottom and see that a thirteen puts me into category D: In Desperate Need of Help. Thanks, Cosmo. I know that’s just another way of saying Shitty. How can I expect to snag a decent guy when my Guy-Q is the pits?

Guess I shouldn’t be too shocked. “Shitty” pretty much sums up my life, period. We live in a shitty apartment above our Polish bakery, my job is shitty, school is shitty except for off-campus lunch and my friends, my shitty father left when I was a bun in the oven, and the icing on the shit cake is that today is the first day of summer vacation and Cosmo says I won’t be changing my social media profile to In a Relationship anytime soon.

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I fling the magazine back onto the shelf. Screw Cosmo. I’m going to meet the perfect guy this summer and my Guy-Q will skyrocket to category A:  Professor of Loveology. Maybe even today, who’s to say? This morning at nine-thirty––okay, probably more like ten if we’re on Teegan-time––Teegan is going to pick me up in her kinda-old-but-still-gorgeous black convertible. We’re going to cruise to Oak Street Beach, find two boys who are also best friends, and double date all summer. And while I know that the likelihood of that happening is roughly equivalent to my mother randomly handing me fifty bucks, Teegan and I are determined to try. We’ve made double-dating our top priority this summer.

All we need are a pair of normal guys––one who wants a cute, sarcastic, medium-chested, five-foot-seven-inch blond with an average body, like me––while his friend is hoping for a petite, stunning, D-cup, perky brunette like Teegan. What’ll undoubtedly happen is that the tanned, gorgeous star of the baseball team with minty breath will fall for Teegan, while I’ll be stuck with his awkward, smelly buddy with Cheetos scum between his teeth.

What can I expect as a card-carrying member of Category D?

READ MORE THIS SUMMER - ARRIVING JULY 15th from Omnific Press!

***COVER UPDATE: Guess what?? One Smart Cookie's book cover is coming soon!! It's in the final stages and it's absolutely perfect!! *gazes off into space, smiling happily. Can't wait to show you.
Kym Brunner

Wanted: Dead or in Love, Merit Press, May 2014
One Smart Cookie, Omnific Publishing, Spring 2014
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Bio:
Kym Brunner's method of creating a manuscript: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. She lives in Arlington Heights with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua. She's repped by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency.

DEALING WITH REJECTION by Kym Brunner

Rejection sucks – no matter if you’re talking romance, job offers, or novels. No one who wants something badly enough wants another someone to say, “No, thanks."

Unfortunately, rejection doesn’t stop after you’ve been published. Here are my latest letdowns: 

•  Proposals I’ve sent to festivals/conferences/bloggers don’t get any response. Not even crickets or white noise. Always makes wonder if I sent it to the right address, or if they don’t respond unless interested, or if aliens abducted that person (which is the choice I always pick). Of course it’s not me; it’s them.

• I had hoped to be on a Debut Author Panel at Printer’s Row this summer, but my book comes out three weeks AFTER the event and they wanted to have authors with books in hand (understandable, but still...rejected). Wah!

WHAT TO DO AFTER BEING REJECTED?

1.      Drink (coffee, tea, vodka, beer – your choice)
2.     Call friends and commiserate (but usually they don’t have a whole lot to add) 
3.     Write scathing emails to the blogger/organizer/festival and say you didn’t want to attend that stupid event anyway. (Not recommended unless you address it to yourself).
4.     Call it part of the process and move on. Even though you want to rant and scream, it’s usually not the best alternative. Besides, think of all the things you yourelf look at in one day and skip over without addressing––movies, books, dirty clothes pile, phone calls you never returned, dog’s water bowl has a dead fly floating in it––and you realize it might not be your project that was rejected…it’s just that LIFE IS BUSY.  People forget, move on, go out for dinner, need more sleep.

The thing to remember is…WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, IT WILL HAPPEN.

There. I’ve said it. So you can forget all the worrying, complaining, and swearing (alright, swear away – it feels good sometimes), but keep on trying new things, submitting new projects, and checking your Tinder dates, and when the stars are aligned….the response you’ve been waiting for will come!  

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Behind the Scenes: Working with Agents & Editors by Kym Brunner

  

Many (but granted, not all) writers would like to land a book deal with a fabulous editor of one of the well-known publishing houses so their book can get the attention it deserves and can be delivered into the hands of more readers. Traditionally, the only way that’s going to happen is with a literary agent (yes, there are always exceptions). But what’s it like to work with an agent? An editor?

For me, it's a lot like a day spent fishing––it can be exhausting, emotional, and exhilarating.

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EXHAUSTING:  Trying to land an agent is a lot like trying to land a big fish. It takes patience and persistence, as well as being willing to experiment with the perfect bait to make them bite your hook. Same goes for waiting for an editor to read your book and make a decision. Of course it’s going to take a long time. After all, editors are some of the busiest people on earth. Many houses need approval from several departments before acquiring your book.

EMOTIONAL:  Getting rejections from agents and editors, as well as receiving some of those promising “nibbles” at the end of your line is a stormy sea of ups and downs. Sad one week, excited the next, disappointed in the end. One day you're sure your work is being used as a placemat on some editor's desk, and the next, you're imagining an editor poring over your book on the subway ride home, accidentally missing their stop. (For the record, I prefer the second mind movie).

