Check out our interview with Stephanie Wrobel, the author of "Revenge Plot."
What was your inspiration behind REVENGE PLOT?
I was thinking about dinner guests who don’t read the signs that the party is over and it’s time to go. Naturally, my brain then went somewhere darker. What about someone who refuses to leave someone else’s home? Once those someones became an aspiring writer and a literary agent, the novel took off. Revenge Plot is like Stephen King’s Misery, but instead of a writer and a crazy fan, it’s a literary agent and a crazy writer.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
To me, Reading Rainbow means celebrating stories that reflect the full range of the human experience—and making space for LGBTQ+ characters to be as joyful, flawed, and fascinating as anyone else. I love that books can introduce us to lives different from our own, but I also think there’s something powerful about getting to see yourself on the page. We all deserve that experience.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
I believe fiction’s biggest job and greatest benefit is helping people practice empathy. I may never have the chance to walk in the shoes of someone living on the other side of the world or experiencing a specific hardship, but for eight to twelve hours while I’m reading a novel, I can imagine what it feels like to be them. In our polarized and sometimes hateful world, it’s more important than ever to be exposed to people from all walks of life. I find focusing on what we have in common to be more productive and anxiety-relieving than giving in to the hate.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write REVENGE PLOT.
Revenge Plot is about an aspiring writer who shows up at a literary agent’s door on Christmas Day and refuses to leave until she gives his manuscript a second chance. I wanted to show readers, to the best of my ability, what it looks and feels like to be an author—and maybe to take a few playful jabs at the publishing industry that has given me so much and, at times, frustrated me!
What can fans expect from your book?
An examination of the line between persistence and desperation, what it means to sacrifice for your art—and, of course, two unhinged characters determined to take each other down.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I’m working on my next novel, which involves a genre switch! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic California.
