Authors at Home: Hayley Krischer, “The Falling Girls”
Hayley Krischer’s new novel, The Falling Girls (publishing October 5th from Razorbill) is the much-anticipated follow-up to her debut, Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf. The Falling Girls explores female friendships — how they can be all-consuming, beautiful, and toxic all at once. Hayley shared her writing process with us, what she’s reading, and what she’d do if she wasn’t an author. Read on to discover more about Hayley Krischer, our featured author on Authors at Home:
What are you currently reading, watching, listening to? Anything you wholly recommend as being inspiring, uplifting or just really fun?
I’m currently reading Animal by Lisa Taddeo. The audible version is narrated by Emma Roberts, and I’m mesmerized by her voice. I wouldn’t call it fun. It’s a dark book!
I’m listening to D-Listed the Podcast. Alison and Michael K. crack me up. If you like gossip, this is the podcast for you.
If you haven’t watched Cheer on Netflix, I highly recommend. I was obsessed with it last year when it came out, and it really helped me understand the physical demands of competitive cheer.
Can you take us through the day in the life of Hayley Krischer? What’s your day-to-day routine like as a writer?
I’m a legit morning writer. I’ve been this way forever. I get my best work out in the morning and on the weekends, when I’m not trying to get my kids out of the house, it’s the first thing I do. Coffee at 7:30 a.m. and write. During the weekdays I get up at 6:45, get the kids out, walk the dog at 8 a.m. and get back to my desk to write by 8:30 a.m. I always try to write at night — and I used to when I was younger — but I’m so tapped out from the day I can’t do it anymore! It’s also really important for creative people to have time to do nothing.
What is your favorite food? Your go-to drink?
Drink: Coffee. Food: Any kind of pasta.
What are some necessary items you have on hand to get you through a writing session?
Books and books and books. I need to be reading constantly when I’m writing. I also use a lot of vision boards. I’m a very visual person so I need to see pictures of my characters in front of me as I write. I scour the internet and I make Pinterest boards but I also print the photos out and pin them up like a collage. For this book, because the plot was so specific, I needed to put the timeline on a calendar to get my story straight. It helped tremendously when I was in copy edits. Then I could say, this happened on a Tuesday, etc. I also write everything in Scrivener. Books and articles (when I’m writing something for a publication). It takes a minute to get to use, but once you do, even in the most basic operation, it makes your life so much easier.
What projects should we look out for in the future? Any new books in the works?
Yes, I’m writing a new book about Hollywood. Can’t say more than that!
If you weren’t writing books right now, what would you be doing?
I would be writing something. I can’t live without writing. It’s how I breathe. It’s how I process. But maybe I’d be a gardener. I love using my hands and getting dirty.
How did your personal experience as a high school cheerleader influence your writing of this book?
Oh, good question. I was the worst cheerleader! I worked so hard to get on the team. Everyone was shocked that I wanted to do it. I was not that kind of kid. I spent time smoking cigarettes in the bathroom with my friends. Doing stupid, risky stuff. I didn’t really fit in with the cheerleaders, but they were so nice to me. I think I was looking for that discipline. In The Falling Girls, I’m both a little bit of Shade and a little Jadis. Where there is a side of me that wanted to be a cheerleader and the other side saying, “What are you thinking?” I wanted to make Shade really commit to cheer. I wanted her to want to be in control of her life and her body more than anything, and stop being in her friend’s shadow. I think my own failure to be so blasé about cheer while I was on the team gave me inspiration for this. I’ve always been fascinated by the girls who could smile with ease, who could be peppy, who weren’t shy. I was all of those things. Shade is too — but she embraces it. She owns it. She becomes a great cheerleader.
You do so well in exploring the intricacies of female friendships in your work. What do you think is the most important aspect of female friendships?
Ahhh. I think it’s about love, trust and inspiration. I’m deeply inspired by my friends, and I hope I inspire them as well. I definitely had friendships where the boundaries were blurred. You become the other person so to speak. There’s a fine line between romantic love and becoming intoxicated by a new friend. When you have a new friend sometimes you feel like you want to swallow them whole and become that person. I still feel that way about some of my friends. I admire them so much that they recharge me.
What is one big message you want readers to take away from The Falling Girls?
That it’s OK to step outside of who you are and search for something more to fulfill you. Especially in high school we’re so tied to each other, that finding your identity outside of your friends can be painful. It can feel like a gaping wound. Sometimes that means that you have to leave a friendship behind if it’s not fulfilling you or if it feels toxic. You have to be true to yourself.
Book Summary:
Shade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming.
Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes . Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes — the insufferable trio that rules the squad — including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming.
Jadis won’t give Shade up so easily, though, and the pull between her old best friend and her new teammates takes a toll on Shade as she tries to forge her own path. So when one of the cheerleaders dies under mysterious circumstances, Shade is determined to get to the bottom of her death. Because she knows Jadis — and if her friend is responsible, doesn’t that mean she is, too?
In this compelling, nuanced exploration of the layered, intoxicating relationships between teen girls, and all the darkness and light that exists between them, novelist Hayley Krischer weaves a story of loss and betrayal, and the deep reverberations felt at a friendship’s breaking point.
About Hayley Krischer:
Hayley Krischer is a journalist and author of young adult fiction. Her debut novel, Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf, was on the shortlist in the New York Times, a Book Expo buzz book pick for 2020 and selected for the 2021 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List from the American Library Association.
She is a regular contributor to the New York Times and has written for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Marie Claire, The Rumpus, Lenny Letter and many other outlets.
Hayley Krischer lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with her husband, two kids, one dog, and three cats.
CONNECT WITH HAYLEY:
Website: www.hayleykrischer.net
Instagram: hayley krischer
Twitter: @hayleykrischer
