Interview with Katryn Bury, Author of Drew Leclair Crushes the Case
Thanks so much for joining us at SmackDab, Katryn. I always start with the obvious: Please tell us a bit about yourlatest book, Drew Leclair Crushes the Case (and also the Drew Leclair series).
Thanksfor having me! The Drew Leclair mysteries started as a seedling of an idea:what if Harriet the Spy wasreimagined in the age of social media? From there, Drew Leclair was born--ahighly observant seventh grader who dreams of being a criminal profiler for theFBI and creates profiles on her classmates as if they were notorious criminals.
Inthe first book, Drew Leclair Gets a Clue,Drew is reeling from her mother suddenly leaving the family after runningoff with the guidance counselor from her daughter’s middle school. When ananonymous cyberbully releases the rumor with a mean post about Drew and herfamily, she sets out to unmask the bully. In Drew Leclair Crushes the Case, we find Drew making up for some ofthe mistakes she made in her first mystery. She’s promised herself that schoolmysteries are too much trouble, but gets sucked back in when her best friendsask her to solve the mystery of a nasty locker thief at Ella Baker MiddleSchool.
Withthe Drew Leclair mysteries, I really tried to create books that deal withsocial issues as well as mysteries. I wanted a real kid dealing with realproblems—growing along with the series, learning more about herself, andfinding ways to correct past mistakes.
As a true crime nerd (and with degreesin sociology and criminology), I’d think you’d be a perfect fit for adult crimefiction. Why MG?
It’sfunny you should ask, as I just finished writing an adult crime novel that I’mreally passionate about! I tend to read more children’s books as a lifelong fanof books for the 8-18 range. Truthfully, I don’t find as many adult mysteriesthat suit my tastes, as I love books with a strong sense of humor but also aliterary feel. I love Agatha Christie, of course. And, if they wrote a seriesof Benoit Blanc mysteries, I’d read them in a second! I’m excited to writebooks in the future that look like the books I’d want to find in the adultsection but, in the meantime, I truly love middle grade. One of the mainreasons is that I love writing about kids discovering who they are. Often, YAis presented as the real age category for “coming of age.” I actually think thereal start comes in middle school. It’s at this age that you face some of yourbiggest social challenges as you define yourselves outside of your family unitfor the first time.
I’m a sucker for voice, and DrewLeclair’s voice immediately sucked me in. It’s just a perfect mix of havingpersonality and being youthful without sounding like an adult trying to writelike how they think a kid would sound. It’s such a hard task to master–voice isactually maybe the the hardest aspect of writing. How did you tap into Drew’svoice?
Ithink it comes down to two things. First, as I said, I love reading middlegrade. I’ve made it a habit to read as much as I can, studying the voices thatI find the most authentic. Second, I was a school librarian at this level formany years before switching to public libraries. When I was writing Drew Leclair Gets a Clue, I was stillworking at a middle school and always taking notes about how kids that agespeak--always observing, just like Drew!
What’s your writing process? How do youapproach series writing?
Ithink that a part of me always hopes the books I write will turn into a series,for the same reason I read series books: I get too attached to the characters!That said, I have to approach each book as if it might be a standalone or thelast in the series. I would never want to leave readers with too much of acliffhanger. Of course, my third-grade daughter was very upset when she got to the end of Drew Leclair Crushes the Case and there wasn’t a book three yet.She wanted to see how a certain relationship panned out. I can’t say whichbecause it’s a big spoiler!
Asfor my writing process, I’ve changed a lot since getting a book deal. Before, Iwould labor over a chapter over and over until it was perfect. Now, I like towrite a draft as fast as possible so that I don’t end up polishing somethingI’ll cut later. It’s really hard to leave bad writing behind, but I’ve found Ishine in revisions and write much better books because of it!
I have to ask about the attempt to banDrew Leclair. This issue hits home for me first because I’m also a writer andalso because I’m a Missourian, where a law was recently passed that could putlibrarians in jail for providing “sexually explicit material.” I’m just goingto give you the floor on this one and ask you to speak about it a bit.
Endingbook bans is a passion of mine on two fronts since I’m both a queer kidlitauthor and a librarian. When I found out that Drew Leclair Gets a Clue was facing an active challenge for LGBTQIA+ content, I was shocked. The representation in thebooks isn’t front and center and Drew (who questions if she is ace or bi, andfinally settles on bi) isn’t remotely interested in physical content. While herstraight friends are suddenly interested in holding hands and kissing, Drew ispretty grossed out by it all. In book one, all she says is that she has crusheson fictional characters from more than one gender. Pretty tame!
