The Story is About   +  thriller

Kristina McBride

The Tension of Opposites
May 25, 2010
Egmont USA

Website: www.kristinamcbride.com

Tagline: What happens when your best friend is kidnapped - and returns home two years later?

Two years ago Noelle disappeared. Two long years of no leads, no word, no body. Since the abduction, Tessa, her best friend, has lived in a state of suspended animation. She has some friends, but keeps them distant. Some interests, but she won’t allow herself to become passionate about them. And guys? She can’t get close—she knows what it is like to really lose someone she cared for.

And then, one day, the telephone rings. Noelle is alive. And maybe, just maybe, Tess can start to live again, too.

A haunting psychological thriller taken straight from the headlines, The Tension of Opposites is a striking debut that explores the emotional aftermath a kidnapping can have on the victim, and on the people she left behind.

"Sometimes I saw Noelle sunning herself on a tropical beach, away on an endless vacation. But like my old therapist had told me, it isn’t healthy to ignore reality. Most of the time, I envisioned Noelle in a dark basement, chained to a moldy wall. But that went directly against the information I had found online the day the crisis-intervention speaker came to our middle school and tried to soften the blow of Noelle’s absence. In my worst moments, I pictured Noelle’s clean bones peeking up from a pile of damp leaves in the woods."

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Kristina McBride, a former high-school English teacher and yearbook advisor, wrote The Tension of Opposites in response to the safe return of a child who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friend’s house. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two young children. This is her first novel.

What was your road to publication like?

It was a long and arduous journey. I received over 200 rejections on my first two manuscripts before landing my agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin with Trident Media Group, on book three. Then, I worked on revisions for nearly a year, scrapping almost the entire book six months into the process. It was well worth the struggle, though, because three weeks after my agent pitched The Tension of Opposites to editors, we had three offers on the table, which led to a mini-auction. Needless to say, this has all been a dream come true!

Describe The Tension of Opposites in three words.

Friendship. Love. Awakening.

What are your must haves when you are writing?

Quiet. My netbook. And some chocolate as a reward. (M&M’s are my fave!)

What were you like as a teen? Did it have any influence over your characters in The Tension of Opposties?

I was a pretty typical teen. I loved hanging out with friends (dancing to loud music, laying out at the pool, driving around town with the windows down), and tasting the freedom that you gain as you grow older. Certain things in the book definitely came from my high school friends, a group of people who are still a very important part of my life. Tessa’s desire to own a yellow Jeep was the dream of one of my best friends, Colleen, who wanted to travel around the country in a yellow Jeep after graduation. The scene with Tessa and Elle listening to Ani DiFranco in the car was inspired by many hours listening to music in my friend Lori’s car.

Who were your favorite authors as a teen?

I have always been a fan of creepy reads – think Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I also had a thing for Christopher Pike. During my senior year, a teacher introduced me to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. I thought she was the coolest teacher ever! Though I love the creepy stuff, and the kidnapping premise of my book sets that tone, there is definitely a balance between the light and dark elements in The Tension of Opposites.

Are you working on anything now? Can you tell us anything about it?

I am working on book 2 of my 2-book deal with Egmont USA. It’s totally unrelated to The Tension of Opposites. And, just in case my revisions are as extensive as with the first book, I’d better not even start to describe the plot.