Success Story Interview - Shayna Grissom

An Interview with Shayna Grissom (ShaynaGrissom on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Chelsea Hensley of Mad Woman Literary Agency.

03/18/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Shayna Grissom:
The Cuckoo's Nest is a gothic horror about a lonely little girl living in WW2 England who becomes friends with an evil witch. I was reading The Lamb while listening to Nona the Ninth on audible and this is the story that came out.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Shayna Grissom:
About fifteen years.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Shayna Grissom:
I wrote the book in October and it took about a month.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Shayna Grissom:
To quit querying? All the time. I've never wanted to give up writing, though. I love the writing process too much to ever give it up.

QT: Is this your first book?

Shayna Grissom:
This is book 15.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Shayna Grissom:
Not at all.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Shayna Grissom:
I wake up, send the kids to school. Drink my coffee and check the news and answer my emails. I try to write while being harassed by 2 massive dogs. Walk the dogs. Then, I can finally get to writing. I pause for lunch then get back to writing until the kids come home, unless of course I can get away with more writing.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Shayna Grissom:
What I gave to my agent was a first draft.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Shayna Grissom:
Nope

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Shayna Grissom:
I didn't even know what the book was going to be about when I started writing it.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Shayna Grissom:
I've been querying for a decade or longer, I queried this book for 2 months.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Shayna Grissom:
107

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Shayna Grissom:
Anyone who accepted Horror that didn't give bad vibes.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Shayna Grissom:
No one has time for that!

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Shayna Grissom:
Write what you love. You might not get an agent, but at least you'll have a good time. Query widely, research, and read in your genre. Being a good writer is different from writing a good query so don't be afraid of feedback.

Query Letter:

THE CUCKOO’S NEST is an Adult Horror complete at 70,000 words. This book has a supernatural companion like My Darling Dreadful things by Johanna Von Veen, but from a child’s perspective similar to The Lamb by Lucy Rose.

Eleven-Year-Old Molly’s quiet life on her family estate gets turned upside down when Aunt Veronica and her two cousins move in. She can no longer write letters to the oak tree without scrutiny, and every dead animal under the covers is somehow her fault.

When Molly’s mother has an accident that sends her to the hospital, Veronica uses the opportunity to exert control over not just the estate, but Molly as well. Her aunt sends away her governess and delights in tormenting her. Just when she can’t take anymore, an unlikely ally emerges from the shadows. Her name is Blair, and while she murdered all the chickens and probably wants to eat her cousins, Molly has found her very first friend.

Blair is a witch of the forest and claims that Molly can be one as well. Veronica says she’s mad, and there’s no such person in the house, but she knows the truth. Her papa’s return from a business trip should’ve been the end of Veronica’s reign, but instead, he sends her Mum to an asylum and there’s talk of boarding school.

Amid the growing hunger for rotting meat and the throes of puberty, Molly must survive the whims and snares of her family to find peace, otherwise she’ll die on the inside the way her mother did.