Molly Booth is adorable. A cute, pixie haircut, glasses, and a huge, beautiful smile. And she’s a damn fine writer too. Her debut novel, Saving Hamlet, was just published in November. It’s funny as hell, smart, and has Shakespeare! What’s not to love?

In Saving Hamlet we meet Emma, a high school student who has recently shed her jock persona in favor of a drama geek. She is the stage manager of her school’s production of Hamlet and things aren’t going well. The lead is struggling with his lines, Ophelia is being a prima donna, and the director (her secret crush) is not, well, being directional. And then one night Emma accidentally falls through the stage trapdoor and finds herself in the basement of the Globe Theater in London. In the sixteenth century. Emma has to find a way back home and glean enough information from her experience with the Globe’s theatrical company to make her own high school show a success.

FIVE QUESTIONS

1. What was the original seed idea for your book? Did it start with a character, a situation, or an idea?

The original idea for Saving Hamlet came when I was a sophomore at Marlboro College, taking a fiction workshop and a Shakespeare course at the same time. My professor, Paul Nelsen, taught us about Shakespeare’s backstage and history, and it was so exciting! So many plays at once, barely any rehearsal time, lightning-paced theater. I’d been a stage manager in high school and for part of college, so reading about the Globe and the Chamberlain’s Men was thrilling. I came up with a short story idea to have a teenager travel back in time there, and get to work with Shakespeare. I started writing Emma (my main character), and her challenges and voice helped shape the story, which eventually became Saving Hamlet.

2. What is your writing process? Are you an outliner or a pantser?

A bit of both! I write one draft without a whole lot of plotting, then I do a long outline before the next one. Some chapters I go in knowing what needs to happen, sometimes I write until I figure it out, and then go back and revise. I think part of what’s exciting (and terrifying) for me about writing is that you don’t know how it’s all going to happen before you do it. Maybe once I’ve written 10 or 20 books I’ll know ahead of time, but I doubt it!

3. Who are the writers which most influence your writing style?

I grew up reading Meg Cabot and Tamora Pierce, and I do think some of how I write was formed by their (far superior) clear prose, humor, and character development. In recent years, I’ve also turned to Rainbow Rowell when looking for inspiration — she writes so fearlessly, and her books give me courage.

4. Do you listen to music when you write?

Sometimes! If I do, it’s almost always instrumental electronic music. I wrote Saving Hamlet to the Social Network soundtrack and deadmau5, and for Nothing Happened, I’ve been writing with Ratatat in the background. I usually listen to musicals, alternative rock/pop, and Taylor Swift, so the electronic thing is definitely a weird writing phenomenon for me.

5. What are you reading right now?

Right now, I’m reading Hag-Seed  by Margaret Atwood, a retelling of The Tempest, as well as finishing The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. I also just finished my friend Dana Langer’s truly wonderful middle grade novel, Siren Sisters, which I cannot recommend enough!

Molly Booth

Molly Booth is a freelance writer, youth theatre director, and graduate student at UMass Boston. She writes YA books about Shakespeare and feelings. Her first novel Saving Hamlet, is out now from Disney Hyperion. Her second, Nothing Happened will be coming spring 2018. She lives in Boston, and has almost too many pets. Almost. For more, find her on twitter @mollygbooth, and visit her website: www.mollybooth.com

Saving Hamlet was probably my favorite YA read of 2016. You’ll laugh out loud, I promise.

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