The time it was about This Monstrous Thing

When I saw the synopsis for This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee, I was super excited.  I’ve always enjoyed the story of Frankenstein and I just love how unique it sounded.  I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but I knew I wanted to help promote the book.

Before we get to Mackenzi’s interview, let’s check out the book.

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

Sounds good, right?

Where did the idea for THIS MONSTROUS THING come from?

My books never have a single “aha!” inception moment. Rather, they are most often comprised of many small things piling up over the year that suddenly melt into each other like chocolate left in a car on a hot day. In the case of This Monstrous Thing, those things were:

1. Seeing a stage production of Frankenstein at the National Theater
2. Hearing Frankenstein incorrectly categorized as a steampunk novel, which I knew was incorrect, but got me thinking
3. A trip I took to Switzerland and Germany at Christmastime
4. A lifetime of being the older half of a pair of tight-knit siblings

Why do you love Alasdair and why should we root for him?

Alasdair’s really hard on himself, which is something that I relate deeply to, and that incites a lot of empathy in me, and hopefully in readers as well. His self-esteem is not the greatest, and he carries around a lot of guilt, some of which is warranted and some that isn’t. But he’s also deeply loyal to the people he loves, and he loves and trusts very deeply, even though a lot of people haven’t given him a lot of reasons to. Someone who can keep loving in spite of being hurt is, I think, something worth rooting for.

Describe THIS MONSTROUS THING in five words. 

Steampunk. Frankenstein. Switzerland. Brothers. Clockwork.

What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

That a book deal doesn’t solve the self-doubt, insecurity, and comparison to others that plagued me when I was pre-published. No matter where you are in your process, you will always want more—which is how it should be. We should always be challenging ourselves to be better. But there are so many things you can’t control about publishing, and those sort of things aren’t going to make you feel validated as a writer. That has to come from you. I also wish somebody had told me stop worrying and enjoy it more! Getting your first novel is so wonderful and stressful, and I wish someone had told me to take more time to dwell on the wonderful parts of it.

You wake up and find that you are Bella from Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question!}

Become a vampire hunter. Obvs.

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Mackenzi Lee is reader, writer, unapologetic fangirl, fast talker, and perpetually-anxious badass. She holds an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults.

She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and historical fiction. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently lives in Boston, where she works as a bookseller and almost never reanimates corpses. Almost.

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Huge thanks to the lovely ladies at FFBC for the invite and to Mackenzi for taking the time.  Make sure you’re checking out her website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR shelf.

Make sure you’re following the rest of the blog tour for extra goodies.

And check out the awesome giveaway!

**Good Luck!!**

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