Kelsey Rae Dimberg: Pay Attention to What Excites You

Kelsey Rae Dimberg is the author of Girl in the Rearview Mirror. She received an MFA from the University of San Francisco. Before writing novels, she wrote copy for startups like Google and Groupon. She lives in Chicago. Follow her on Instagram.

Kelsey Rae Dimberg

Photo by Bekah Wriedt

In this interview, Kelsey discusses how throwing out a couple hundred pages of a different draft helped her find the idea for her new thriller, Snake Oil, her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Kelsey Rae Dimberg
Literary agent: Dan Conaway at Writer’s House
Book title: Snake Oil
Publisher: Mariner
Release date: September 17, 2024
Genre/category: Thriller
Previous titles: Girl in the Rearview Mirror
Elevator pitch: Just as charismatic CEO Rhoda West is about to close a fundraising round that will make her wellness startup a unicorn, an anonymous Twitter account begins spilling dirt from inside Radical. Tensions escalate until tragedy strikes at a company event. In the aftermath of what looks more and more like a crime, even the most faithful followers begin to wonder to what lengths Rhoda will go to protect her company.

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What prompted you to write this book?

The idea for Snake Oil came from several places. I wanted to set the book in San Francisco, a place I love. When I lived there, the startup boom was transforming the city—I even worked for an app that was acquired by Google (I didn’t get rich). Over the years, startup culture and leaders made headlines: Mark Zuckerberg was being summoned to Congress looking grim, Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos had crashed, Uber was this massive new service even after the CEO was forced out. I wanted to dig into what makes founders tick. What motivates them to control their business even after they’ve made a fortune, even when the personal costs get precariously high? That was the seed of the book.

I’d worked in startups before, but I needed an industry that I could write about knowledgably, and I landed on wellness. In my mid-20’s, I got suddenly, mysteriously sick with what was eventually diagnosed as a rare autoimmune disorder. My doctors didn’t have many answers, so I found myself drawn to the wellness industry. Many things I tried didn’t work, but I found a rich source of guidance on everything from diet to mindfulness. Wellness draws very strong opinions, both positive and negative, so that was a rich seam to mine in the novel. And, practically speaking, I knew the jargon of the industry, and knew the community, both the influencers and followers.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

After my first book was published, I actually worked on a different book for a year—a novel about a disgraced journalist who launches a true crime podcast—but I spun my wheels, until I finally admitted I just wasn’t that interested in true crime. I had to throw out a couple hundred pages—and find a new story! Once I had the startup idea, it took about four years from writing to publication.

The fundamental idea remained the same: I knew that the book would center on a charismatic, complicated founder, and that the story would kick off with a threat to her public persona. I also knew that there would be a murder about halfway through the book. (It is a thriller, after all!) But it took me several drafts to find an ending that satisfyingly wrapped up the many storylines and multiple POVs of the book.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I was lucky enough to work with the same wonderful editor, Kate Nintzel, and fantastic agent, Dan Conaway, as I did for my first book, which was a literary thriller. As I worked on Snake Oil, we realized that this novel was leaning into general fiction and book club territory, even as it had some thriller elements. Happily, my team embraced the new direction, and we worked with publicity and marketing teams to nail a great cover design and plan to promote all angles of the book.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

When I start writing, I don’t make an outline. I generally have two or three moments in mind—sometimes full scenes, sometimes just a line of dialogue or scrap of information a character will find—and those act as guideposts as I work.
So, there are always surprises in the plot, and some minor characters develop more weight as they reveal interesting backstories and motivations.

The book was always narrated by multiple POVs: Rhoda’s, as well as two of her employees, Radical superfan Dani and cynical Cecelia. One challenge I worked through in revision was how to structure the book in a way that drew all three characters into the plot and gave each a satisfying story arc. The more I revised, the more that the gaps between POVs—what each person knows, or misunderstands, or the lies they tell—actually drove the plot, as well. What had felt like a technical problem became a fun tool for building tension and upping the stakes.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

In a way, Snake Oil is working against our current Internet culture of “hot takes” and instant, black-and-white judgments. My brain just doesn’t work like that: I think there’s always lots of gray area, lots of in-between, and while complexity can be uncomfortable, it’s also interesting. My book leaves many questions up to the reader. What’s the real motivation behind characters’ choices? Is the price of ambition worth it? Is the promise of wellness genuine or manipulative? Questions without easy answers!

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Writing is so subjective: There are no rules for when, where, how, or what to write. But there is a good rule for why to write a particular story—because it interests you. Don’t work on a book because it seems like bestseller material or a juicy concept to pitch to an editor. I made that mistake myself, starting a novel about a podcast just because podcasts were having a big moment—I somehow discounted the fact that I didn’t particularly care about podcasts! Pay attention to what excites you, what makes you furious, what moves you. Watch the news, listen to gossip, dig into history books—inspiration is everywhere. Don’t worry that other people may not be as drawn to the subjects as you are: by writing with passion and knowledge, you’ll attract readers.

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