Ask the Author: Kelly McWilliams
Answered Questions (9)
Kelly McWilliams
AGNES is a standalone--at least so far! No plans for a sequel right now. Thanks for asking!
Kelly McWilliams
#1 biggest influence: Octavia Butler's PARABLE OF THE SOWER. #2: Carolyn Jessop's memoir, ESCAPE. Thanks for asking!
Kelly McWilliams
Oh my goodness, so many! Here are just a few. The final two on this list I had the honor of reading early, but chances are I'll be reading them again after I buy them--they were that good.
1. Black Brother, Black Brother (Jewell Parker Rhodes)
2. Recollections of My Nonexistence (Rebecca Solnit)
3. The Girl With The Louding Voice (Abi Dare)
4. When They Went Left (Monica Hesse)
5. When You Know What I Know (Sonja Solter)
I'll be blogging my top ten reads at the end of the year. I already know it's going to be brutal to choose!
1. Black Brother, Black Brother (Jewell Parker Rhodes)
2. Recollections of My Nonexistence (Rebecca Solnit)
3. The Girl With The Louding Voice (Abi Dare)
4. When They Went Left (Monica Hesse)
5. When You Know What I Know (Sonja Solter)
I'll be blogging my top ten reads at the end of the year. I already know it's going to be brutal to choose!
Kelly McWilliams
Hi Danielle! That's a great question. What surprised me most about cults was the psychology behind brainwashing.
Most assume that some people are more susceptible to cult manipulation than others, but it turns out that under the right circumstances, almost anyone can be overwhelmed by the techniques malignant cults use.
And strangely enough, as different as they are, cults do tend to use the same techniques to weaken their victims. Sleep deprivation (or very, very hard work--as Agnes is expected to perform in the book), protein restriction, and constant repetition of key phrases ("perfect obedience produces perfect faith," in my novel and in Carolyn Jessop's actual experience) are all common tools.
Most assume that some people are more susceptible to cult manipulation than others, but it turns out that under the right circumstances, almost anyone can be overwhelmed by the techniques malignant cults use.
And strangely enough, as different as they are, cults do tend to use the same techniques to weaken their victims. Sleep deprivation (or very, very hard work--as Agnes is expected to perform in the book), protein restriction, and constant repetition of key phrases ("perfect obedience produces perfect faith," in my novel and in Carolyn Jessop's actual experience) are all common tools.
Kelly McWilliams
I was actually pregnant with my daughter when I imagined a girl fighting her way trough an infected desert while trying to keep her little brother safe. The image just stuck to me like a cactus burr.
Kelly McWilliams
I'm a mixed-race writer, a very light-skinned black girl, but until recently I haven't felt brave enough to tackle that issue in my writing. But now, all of that is about to change! I'm currently working on a YA book about biracial twin sisters--one light enough to "pass" and one darker-skinned--set in the Jim Crow South.
Kelly McWilliams
Here's my favorite quote on writer's block: "If there's no wind, row."
Kelly McWilliams
My advice? Read more than you write, and write more than you either cook or clean--especially if you're a woman. (If you're a man, please help your partner cook and clean, even if you'd rather be writing.)
Kelly McWilliams
Honestly, the best thing about being a writer is the license to daydream and call it work!
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