Maya Rock’s thriller SCRIPTED was released a few weeks ago and explores the darkness lurking in Reality TV.
Maya, what scene in SCRIPTED was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?
Ugh, the um, love scene with Callen and Nettie towards the end. It wasn’t the most technically difficult, but I was way too self-conscious the whole time. No, I’m not the most proud of it. I think I’m too close to the manuscript right now to have one I’m most proud of, but I always had a certain comfort level with scenes with Lia in them. I also really always was fond of the moment in the party scene when Nettie leaves for the beach (and Callen). There are probably more little moments that I’m proud of than scenes.
What did this book teach you about writing or about yourself?
Oh my gosh. So much!!! And it continues to do so. Well, I felt I went into this book fairly humble, but it turns out I had a whole lot more humbling to go. First, I felt that my skills as an editor were almost completely nontransferable to my own writing. That was frustrating because I felt I was a confident editor and an insecure writer (are there any other kinds?) I thought it taught me to have a thicker skin about my writing because I had been intensely shy about showing people my work and then had to show many drafts to my editor.
What do you hope readers will take away from SCRIPTED?
Mostly I hope they have fun reading it. I also hope they like the characters.
How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?
It was haphazard. I wrote a manuscript awhile ago, but never sought to get it published. Then six years later, I wrote another one, and it got a publisher fairly quickly, but was in rewrites for awhile (four years). What to say except that everything they say about writing, the agony and the ecstasy, I have experienced.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Scripted
by Maya Rock
Hardcover
Putnam Juvenile
Released 2/5/2015
Reality TV has a dark future in this thought-provoking thriller.
To the people suffering on the war-torn mainland, Bliss Island seems like an idyllic place. And it is: except for the fact that the island is a set, and the islanders’ lives are a performance. They’re the stars of a hit TV show, Blissful Days—Characters are adored by mainland viewers, yet in constant danger of being cut if their ratings dip too low. And no one really knows what happens to cut Characters.
Nettie Starling knows she’s been given the chance of a lifetime when a producer offers suggestions to help her improve her mediocre ratings—especially when those suggestions involve making a move on the boy she’s been in love with for years. But she’ll soon have to decide how far she’s willing to go to keep the cameras fixed on her. . . especially when she learns what could happen to her if she doesn’t.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maya Rock lives in New York, where she freelance writes and edits and can be found at karaoke, art galleries, parks, and pizzerias when not in front of a screen. Scripted is her first novel. You can learn more about her and her work at www.maya-rock.com.
Scripted
Maya Rock lives in New York, where she freelance writes and edits and can be found at karaoke, art galleries, parks, and pizzerias when not in front of a screen. Scripted is her first novel. You can learn more about her and her work at www.maya-rock.com.
