Interview with Victoria Wlosok, author of HOW TO FIND A MISSING GIRL

 

Today's interview is with Victoria Wlosok! I adored her book, How to Find a Missing Girl, and loved getting to talk about the book with her. I am truly excited about other people reading this book and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!
     

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When did you know that you wanted to write a book?

I've wanted to be an author since I was five years old; I wrote my first "book" at nine, and completed my first full manuscript as a freshman in high school. After that, I continued writing books (during NaNoWriMo, no less) until I drafted How to Find a Missing Girl during my senior year. So, always! Still, though, I'm so grateful to be starting my publication journey so early and so excited to continue writing books.

That is so valid though!! Also, I love NaNoWriMo for a good chaotic time while writing. I'm so glad that you get to write and publish your books!
What does your writing process look like?

In a word? Chaotic.
I'm still figuring out my process for myself; especially as I work on Book 2; but my current method includes avoiding outlining at all costs, rewriting as many scenes as possible until my hyper-critical writer brain is satisfied, and constantly condemning words to (and resurrecting them from) my Google Doc graveyard.

Valid!! Good luck at figuring out your process and figuring out what works for you!
How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Although How to Find a Missing Girl is inspired by a lot of things-my love for thrillers, my desire to see LBGTQ+ characters with my own identity at the front-and-center of media, and my own Southern small town among them-I truly started writing the book in response to certain events that took place in my community while I was in high school.
Now that the novel has been out for a while, I know some readers think the mystery at the heart of the book is one that's been told before. But that's because it happens all the time. And without giving anything away, I'm glad I was able to tell the story within How to Find a Missing Girl in a way that felt authentic to my teenage self and those around me.

That is so fair though!
What has it been like releasing your debut book?

It's been absolutely incredible. Getting to hold my book in my hands-to feel the physical manifestation of my life-long hopes and wildest dreams-was so surreal that it made me cry; seeing it in the hands of other people just makes me want to sob. My debut has gotten support from authors I grew up admiring; it's connected me with readers who feel seen by my words. Every day I wake up and feel so grateful to have this career and the ability to share my stories with the world. Five-year-old Victoria is so proud of us, even though there have been challenges to this journey too.

I am so glad! It sounds like it's been an amazing time! Even though there have been challenges, sounds like it's been worth it!
How did you figure out the personality and looks of the characters in this book?

I love this question! Many of the characters in How to Find a Missing Girl have personality traits or physical characteristics inspired by people I knew in high school. As a book with LGBTQ+ characters, it was also important to me to characterize the cast of the novel through their clothing; I think that you can tell a lot about a queer person based on how much effort they put into their clothing and what types of items they wear, and that was something I wanted to loosely incorporate into the narrative of the story to make it feel more authentic. (Long-live Sammy's worm-on-a-string earrings!)

Love that!!!! Love giving fictional characters traits from real people! I really want you to give so many more details about how the effort put into correlates to a queer person. I am so curious.
One of the things that fascinated me the most about this book was the podcast episodes. They were dispersed throughout the book and I thought they added a really unique touch to the book. How did you decide where the episodes should be placed in the book?

It's been a while since I've worked on the book (or even read it), so I can't remember if this format ended up changing during edits, but I know my original plan was to include one podcast episode for each six chapters of prose. I can also say the podcast trailer that now opens the book was added at the eleventh hour of edits-and as someone who doesn't regularly listen to true-crime, I had to do a lot of research to make sure it sounded compelling yet amateurish. Overall, though, I loved incorporating podcast transcripts into the book. It was a lot of fun to write so much Heather dialogue, especially since she doesn't get a lot of page time before she disappears, so I felt like it was an important part of developing her personality.

You know what? Valid! I adored that you included those transcripts! I thought it gave a special touch to the book.
Do you have a favorite line or scene in this book?

Although it might sound cliche, I love the book's final chapter. The closing lines never fail to make me misty-eyed, especially because it marks such a bittersweet full-circle moment for How to Find a Missing Girl's protagonist. Other than that, my favorite line is probably "comphet really is a bitch."

Solid! Both are really good lines!
Are you working on any other projects right now?

Yes! I'm currently hard at work on my second contracted novel with Little, Brown. It's a standalone YA thriller pitched as I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Saw, and I can't wait to share more details soon!

Yes!!! I am so looking forward to reading it!!!
Recently I've found myself really curious as to what books other people are reading. What are some books you read and enjoyed recently?

I always love hyping up my recent reads! Lately, I've absolutely loved Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao, Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White, I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea, and Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington. If you're looking for a book to get you out of a book slump, I don't think you can go wrong with any of those choices.

You're the second person to mention Dear Wendy to me and I'm starting to think that I need to read that book!! But also, Andrew Joseph White writes amazing books and I am obsessed with them! Adding the other books to my TBR.
Thank you so much to Victoria for taking part in this interview and to everyone who read it! This was an amazing time and I am so happy to learn some more about How to Find a Missing Girl! This was such a great interview and I am thrilled about it. I personally think everyone should check out her books and I am looking forward to what she'll put out next.

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You can find Victoria Wlosok on their website, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

You can buy Victoria Wlosok's books from Flyleaf Books and City Lights Bookstore.

If you can't buy her books but you still want to read them, consider requesting them to your local library or suggesting them on Overdrive!