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EXHILARATING:  The first time an agent asks for your full, you leap around your living room yelling, “Yes!” Then when that same agent sends an email asking for your phone number so you could "discuss" your book, you know things might be even more promising. And finally, when said agent says, “I read your book and it hooked me so much, I’d like to offer to represent you,” you squeal with happiness. (After you hang up of course) And trust me when I say that, when I found out  that Jacquelyn Mitchard at Merit Press offered to acquire WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, I cried. Literally. Streams of happy tears and mascara running down my face (like the girl on my cover). At work. In front of hundreds of my students. What a day that was.

Who would have known that four months after that, I got another offer from an editor–-this time at Omnific Press––for my YA humorous romance, ONE SMART COOKIE? Was it still as exhilarating? You bet! Truth be told, I've convinced myself that, before my books hit the stores this summer, someone from one of these publishers is going to call me up and say, “Whoops, sorry! We thought you were someone else.” (You see what I mean about emotional?)

Overall, my relationships with agents, various editors, and publishing team have been almost all positive. Nearly everyone in the children's book business is supportive, informative, and hard-working. In return, I do my best to be polite, friendly, and meet my deadlines. There’s no better feeling than to know that these professionals have your back and all have the same purpose as I do:  TO SELL A KICKASS BOOK THAT READERS LOVE––one they bring to the taxidermist so they can mount on their wall. 

Now all that's left to do is wait for the reviews and pray that readers think my books are KEEPERS. I hope you get a chance to reel one of mine in sometime soon. Until then, hopefully I can see you around at the Facebook or Twitter ponds.

Kym Brunner

WANTED:  DEAD OR IN LOVE, Merit Press / June, 2014 (available for pre-order at Amazon / Barnes & Noble)

ONE SMART COOKIE, Omnific Publishing / Summer 2014

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Bio:
Kym Brunner's method of creating a manuscript: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua. She's repped by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency.

The Not-So-Dark Side of CLYDE BARROW in WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE by Kym Brunner

You probably think that EVERYTHING about Clyde Chestnut Barrow is DARK, right? And you ‘d probably, almost certainly, be right.

After all, he was a bank robber, a killer, car thief,  an ex-con who escaped from jail and who helped others escape as well, and a man kept the Feds after him for two years straight.

He was shrewd, crude, bossy, and had only one thing on his mind––escaping the life he had found himself in without a way out––but the truth is, he had a soft spot.

A few of them even.

First of all, he was only 24 when he died. It wasn’t like he had decades of criminal activities. His first arrest was when he was 16––for failing to return a rental car. His second arrest, for stealing a turkey.

It was 1932 and in the midst of the Depression. He lived in West Dallas – the poorest slum of the already destitute area. His family had no money and there weren’t very many jobs.

And a guy with an arrest record wasn’t about to get one of the few jobs that existed.

In WANTED:  DEAD OR IN LOVE, I portrayed Clyde as a person––someone who has both flaws and good qualities. He was very much a family man, and often found ways to visit his family when he was out on the run. He looked out for his moll, Bonnie Parker, and carried her when she couldn't run fast enough. (She suffered a horrible injury following a car crash during a getaway).

I’m not making excuses for his behavior—he committed a lot of crimes and deserved to be punished––but I tried to show how a boy from a decent family made some horrible mistakes as a teenager that set him off  on a destructive path.

I'm hoping that maybe, somehow, a person reading my book might think twice before taking that first step toward a life of crime.

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Have you ever changed your behavior/ mind about someone based on something you read in a book?

For more information about WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, or about Kym Brunner, check out her website HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

One Dark Secret about YA Author Kym Brunner

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Hmm…tough topic. Not because I’m not willing to share, but mostly because I’m too much of a talker to keep secrets inside of me. (I can, and have, kept others’ secrets however, so no worries there, Friends–Who–Have-Confided-In-Me.) It’s just that when it comes to my own healthy psyche, I often like to share what’s going on in my life and get my friends’ opinions on what they would do before deciding what I should do.

But that’s not why you clicked to this article. You want the dirt.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net by Victor Habbick

I would have to say my darkest secret––that I did share with others as I was going through it, but it’s something I don’t bring up on my own very often––was the time several years ago, when I found myself depressed. Not that low feeling we all get some days or by seeing an old photo of a lost loved one, but what the doctor called “short-term, sudden onset depression.” I cried several times a day, often for no reason, wallowing with sadness inside my own body and not sure why or what to do about it. Not trying to tell a Debbie Downer tale here, I only share this because if this black cloud of depression ever happens to you, you’ll know what I mean. I say happens TO you because depression felt like a foreign creature with a mind of its own had taken up residence inside of me, intent on destroying my soul. (Hmm…maybe I should write a human possession story. Oh, that’s right. I did.)

Long story short, a few events happened simultaneously that were beyond my control. Nothing big, just life stuff, but for whatever reason, the Creature from the Meanie Lagoon saw a “SPACE FOR RENT” sign in my mind, moved in overnight, and harassed me for nearly a year. I did take medication during that time, which was essential in evening out those crazy emotions, but ultimately, it was mostly the passage of time along with the  realization life means constant change.

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  Any one who has gone through this knows how horrible this out-of-body feeling is, so my suggestion will always be to see your doctor and be honest about what’s going on with you. For me, going out in public, even if that meant reading a book in Starbucks or going to a movie alone, really helped when the creature was intent on rehashing things I didn’t want to think about. Listening to a story on tape while driving around, hanging out with friends, and of course, writing daily also helped immensely.

The creature finally got bored with me and moved on and I’m happy to report that I haven’t rented out the space to any more unwanted visitors since.