Bree Despain is the author of the new young adult novel The Killing Rules. Her other books include The Dark Divine. She lives in Salt Lake City.
Q: What inspired you to write The Killing Rules, and how did you create your characters Harper and Grayson?
A: The Killing Rules was born out of the #MeToo movement, and especially the sins it exposed in the publishing world. It was heart-wrenching to see how much pain my author friends (and myself) had experienced for just being women in the industry. I had a lot of pent-up feminine rage that needed a place to go, so I turned to the page.
TKR touches a little bit on the publishing world, but focuses more on high school, and similar struggles that teen girls face on the regular.
I created Harper because I saw so many terrible men getting away with terrible things and I loved the idea of letting a girls’ girl who loves pink, and baking, and cheerleading to be the one to dole out justice and take those men down. Those men see her as a potential victim, but little do they know the power she wields.
Grayson was inspired by the journalists out there who still care about exposing the truth and not just writing clickbait, like Ronan Farrow. Grayson is a truth-seeker who doesn’t let anything stop him—and that can sometimes land him in dangerous situations.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Harper and Grayson?
A: Harper is someone with a lot of secrets (aka killing terrible men) and Grayson is someone who dedicates himself to exposing secrets. They both are working towards what they believe is the common good, but their goals constantly bump up against each other.
Grayson’s truth-seeking is one of the things Harper admires the most about him, but she also knows it’s the reason they can’t be together. This relationship dynamic makes for a lot of interpersonal conflict, angst, and a healthy dose of yearning between the two of them.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had an idea of how I wanted the book to end when I first started writing it, but when I got to that ending, I realized that the book wasn’t over yet.
It dawned on me that if I was making the patriarchy and misogyny villains in my story, I needed to write an epic scene where Harper gets to symbolically take down the patriarchy—and that scene made for a bloody good time!
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?
A: A sense of hope and empowerment in a world where terrible people seem like they’re always winning. Obviously, this book is fantasy and I do not condone violence in any way, but I hope it will inspire people to speak up and use their voices against the bad things and people of this world.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a few projects underway, including a couple of adult thrillers. I am also crossing all my fingers and toes that I will get to write a companion novel (or more) to The Killing Rules. I have some really fun ideas.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: When The Killing Rules publishes, it will have been 10 years since my last traditionally published book came out. TKR has been in the making for almost nine of those years!
This novel is the “book of my heart” and it’s also my “comeback” to the publishing world. I am so grateful to people like you who are lending the book their platform and support. Thank you so much!!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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