Author Interview—Megan Miranda

I can't tell you how excited I am about the author interview I have for today. Megan Miranda is an acclaimed YA author who happens to be the writer of some of my favorite YA books. Just to name a few of her works: FRACTURE, VENGEANCE, HYSTERIA, and her most recent novel SOULPRINT released in February.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Megan over coffee/hot cocoa, and I can attest that she is as lovely in person as she appears online. So, without further ado, let's get to the interview!

****

I absolutely love the premise for SOULPRINT. What inspired you to write the novel?

Thank you! The idea for Soulprint came from a question I had years ago, when I was studying science in school. We had been learning about the human genome project—where scientists were mapping each section of our DNA to what it coded for—and I wondered: what if scientists found the soul? What would that look like? What would that mean? How could we use that….and, in the case of this story, how might that be used against us?

We often hear that writers unconsciously leave a little of themselves in their main character. How are you the same or different from Alina in SOULPRINT?

Oh, definitely. I think there are pieces of myself in each of my characters (totally subconsciously) because they are characteristics I am familiar with. I tend to be drawn to writing only children, since I am also one. Looking at it from the outside, I think we also share common interests, and that desire for knowledge.

But in practice, we are very different. A lot of Alina’s character comes as a result of her circumstances (she is very secretive and internal because she’s been unable to trust anyone; and she’s been contained on an island for her entire life, so she is driven---above all else—to escape at any cost).

Soulprint delves into the idea of a past life for the soul. If you had a past life, who would you have been or what would you have accomplished?

I don’t think I’d even want to know! Which is something I thought about a lot while writing Soulprint. Does that knowledge of who we were and what we’ve done help us or hurt us? Does that knowledge influence who we ultimately will become in this life? If we know, are we destined to essentially repeat the past?



What are you currently working on?

I’m working on the edits for my next YA – which is about a girl named Kelsey who has been raised on fear by her mother, who was a victim of abduction many years earlier. When her mother goes missing, Kelsey begins to question the sequence of events she’s grown up with, and realizes she may have just set something dangerous in motion.

I also have a debut adult suspense novel coming out next year, which is about 2 girls who go missing 10 years apart, and whose cases are linked by the same group of friends in a small NC town. The story is told over the course of 2 weeks, and it’s also told backwards.



What bit of advice can you give to aspiring authors?

The advice I always give first is to read a lot—both the types of books you like, and ones you think you might not. And to write. Write a lot. Try new things. Remember that if something doesn’t work, it’s not a failure—it’s just a step, a part of the process that will eventually get you to the version that works. Keep writing. Write the stories that speak to you, because I think it’s the things that make us different that will make our work stand out.

Now for some fun questions! :)

Tell us something nobody knows about you.

Oh man, that nobody knows? Okay. *I* am the one who ate all that missing Halloween candy, kids.

What would we find recorded on your DVR? In other words, what are your favorite TV shows?

The Blacklist…. I’m so far behind on television, everything else is just playing catch-up on Netflix. And I still haven’t gotten over the fact that Friday Night Lights has ended.



List five adjectives to describe yourself.

Type-A. Caffeinated (at the moment). Uncoordinated. Short. Not-a-morning-person.

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

Well, not to be totally creepy, but…. Pretend to be a ghost? Levitate objects? Move things around and freak people out? All in the name of book research, of course!



If someone made a movie of your life, what would the name of the movie be?

Fueled By Pop-Tarts & Coffee


Thanks so much, Megan!

Thanks so much for having me!



Book Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned on a secluded island—not for a crime she committed in this lifetime, but one done by her past self. Her very soul is like a fingerprint, carried from one life to the next—and Alina is sick of being guilty.

Aided by three teens with their own ulterior motives, Alina manages to escape. Although she’s not sure she can trust any of them, she soon finds herself drawn to Cameron, the most enigmatic and alluring of the trio. But when she uncovers clues from her past life, secrets begin to unravel and Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat history.

This stunning “new world” romance from acclaimed author Megan Miranda will leave readers wondering how far they would go to escape the past.

Author bio:

Megan Miranda is the author of the young adult novels Fracture, Hysteria, Vengeance, and Soulprint (all from Bloomsbury). Her debut adult suspense novel will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2016. Megan has a degree in Biology from MIT and currently lives near Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two children.

You can find Megan here: Website 

You can buy SOULPRINT here: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
 

Books and Cookies: YA Book Review #3—Fracture

Happy New Year! Hopefully you've had time to reflect on 2014 and set goals for 2015. I know I'm looking forward to a productive year (I hope).

Now that the holiday season is officially over *Boo*, I have one final installment of Books and Cookies. The week wouldn't be complete without highlighting a yummy chocolate cookie recipe. If you love chocolate and PB cups, this is the cookie for you!

Moose Tracks Cookies

If you too want to make these cookies, you can find the recipe on Inside BruCrew Life. So grab your plate of cookies and join me for the book review!

A YA Book Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Delaney Maxwell’s life changes the moment she steps onto the frozen lake and falls through the ice. For eleven long minutes she is trapped under water. Pronounced dead at the scene, Delaney somehow manages to survive despite the fact that doctors say her brain will have irreparable damage. But when she emerges from her week-long comma, Delaney is very much alive and very much like herself before the accident. Except for one thing—she now senses when people are sick or dying. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. I simply could not put it down. I read it in a day if that tells you anything. Megan weaves a tale that is emotional and heart-wrenching at times, then mysterious and creepy at others. And VOICE. I can’t say enough about how much I was drawn to Delaney Maxwell’s voice. For instance, this is how the book starts out, which of course, immediately drew me in:

“The first time I died, I didn’t see God.

No light at the end of the tunnel. No haloed angels. No dead grandparents.

To be fair, I probably wasn’t a shoo-in for heaven. But, honestly, I kind of assumed I’d make the cut.” ~Delaney Maxwell

Aren’t those the greatest opening lines ever? Who wouldn’t want to keep reading?

Delaney has been best friends with her neighbor Decker for as long as she can remember. They are inseparable. Except for that day on the ice when Decker leaves her standing there alone and Delaney falls through. It’s a moment he’ll regret forever. As far as romance goes, (because every YA novel needs a little romance) there are clearly more feelings between Delaney and Decker than either is willing to admit. But their relationship changes when a boy named Troy comes into the picture—a boy who knows more about Delaney than he initially lets on. He’s a boy with a past and a secret which Delaney quickly uncovers.

With a riveting plot from start to finish, Fracture delves into the ideas of the human spirit and suffering, love and loss, compassion and jealousy. Don’t be surprised if you stay up WAY too late trying to finish it in one sitting. And for Fracture fans, Megan Miranda has written a companion novel titled Vengeance that is told from Decker’s point of view. Thanks to Amazon, it’s already on its way to my house! Happy Reading!