BETHANY MANGLE

Bethany Mangle writes young adult contemporary fiction because she refuses to ever grow up. She graduated from Hood College and George Washington University with degrees that have nothing to do with writing. Although she currently lives in Mississippi, Bethany has called many different states home. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, baking questionable cakes, or spoiling her dog.
Bethany’s short fiction has appeared in a variety of publications, including Maudlin House and The Citron Review.
Her debut novel, Prepped, will be published on February 23, 2021 by Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Tell us about your book.

PREPPED is my debut novel. The main character, Becca, was raised in a community of doomsday preppers along with her ten-year-old sister. She has very little control over her own life because everyone around her prioritizes survival above all else. Her parents even chose her boyfriend, Roy, for her, based on their similar age and the fact that he’s a fellow prepper. Becca is secretly planning to escape and pursue her dream of studying physics. But when an accident devastates the community and her little sister starts to believe in the doomsday ideology, Becca’s getaway is suddenly in jeopardy. When she’s forced to turn to Roy for help, she realizes he isn’t nearly as clueless as he’s always pretended to be.

What is your writing process like?

My process is honestly pretty chaotic. I often start with a few big scenes that stick out in my mind, even if they’re at entirely different points in the story. Once I have those, I start writing the rest, using the more major scenes as milestones. I don’t plot in advance, but I use SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL to check my story beats and pacing once I’m finished. Oh, and by the time I’m finished writing for the day, I’m usually surrounded by empty mugs and snack containers.

How do you weave your culture(s) into your book(s)?

I was born in Korea and raised in New Jersey after being adopted. I’m thrilled whenever I see Asian representation in fiction, but it’s important to me to specifically show my experience as part of the Korean diaspora. In PREPPED, Roy Kang is Korean, but his family isn’t very traditional because they emphasize doomsday prepping above all else. That resonated with me since I didn’t grow up in a Korean household. Instead, I just sprinkled a few bits of Korean culture into the story, such as the doomsday community eating seaweed soup on Roy’s birthday. 

What advice do you have for writers?

I’m always hesitant to give advice because we all have different experiences. With that in mind, here’s the advice I give myself: Don’t compare yourself to other people. I struggled with that for years. I kept wondering if I was a real writer. Did I need a literary agent to call myself that? A book deal? I finally realized that writing makes a writer, not hitting some goal that I kept moving anyway.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

I think I write slower than most people. I would say that it takes me about a year to write a book from start to finish. That’s just to get the first draft done. I’m usually editing and polishing for about another month.

Bethany Mangle writes young adult contemporary fiction because she refuses to ever grow up. She graduated from Hood College and George Washington University with degrees that have nothing to do with writing. Although she currently lives in Mississippi, Bethany has called many different states home. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, baking questionable cakes, or spoiling her dog.
Bethany’s short fiction has appeared in a variety of publications, including Maudlin House and The Citron Review.
Her debut novel, Prepped, will be published on February 23, 2021 by Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books.