Meet YA Author Melanie Hooyenga

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes YA author Melanie Hooyenga. Melanie writes The Flicker Effect Series.

First, a bit about Melanie:

I first started writing as a teenager and find I still relate best to that age group. My young-adult novel, Flicker, debuted in November 2012, and the sequel, Fracture, released in June 2014. I’ve lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but have finally settled down in my home state of Michigan with my husband Jeremy. When not at my day job as a graphic designer, you can find me attempting to wrangle my Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with Jeremy.

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

My first two novels were adult contemporary fiction, but they both had teenage protagonists. After a beta reader kindly suggested perhaps I try writing YA, I got the idea for Flicker (the first book in my trilogy) and thought I’d give it a try. It’s the most natural voice I’ve ever written, and I’m so glad I tried something that seemed outside my comfort zone.

It’s been a long time since I was a teenager, but I still love the idea of first loves, new adventures, and discovering who you are.

What types of books do you like to read?

Lately it seems all I read is YA, but I’m hoping to branch out a bit this year. I just finished Stephanie Perkins’ series Isla and The Happily Ever After, and I’m considering rereading Insurgent before it comes out in March. I have far too many books on my TBR pile, but I tend to read contemporary YA romance, as well as the occasional dystopian. Next on my list is Kevin Craig’s Burn Baby, Burn Baby and Donna Tartt’s Goldfinch.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Oh wow, what DON’T I like to do? My husband and I are very active so the only time I’m just sitting on the couch is if I’m reading or watching TV (we only watch a handful of shows). This winter we’re playing dodgeball and skiing, then softball starts in April, and golf shortly after that. I’m also hoping to squeeze in beach volleyball since we live two minutes from Lake Michigan. We enjoy cooking and entertaining friends, and I enjoy the occasional DIY crafty projects (Next up: chevroning the desk in my writing room and a magnetic chalkboard).

Tell us about Flicker and how the story came to be.

Flicker is the first book in The Flicker Effect trilogy. I first got the idea when driving to see my grandmother. You know how sometimes the sunlight flickers through the trees in a way that makes a strobe-light effect? Well, it really messes with my head to the point that I have to shield my eyes so I can concentrate on the road. That snowy December day, the light was particularly bad, and I wondered what if there was a girl who, when she experienced this, time-traveled back to yesterday. And Biz was born.

Flicker tells the story of 17-year old Biz who’s just like every other teenager except for one minor detail: she uses sunlight to travel back to yesterday. She uses her ability the way any teenager would—by retaking tests, fixing fights with her boyfriend, and reliving the making up. But when little girls in her town start disappearing, she realizes she can help more than just herself.


Here's a peek at Flicker:

Biz is a perfectly normal teenager except for one minor detail: she uses sunlight to jump back to yesterday. She takes advantage of flickering by retaking Trig tests, fixing fights with her boyfriend (or reliving the making up), and repeating pretty much anything that could be done better. Trouble is, flickering makes her head explode from the inside. Or feel like it anyway.

No one knows about her freakish ability, and she’s content to keep it that way. Guys don't stick around because she refuses to let them in, but all that changes when Cameron, her best friend, starts looking oh-so-yummy. Suddenly she's noticing his biceps, his smile, and the cute way his eyes crinkle when he—gah! This is her friend!

But the butterflies come to a screeching halt when little girls start disappearing, then take a nosedive when the police link the kidnappings to Cameron's sister, who vanished years earlier. As the police grasp for clues, Biz photographs a strange man lurking in the shadows and realizes that her flickering can help more than just herself.

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Fracture, book two in the trilogy, picks up a month after Flicker ends and brings a whole mess of problems for Biz: Her newly shaved head brings out the bullies; her boyfriend Cameron is getting a little too chummy with a girl from the kidnap support group; and Cameron’s formerly kidnapped sister is having some serious adjustment issues. When her dad’s health takes a turn for the worse, she turns to her neurosurgeon who operated on her. If she tells him the truth, he could figure out why she and her dad flicker and save her before her entire world—and her own health—crumbles. But can Biz trust him with her secret?

Faded—which I just finished—is the final book of the series. Biz didn’t think life could get worse after she tried—and failed—to stop a horrific event, but when she accidentally flickers into a car on her eighteenth birthday after doing shots of vodka—she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions in a way she never imagined. When an anonymous email threatens to reveal her secret, Biz must decide if flickering is all it’s cracked up to be, or if she needs to stop flickering. Forever.

I’ve written two other novels, one of which I might rewrite for a YA audience, but neither is leaving my computer in their current state. I call those practice novels.


What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I’ve already outlined my next book, a YA romance inspired by the movie Grease, of all things. There’s a lot of snow and skiing (we were buried under three feet of snow all last winter and I watched A LOT of the Olympics), and probably lots of kissing. I’m excited to write something completely new. I love Biz and Cam and Amelia in The Flicker Effect, but I’ve been hanging out with them since 2010, so I’m eager to start something new.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Keep at it. Writing a novel is not easy, and it’s not fast. You’ll go through days and weeks where the words flow and writing is the best feeling in the world, then you’ll get stuck or start to doubt yourself, or (like I sometimes do) read a book that is so stupendously fantastic you wonder why you ever thought you could do this. But no one else can tell your story the way YOU can tell it.

Also, don’t hide in a bubble. Get online. Meet fellow writers. When you publish, whether with a traditional publishing house or via self-publishing, a lot of the marketing will fall on your shoulders and if the only people you know are your family and the kids you graduated with, no one will hear about your book.

