Melinda Leigh

Melinda Leigh is a #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author. Her books have sold over 16 million copies, and she has garnered numerous publishing awards, including nominations for an International Thriller Award and two RITAs. A martial artist and animal lover, Leigh lives near the beach with her family and two spoiled rescue dogs.

Her new novel is You Can Tell Me.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

You Can Tell Me as a title is meant to feel personal, as if someone is whispering secrets. The main character, Olivia Cruz, is a former investigative journalist turned true crime writer. One of her strengths is getting people to talk to her. They tell her their secrets. She is small and physically nonthreatening, and she uses this to her advantage. Since this is a series, the title of the first book must also establish the feel of the books yet to come.

What's in a name?

My protagonists are strong women, and I like to give them names that sound strong. Other than that, I choose names that are generally easy to say and read. I want readers to be comfortable with my characters, to feel like they’re family or friends, to be invested in their lives, and to want to know more of their story.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Teenager me would not be surprised by my books at all. My grandmother had almost every Agatha Christie novel on her bookshelf, and I read them all. I consumed Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews in middle school. By the time I reached high school, I was a solid Stephen King fan. So dark and mysterious books have always been my favorites.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings and the two-thirds mark are the two most difficult parts of a novel for me to write. First chapters are drafted at least five times. I need the beginning to feel right before I continue. Once I have the story voice established, then I typically cruise until I’m about sixty percent finished. I’m not a plotter. I start with a few ideas and let the story evolve organically as I write. So, when I’m ramping up toward the black moment, all the threads I’ve developed have to come together. Once I’ve decided on my black moment and how it will flow, then the rest of the book generally comes together quickly.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

That depends on the character. My protagonists probably share some of my personality. I make an effort to give them individual characteristics, I’m sure a little bit of me leaks through, especially in my longer running series. It would be impossible for me to spend so much intimate time in my fictional world and remain separate from it. That said, I also write in the POVs of serial killers, etc., so I hope they’re not much like me.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

This might be the weirdest—or nerdiest—answer for this question, but math. As a kid, I was a math geek. For me, writing a mystery is like a logic problem. While I’m plotting, I sometimes envision multiple linear equations all converging at the same point—the black moment.

Visit Melinda Leigh's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kayla Hardy

Kayla Hardy is a mythology expert and multi-hyphenate author and screenwriter of Louisiana Creole descent. She earned her PhD in creative writing and African American literature from SUNY Binghamton University. Hardy is an adjunct professor at SUNY Binghamton University and is an accomplished scholar of Black folklore, mythology, and Voodoo.

The Quarter Queen is Hardy's first novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

It is my hope that my novel’s title The Quarter Queen centers readers in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter which, in a historical fantasy novel, is a character in itself. More than simply a lush backdrop, the French Quarter is alive with dark magic, Voodoo, alchemy, gods, and demons. The title The Quarter Queen is my own twist, made up of the real-life moniker for Marie who was known historically as the ‘Voodoo Queen’ and the neighborhood of New Orleans known as the French Quarter—the Vieux Carré—where she lived and worked her magic. While it is has some great alliteration to it, I hope that readers will see the title as something to be critically unpacked, to study the very nature of unprecedented power that a woman like Marie Laveau wielded in the 19th century.

What's in a name?

Because The Quarter Queen centers both the real-life Marie Laveau I and her daughter, Marie Laveau II, the names were already baked into the conceit! But, the challenge arose with how to differentiate the two on the page so readers wouldn’t be confused between them. So I had the not so crazy idea to name Marie II, Ree, which ended up working out because so much of the novel is about Ree inherently rejecting the title of The Quarter Queen, and in doing so, the legacy of the name Marie Laveau itself. Much in the same way I hope readers will do, Ree begins to critically understand the political power she holds as her mother’s successor and how to, ultimately, use this power to change the course of destiny not just in her own life and family, but for her people and the city of New Orleans as a whole in the ways in which her mother failed to do.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Usually, the endings will come to me first. But for this novel, the beginning came to me right away, down to the very first line in the prologue. The ending was changed a couple of times, but not so much on a craft level, but in a way that helped conclude both Maries arcs satisfactorily. Because their chapters alternate between two different timelines, their arcs naturally became more emotionally entangled as the past and present collided. By the end of the book, I wanted readers to see how the events of Marie’s life, for better or for worse, complicated the course of Ree’s rise, forcing her to make one final emotionally and politically devastating choice that would have explosive ramifications for all the power players in New Orleans. I wanted the ending to have a sense of destiny that shapes both mother and daughter and that will make readers question a sense of legacy in their own families and lives.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

