Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Mccreight.
Hi Kimberly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The first short story I can recall writing wasn’t until high school, and that was only because I’d been assigned an essay for my senior year English class about A TALE OF TWO CITIES. And I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how to answer the question. So instead, I wrote a story from the perspective of a young French girl, which luckily my teacher accepted instead! She became a real champion of my writing after that and was extremely encouraging. Also, I discovered what an incredible escape writing could be, especially from my challenging home life.
But I didn’t write much again until after college and law school — the whole endeavor just seemed so awash in uncertainty and I was intimidated by the very many creative people I attended college with. It wasn’t until I was working as an attorney that I finally had the courage to try. I deferred my law school loans and took a year-long leave from my job to write my first book. Of course, the road from that first novel to published author ended up being far longer and more frightening than I’d expected.
It took me over a decade, five unpublished books and three agents to sell my first novel: RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA. In the decade since, I’ve published seven books, which have gone on to be optioned for film and have appeared in more than twenty languages. My eighth novel, LIKE MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER, is forthcoming from Knopf summer of 2024.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not smooth, no!
I don’t think any creative person’s journey ever is. The reality is, you’re only as good as whatever you’ve just made and making great things is hard. I think that’s important for people to know: that it’s never not hard to live a creative life. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it, but it is a reality you need to be aware of. (Also, to be clear a lot of jobs ARE a lot harder!) But in many ways, I was right to be worry about the uncertainty of being a writer as a vocation.
And it’s even harder to break in, of course. In my case, part of that road was about learning how to write. Each on of those unpublished books got better because writing is a craft that you need to practice in order to improve, which is also why I would never try to revisit those earlier books. They weren’t very good!
Still, I do feel that getting published does sometimes come down to luck and good timing and so is certainly not for the feint of heart. People often ask how I didn’t give up in face of so many years of so many rejection, looking back now, I honest am not sure! But I did feel like writing was a thing I was meant to be doing.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a New York Times bestselling novelist and also a screenwriter specializing in character-driven mysteries with a significant emotional component. I hope what distinguishes my work is the combination of character, theme and a tightly plotted mystery. I endeavor to create stories that keep you on the edge of your seat and deliver a completely surprising ending. But I also hope that readers find my endings both emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking. I’m never really trying to answer questions for anyone about how we live, but I do hope people walk away from my books thinking about their own lives.
How do you define success?
Doing the best that you can in all areas of your life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kimberlymccreight.com
- Instagram: @kimberlymccreight
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mccreight.kimberly/
- Twitter: @kimmccreight
