In Darcy Marks’ snarky, witty middle grade adventure debut Grounded for All Eternity, a group of kids from hell come to Earth on one of the craziest nights of the year—Halloween.
Hi, Darcy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Of course! I’m a life long fangirl, who wears that love on my sleeves, quite literally in the case of my many book inspired tattoos. I have always devoured books, mostly fantasy and horror, but also almost everything else, and currently have a to-be-read pile that is looming large. I write snarky fantasy books for kids from my home in my gorgeous Green Mountain state where I live with my husband, three genre defying children (who I am crazy proud of) and an extremely needy cat.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
Definitely as a kid! I used to write pages and pages in my notebooks, describing the teal, acid-washed jeans my very trendy exchange student character from London was wearing. And then I moved on to typing angsty stories to be printed out on my dot matrix printer, but then I did what a lot of grown-ups do and buckled down into my much more predictable career. I rediscovered that love of writing later and I have to say, it feels the same as when I was a kid. There’s something magical about bring what’s in your head to the page.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The Sesame Street Library! There was a volume for the letter D and my dad always replaced the name they used (Darla) with mine. I can still see the picture of the Dragon with the diamond encrusted letter D around his neck.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s everything, and definitely writing goals. (Also everything by Terry Pratchett)
SO MANY! (I’m bad at this lightning round thing), but Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is my go-to comfort book. I’ve read it a million times and I read all the adaptations.
Your debut novel, Grounded for All Eternity, is out July 26th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Snarky, Irreverent, Magical, Heartfelt, Fun!
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a Halloween story that goes so much beyond Halloween, about doing the right thing, and being true to yourself while saving humanity from destruction, even in the face of those who think their way is the right way. They can expect a fast paced story with plenty of humor, snark, fantastical creatures and conviction, and hopefully a lot of fun!
Where did the inspiration for Grounded for All Eternity come from?
So much of Grounded relies on a lifetime love of all things mythological, and supernatural, and an obsession with Halloween and the Salem Witch Trials, but I can tell you the exact moment when Mal’s world developed. I was walking my kids home from school on one of those perfect autumn days. It was cool and crisp and the air smelled like fall. The wind kicked up the leaves on the sidewalk so that they made that skittering sound along the concrete. It was like a lightbulb, and I had a perfect picture of Malachi’s world. He’s walking along his street, enjoying a perfect day, but the leaves have legs and the air doesn’t just smell like fall, it smells like cinnamon and there’s fire on the horizon, because, oh yeah, Malachi lives in Hell…but just the residential part.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Oh my goodness, I feel like there were so many, but at first I really struggled with Mal’s voice. I had originally written Grounded in third person, and I had such a clear view of his world, but something didn’t feel right as I was reading. I switched to first person and rewrote the book and that was a little better, but something was still missing. It wasn’t until I threw caution to the wind and wrote this snarky character with not a small amount of ego, that I felt like I finally found who Mal was, and it started to feel right. It was trial and error until I had that “Aha!” moment.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I love everything about this world that Mal inhabits, it really is me in a nutshell, so it was great to mash all of my favorite things together. I will say that my favorite parts were probably adding in those reference details like Faust owning a bakery, because all worldly knowledge included the recipe for the best apple cider donuts in all of existence. Or Mal ending up with a babysitter almostly literally older than dirt in the form of Methuselah. Even if young kids may not know what those things refer to, they were still a lot of fun to include.
What helps to motivate you when it comes to writing?
If I don’t write for a while I definitely get antsy, but I would say what really motivates me is that I love having a fully developed story! And the unfortunate truth to that is you can’t have a fully developed story if you don’t sit your butt down and write. You can’t revise a blank page, nothing is going to magically appear, so if I want that amazing fantasy world I see in my head to exist, I have to get the words out, even if sometimes it feels like moving in slow motion. Ten words is still ten more words than you had before.
This is your debut novel! Can you tell us about what the road to becoming a published author was like for you?
I think my journey was pretty typical of a lot of writers coming at this publishing thing after having another career. I started writing. A lot. Some stories I finished, most I didn’t. I researched everything I could find about publishing and read books on craft. I became a member of SCBWI and joined the Absolute Write Water Cooler. I attended virtual seminars and wrote and wrote. I signed with my fabulous agent, Victoria Wells Arms, with a chapter book about a vampire who kidnaps the Tooth Fairy after her new fangs give her a lisp, and although we got lovely feedback from editors it didn’t end up selling. That’s when I wrote Grounded, and Victoria and I went back and forth on the manuscript and she really helped challenge me to add depth into the universe, before it went out on submission, and this time we got interest! When I spoke to my editor, Kristin Gilson, at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, I knew immediately that this was the perfect home for Malachi and his squad. Kristin knew exactly where I was coming from and what I was trying to do.
What’s next for you?
I am finishing up the edits on Grounded book 2 right now! Malachi is coming back next year, and I am so excited to keep playing in his universe! I just feel like there are so many stories there, and I’m thrilled I get to tell another one. I also have a couple other middle grade projects in early stages that I’m really excited about, involving Krampus and dark fairy tales so we’ll see what happens there, but I love them already.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
There are some amazing books coming out this year, and I have been reading just everything!
For middle grade, you absolutely need to read “The Clackity” by Lora Senf. It’s dark and wonderful and I loved every second of it. Also “Stories to Keep you Alive Despite Vampires” by Ben Acker is such a fun read, perfect for reluctant readers and those adults who think fondly of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
In YA, I recently devoured “Homefield Advantage” by Dalia Adler, which is a romance between a cheerleader and the school’s first female quarterback. It’s not without its angst but the story sucked me right in, and I flew through it.
In Adult I have been craving the perfect cozy mystery for literally months and I found it in “Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies” by Misha Popp. It’s reminiscent of Pushing Up Daisies, and has the perfect blend of cozy pie-making, love and, of course, murder.
