Audrey Dae is a Columbia, MO author whose debut book is “What You’re In For.” The book is a young adult fiction adventure-thriller that follows a range of teens over a particularly explosive Fourth of July weekend in the Missouri Ozarks. Dae is currently completing a degree in English from the University of Missouri, where she interns for The Missouri Review literary magazine. She was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email.
Daniel Boone Regional Library: What drew you to the Missouri Ozarks as the main setting for the book?
Audrey Dae: When I was in high school, my parents took our family on a Fourth of July weekend trip to Branson — the typical summer vacation destination for Missourians — in similar fashion to the Smith kids’ adventures in “What You’re In For.” That’s what inspired the book’s Missouri Ozarks setting. I have a memory of sitting on a Table Rock Lake boat dock after the sun had gone down, listening to the frogs weather the humidity, and I had this feeling of immense anticipation come over me. As a beginning writer, I’m drawn to setting, tuned to those feelings, and prone to dramatizing my own experiences. Throwing my characters together in the fictional town of “Ransom” was an opportunity to share that while also representing (and promoting, in a way) the uniqueness of my home state.
DBRL: A couple of the characters have supernatural cognitive abilities; Ruth can predict her future, and Esther can recall her past in detail. How did you decide to include their abilities into the story? If you could choose between the two abilities, which one would you pick?
AD: Ruth’s and Esther’s cognitive abilities are, in part, metaphors for their mental health. When we meet them in the story, they’re in an ambiguous in-between stage in their lives, almost exactly where I was when I began to seriously work on the book. College is a time of real reckoning. I enhanced this theme through the inclusion of Ruth’s and Esther’s abilities, which mirror each other and two dual sides of development: fixating on the future versus pandering in the past. As for myself, I wouldn’t want to have either ability; I already think too much!
DBRL: Tell me about your process in creating the book playlist that you released alongside the book. Is there one song on there that you think sums up the book the most?
AD: I’m so glad you mentioned the book playlist! Much of my writing process takes place in my head, so listening to music that reminds me of my stories incentivizes me to work on them. I grew up in a musical family like the Jacksons in “What You’re In For,” so maybe that’s why. Branson itself is an extremely musical place with emphases in the country-rock area, but dealing with that can be a turn-off for folks who misconceive those genres to be made of modern, popular, exaggerated radio accents and unoriginal, misogynistic lyrics. Therefore, I made sure my playlist proved the real diversity that has always thrived within contemporary country, folk, rock, blues, Americana, and fusion genres. I found a host of new favorite musical artists along the way. Every song on the playlist corresponds to a character, a theme, a moment, a line, or a whole scene in my novel.
DBRL: One of your characters is a fledgling writer who describes their work as “Genre-bending … Teen lit,” which seems like a good description of your work as well. What appeals to you about genre-bending? Is there a particular genre that is easiest for you to write?
AD: On the subject of genres, I have to say that I adore literary ones when they include elements of fantasy. The world seldom offers escapism on that front. I sometimes describe “What You’re In For” to people as magical realism, but I’m learning to be less concerned whether my work will be likable and/or marketable if it fulfills certain tropes, and more concerned with whether it resonates alone; if it’s likeable despite being flexible. I’m not even sure it’s unequivocally young adult, since there’s a large age range in characters. The libraries can decide!
DBRL: You must read a lot for your MU English classes and your internship at the Missouri Review. Did any of this reading influence the content or production of your book? Read anything good lately you’d like to recommend?
AD: A lot of writing advice stinks because it’s too specific, too broad, too conventional, or too weird; however I can tell you that reading a lot with an analytical eye does, in fact, work. For me, at least. Now, everything I read for English classes or for The Missouri Review, and even the story-form content I consume on my own, is a potential influence for my own work. Recently, I’ve read and would recommend Sabaa Tahir’s novel “All My Rage.”
DBRL: Where can readers get a copy of your book?
AD: Readers can check out a copy of “What You’re In For” now at DBRL, and purchase it via Amazon, or via my hometown independent bookstore: Neighborhood Reads in Washington, MO. The links to purchase are on my website, audreydae.com!