Anything else you want readers to know?

I love to hear from readers! I’m on Facebook and Twitter the most, but I do have a blog where I try to remember to post more than once a month.

Where can readers find you and your books?

I’m all over the internet!

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Amazon Flicker
Amazon Fracture
B&N Flicker
B&N Fracture (print only)
Smashwords
Kobo

Or if you happen to be in west Michigan, the Bookman in Grand Haven has both books as well.

Meet Texas YA Author Susan Royal

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes YA author Susan Royal and her fantasy adventure/romance In My Own Shadow. Susan is our second Texas author this month! Go Texas!!

First, a bit about Susan:

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar. 

Susan is married, with three children and four grandchildren. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. She spent her childhood listening to her grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century.  Her father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes she experienced how it felt to be a teenager during WWII.

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

I’m guessing you would say my books are just on the other side of YA, in that the MC is twenty-something. Just past the angst of teenage years, but not quite settled into adulthood yet. Why did I pick it? I didn’t. It picked me. I wanted my MC to be young enough to still be in awe of her experiences, yet old enough to take it in stride—well, most of the time, anyway.

What types of books do you like to read?

I read urban fantasy (think Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniel’s series). I read time travel (Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series), historical fiction (Mary Stewart’s Merlin Series), historical romance, historical action, thrillers, some horror and mysteries. I love classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind. I also love young adult (The Hunger Games, Divergent).

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I live in a 100 year old frame farmhouse that is in a constant state of remodel and repair. We are about to tackle the kitchen. I paint with acrylics, create greeting cards and sew. I’ve had a long going love affair with repurposing even before it was popular. I love garage sale finds. I have four grandchildren who give me lots and lots of exercise. I love to shop, and my husband and I like to read, watch movies, and our entire family loves music. Everyone plays a musical instrument except for me—hey someone has to be the audience!

Tell us about In My Own Shadow and how the story came to be.

It has been years in coming. I started writing it long before I had a home computer, and it was the first story I ever finished. The idea swirled around in my head for a long, long time. I wanted to write an adventure that had romance, fantasy elements and involved a quest. Finally one day I decided if I was ever going to get the thing written I needed to start it and keep writing until it was finished. So I did. At least three times!

Here's a peek at In My Own Shadow:

Talk about the worst first date ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.

Rhys believes Lara’s alternate in his dimension, Lyra, has left clues in her subconscious to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets which explains the mystery of time travel. Power-hungry telepaths pursuing them will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s mind. To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.

With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power. Only then can she return to her world safely.

Enjoy this excerpt (I had to read the whole first chapter. Couldn't stop!):
 
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Someone coughed. I jerked my head around to see a man standing near the reception area, a canvas duffel bag at his feet.  That’s got to be him.

My heart thudded with relief. “Sorry I’m late. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.” I motioned toward the rain spattering against the windows. “This weather is awful, isn’t it?”

The man watched me with a self-assured air that left me feeling like an awkward teenager.

So much for witty conversation.  At least Carrie hadn’t exaggerated when she said he was good looking. His sensitive mouth held the only trace of softness in a finely chiseled face. Broad shoulders and powerful hands. He would have been right at home on the cover of a sports magazine. Was I drooling? “Umm…” His intense stare made me squirm. “I should introduce myself. I’m—”

 “Lara. My name is Rhys.” We shook hands briefly while his eyes flickered over me. My height intimidated some men, but it didn’t seem to bother him. “I never imagined you’d be so—”

“Don’t bother with flattery. Surely Carrie told you I’m immune.” The grin across my face was so he would know it was a joke, but his stern expression remained unchanged.

Doesn’t this guy know how to smile? “Umm…My car’s across the street. We really should go before it starts pouring again.”

Without a word, he grabbed his bag and followed me through the big glass doors. The wind had picked up, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Streetlights flickered on, a halo of light crowning each pole. We crossed the street and hurried toward my car parked beneath one of the lights in the middle of the empty lot.

  I stuck my umbrella under my arm and dug in my purse for the keys. “Do you like Italian food?”

Rhys drew his eyebrows together and frowned slightly.

Doesn’t he understand plain English? Funny how Carrie never mentioned he was the silent, brooding type.  I’d get even with her for this. “Okay, what about Chinese? There’s this great little place not too far from here…”

He jerked his gaze away from mine and stared into the darkness behind me.

A finger of cold traced its way along my spine. “Did you hear something?” We were alone in an empty city parking lot after dark. Not the safest place in the world.

 He grabbed my arm. “Quiet.”

          I flinched in surprise and pulled away. Rhys was beginning to give me the creeps. “What is it? Did you hear something?”

Have you written other books?

If so, tell us a bit about them. My first book is a time travel adventure/romance, Not Long Ago, and it was released in June of 2012. Right now I’m finishing up the sequel. I hadn’t really planned on writing one, until my daughter insisted there was more to the story. And she was right.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I have a coming of age WIP about a young man in the sixties. When Eli goes to live with his grandparents in a small town in the Texas hill country, he starts seeing ghosts. What’s more, they carry on conversations with him. I’ve had a lot of fun researching paranormal for this one.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Don’t ever give up. If you have a story to tell, keep working on it until you get it right.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Feel free to email me and let me know what you think of my books. I love hearing from you. I also want to offer a free ecopy of In My Own Shadow if you comment and leave an email address.

Where to find Susan and her books:

Susan:
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com  

http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com

MuseItUp Publishing:

In My Own Shadow

Not Long Ago

Both books are also available on Amazon and B&N.