Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Divya Kernan

Success Story Interview - Divya Kernan

An Interview with Divya Kernan (Divya_Kernan on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Aiden Siobhan of Laura Dail Literary Agency, Inc..

06/02/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Divya Kernan:
Shattered Lilies and Stolen Crowns is a dark fantasy that subverts the Beauty and the Beast fairytale and plays with the corrupting nature of beauty and desire.
Growing up, I was not a fan of the original story: Beauty is all that is lovable, how hard is it for the Beast to fall in love with her and want to be good for her? Shouldn’t the conceited prince be the one that learns to see beyond appearances? This is how Shattered Lilies and Stolen Crowns started.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Divya Kernan:
I’ve been writing on and off since childhood and have accumulated quite a few unfinished projects. At the end of 2018, I decided to take my writing seriously, finish a novel and attempt to get it published. Shattered Lilies and Stolen Crowns is the second novel I wrote since.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Divya Kernan:
I wrote the first 30k words during NanoWriMo 2019, while friends read an early draft of my first novel. Then another chunk during Nanowrimo 2020. Afterwards, I kept alternating between editing my first novel and drafting this one, then between editing Shattered Lilies and Stolen Crowns and drafting a new novel.
I queried my sixth draft in the summer of 2023, and got many full requests, but no offer. I went back to developmental revision, focusing particularly on the first hundred pages. I tightened them for pacing, but also decided to frontload the most original elements of the story. I queried again in the summer of 2024 and signed with my agent in November 2024.
So, all in all, it took a long time.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Divya Kernan:
Giving up on writing? No. Writing is my main special interest. I take breaks when life demands them, and it generally turns out to be a positive thing: I come back from these breaks with solutions to plot holes or clarity on characters’ motivations.
As for the two decades of unfinished stories, I learned that what hinders me most is my own plotting: I would write these detailed outlines and as soon as they were complete, I would lose interest. Now I understand I need to keep a sense of discovery to stay on course.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Divya Kernan:
In 2019 (when I got serious) I joined the Novel Generator program at GrubStreet, a nonprofit creative writing center in Boston. In 2021-2022, I enrolled in the Short Story Incubator, at Grubstreet as well. These two courses gave me a sense of legitimacy and a community.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Divya Kernan:
Yes! My writing group read and critiqued an early draft of this novel (maybe the third draft?).
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Divya Kernan:
For the first draft, I did not outline, but as I edited, I confronted what I had written with traditional story structures, in particular the Save the Cat beats, and focused on missing elements to build a strong revision plan.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Divya Kernan:
My journey querying this book was very similar to my journey querying my first book. I started querying my first novel in the Summer of 2020, edited between batches and signed with an agent in October 2022 after a revise and resubmit. When that novel did not sell, we parted ways amicably. With Shattered Lilies and Stolen Crowns, I started in July 2023 and signed in November 2024. The second time was not fast, but it was faster!
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Divya Kernan:
Short from seventy in the 2023 batch that landed me many full requests but no offer. Then around 25 when I queried afresh in the Summer of 2024 after a big developmental revision.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Divya Kernan:
I cast a wide net, based on what genres agents represent and was particularly respectful of what they do not want to receive. Beyond that I did not pay too much attention to specific requests in MSWL as I feel they can create false hopes or make you overlook agents that might be a match.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Divya Kernan:
As this is the second novel I queried, I let agents know if they had requested the full manuscript of my first novel back then. And if agents had specific guidelines for the query letter, I reshuffled my paragraphs accordingly. But otherwise no.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Divya Kernan:
Querying is a numbers game, and more so if you have a brain that enjoys odd combinations. It takes a lot of queries to find the people who will resonate with your vision. Also, revising between query batches can be very effective.