On other projects, I have not. I try to honor the characters in all of their messy glory which is a process that has nothing to do with me, author-Kayla, personally. But with The Quarter Queen, I wanted to explore my own Louisiana Creole heritage and really try to unpack questions of duality. How can someone be both Catholic and a Voodienne? How can someone live in the shadow of a larger-than-life mother without her own light being totally eclipsed? I had a rocky relationship with my own mother growing up that has now since mended and I saw so much of that in the dynamic between Ree and Marie. I also just think Ree and Marie are such great foils for readers to study because they represent the inherent duality, we as humans embody mother and daughter, princess and queen, saints and sinners.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I absolutely love the band Sleep Token; they are cinematic and lush and dark. Honestly, their music stayed on repeat the entire time I was writing the book (including songs like “Rain” and “Dark Signs”). Perfect fuel for a book like The Quarter Queen. I am also a massive fan of Ryan Coogler and Jordan Peele; there are intersections in their films, different but overlapping takes on the lives of black folks. I also feel so deeply anchored by the American south, by my childhood summers spent beneath a sweltering Louisiana sun. That sense of southern gothic is deeply implanted in my brain, and I hope it never goes away.

Visit Kayla Hardy's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Quarter Queen.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jennifer Pearson

Jennifer Pearson is a former teacher and author who lives in the northeast of England with two energetic boys and her somewhat energetic husband. She’s the author of several middle grade novels, writing as Jenny Pearson, and has been short-listed for the Costa Children’s Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and was the winner of the Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards). When she’s not writing, Pearson can either be found doing something sporty or binge-watching true crime documentaries while eating astounding quantities of cheese.

Pearson's new novel is Drop Dead Famous.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

My working title for Drop Dead Famous, a YA story about a girl who investigates the murder of her superstar sister Blair Baker, was Homecoming. I think this title worked in some ways – Blair is killed during the opening act of her homecoming tour, and it hints that the home is an important part of the story, but I don’t think it was quite strong enough for the YA audience. It doesn’t mention murder or death, words which are frequently found in YA thrillers as they serve as good genre touchstones. By the time the book went on submission to publishers, I had changed it to Drop Dead Famous which I think does a good job of signalling the core themes of murder and fame to the reader.

What's in a name?

I think I’m quite instinctive when it comes to naming characters. Often, I’ll hear a name I like or find interesting during a school author visit and file it away to use later – which is how Colby’s name came to me. It works for her because to me, Colby is a fun sounding name. For Blair Baker, I wanted something that felt like a teen star, and I think the alliterative name helps with that. I’ve always liked the name Stevie, (huge Fleetwood Mac fan) and I think Stevie Budd in Schitt’s Creek was partly in my mind when I was writing her.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teen self would be very surprised! My current self continues to be very surprised! I really had no idea what I wanted to do career-wise as a teenager, but becoming an author seemed like such a ludicrous proposition, I never seriously considered it.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Endings are the worst. By far. And I change them a lot. With a mystery, there is always so much to do – so many loose ends to tie up, characters to give moments to. A reader will not forgive you if you mess it up at the end. You can’t take them through 300 pages and then drop the ball at the last moment.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I suppose I’m a positive person like Colby and we have a similar sense of humour. There are elements of me in Stevie too. She can get pretty hyper-focussed, and I see that in myself, especially when it comes to writing. I can lose a whole day at the laptop and realise I’ve not eaten.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Not suggesting that they are non-literary, but the biggest influences are my family! My grandparents, parents, my sister and my extended family have shaped my humour, they’ve shaped my ability to tell an interesting story (you cannot get away with being boring with my lot) and they’ve shaped a lot of the characters I have written.