WhenI saw the news, it hit me hard. I only recently came out, and this kind ofresponse is exactly why I didn’t for so long. And if it hit this hard for me,how would it be for kids? The amazing Kelly Yang, spoke recently about bookbans and how people often respond by saying it’s a “badge of honor,” or thatyour “sales will go through the roof.” This last statement isn’t true (a bookthat is already a bestseller will do great, but not a book that is stillfinding its audience), but it’s also about so much more than that. Librariansand teachers may not carry these books out of fear for parent backlash. Thoseparents will claim that it’s not a real ban, simply a removal. But what aboutthe kids whose parents can’t afford to buy books? More importantly, what willkids learn from the books on these lists? Like I felt growing up, they mightfeel the sting of shame and erasure. Kids listen to us, and the last message Iwant them to get is that they are not enough. In my day job and my writing job,I want to uplift kids for exactly whothey are.
In addition to writing, you also host apodcast in which you pull back the curtain on the publishing industry, givingtips to those who are just beginning their publishing journey. What inspiredyou to start the podcast?
Mycritique partner, Eva DesLauriers, and I decided to dothe podcast because we were both struggling with where we were in our process(I had just published my first book, and she was about to go on submissionafter her first book with our agent didn’t sell). While we saw a lot of helpfulblogs and videos about the nuts and bolts of the industry, both of us felt thatwe wished we were more mentally prepared for the struggle of being in thisindustry. For me, my debut year was one of the hardest of my life, and I wantedto be really transparent about that for other authors who may feel the sameway. Now that she’s a debut with an impressive two-book deal with MacMillan(our amazing agent, Chelsea Eberly is just the best agent two ladies could askfor!), we’re both learning and growing with the process. When we realized thatour journeys were helping other authors with their mental health through thisprocess, we knew we had to keep going.
Do you have any words of advice forauthors who have found themselves with a challenged book?
Ithink it will vary from author to author, but I would definitely say to giveyourself a few days to feel the entire roller coaster of emotions you’ll gothrough. When you emerge, be honest about those feelings and fears. I think somany use the “badge of honor” line and, in a lot of ways, it’s true! We knowwe’re on the right side of history here because what we’re doing is telling thetruth. But sometimes boiling it down to a simple slogan can diminish the otherfeelings involved. I want to be very clear about the possibly catastrophicimpact that book bans could have on our youth. These groups really hang theirhat on “protecting children” as a way to bolster their argument, and we need tobe honest about how what they’re doing is hurtingchildren in so many ways. Showing a kid that other types of kids exist (inbooks dealing with racism, queer issues, and more) will build empathy. Showingkids their reflection in a book couldsave their life.
What do you hope that young readers willtake from the Drew Leclair series?
Ithink that I always approach a story because I see an injustice. Drew Leclairis a fun character and solves mysteries that are equally fun! But, there isalways a bit of a social story happening too. In Drew Leclair Gets a Clue, I would want the readers to learn thatmaking mistakes is an opportunity, and that standing up to bullies sometimesmeans standing up to the systems that create them. In Drew Leclar Crushes the Case, I pull the curtain back on wealthdisparity (a big problem in my/Drew’s hometown of Oakland and how the wealthysometimes use their money against people who don’t have it. With both of thesestories, I wanted to write a satisfying conclusion to social stories that oftendon’t have neat endings. Truthfully, I just love comeuppance!
What’s next for Drew?
Ihave a whole plan for Drew that continues her friendship with Trissa, Zora, andAlix on spring break at a sleepaway camp for nerds. I just hope they let mewrite it! I think, because I make Drew age, there can only be so many mysteriesfor her (it certainly won’t be in the hundreds like my other favoritedetective, Nancy Drew) but I do have more stories in me in the Drew Leclairuniverse!
Where can we find you?
I’mmost present on Instagram, but you can find me on Twitter andTiktok as well, all under @katrynwrites. Also, check out my website (katrynbury.com) for events, a subscribable newsletter and other updates. Iwould also love if people would check out me and Eva on Spotify, Apple, andmost other platforms in our podcast, Write Where it Hurts. I don’t quite have a cover yet, but I also have a new bookcoming out next fall, We Are Not Alone.I’m so excited about this one as it has big contemporary middle grade feels anddeals with kids who look for the secrets of UFOs and aliens. Find me on Goodreads and add it while you do!