Visit Jenny Pearson's website.

My Book, The Movie: Drop Dead Famous.

The Page 69 Test: Drop Dead Famous.

--Marshal Zeringue

Paige Classey

Paige Classey is an author and school librarian who lives with her family on the Connecticut shoreline. Her middle grade debut, Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer, is a Junior Library Guild Selection and earned a starred review from School Library Journal. Her articles on libraries and education have appeared in School Library Journal, TEACH Magazine, and Education Week.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer introduces our narrator and signifies something unusual is afoot. Summer is supposed to have an end date; kids away at summer camp know this all too well. This title prepares the reader for atypical times. The original title was Anna-Jane and the Last Summer, but my editor and I worried that that maybe implied it was her last summer, as opposed to a last normal summer for all.

What's in a name?

Anna-Jane is a name I must have heard somewhere that returned to me. It seemed fitting for her character, both quiet and strong. I try to ensure my characters all have distinctive names so as not to be confused on the page. I sometimes sneak in names of family members and friends if they feel right for the characters. I’ve also worked as an educator for the past fifteen years, so I’ve run across hundreds of names that I occasionally weave into my writing.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage self probably wouldn’t be shocked by the darkness of Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer. In high school, I gravitated towards dystopian books like A Clockwork Orange and profoundly sad stories like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (my senior year quote came from that one!). But my teenage self would have been unprepared for the shutdown element, as we had yet to face the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying uncertainty.

I think I would also be surprised by the fact that it’s in verse. I read Karen Hesse’s 1997 novel in verse Out of the Dust as a child, loved it, and then promptly forgot about novels in verse until I rediscovered them as a school librarian many years later, through the works of Kwame Alexander, Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, and others.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find the middle to be most challenging. I usually know where I want the characters to begin and where I’d like them to end up, but getting from point A to point B can be a bit murkier.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Parts of my personality and my life definitely echo in my characters. Like Anna-Jane, I’ve always loved to read. Middle school was difficult for me, but I felt at home and free to be myself at summer camp. We both love Gilmore Girls and our moms’ French toast. She’s definitely better with a bow and arrow than I am, though. I also embed traits and skills that I wish belonged to me, like Jojo’s toughness and Morgan’s passion for science.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I draw from everything in my life, from family and friends, music or podcasts I’m listening to, shows I’m watching, news I’m following. Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer grew from my own memories of summer camp and the pandemic years, as well as from my mounting concerns watching censorship efforts sweep the nation. It felt important to me that the story, at least in part, underscores how important the arts are to the human experience.

Visit Paige Classey's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Catherine Mack

Catherine Mack (she/her) is the pseudonym for Catherine McKenzie, the USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of over twenty novels. Her books are approaching two million copies sold worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages, including French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, and Greek.

McKenzie also has several original movie scripts in development. A dual Canadian and US citizen, she splits her time between Canada and various warmer locations in the US.

Her new novel is This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

A lot! The titles are everything in this series! Usually, I come up with a concept first, but it was the title that came to me first with Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, and each title after that has to live up to that one. They convey the tone, the topic, and the genre.

What's in a name?

The main character of my books is called Eleanor Dash. She’s named after Elinor Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility, and each of the books has a character named after a different main character in Jane Austen’s works. It’s a little nod to part of the origin of the idea for these books—modern Jane Austen but with jokes and murder! Ironically, the Eleanor/Elinor distinction is one that gets explored in a future book—what’s in a name indeed! Could your whole life be different if your first name had been spelled slightly differently?

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenaged self would be surprised I was writing books at all. I didn’t think I had an imagination back then.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings are so important, and I spend the most time on the first few chapters. The endings are “pre-written” if you will—by then (and long before then) I know where I’m going. But the real work happens in the middle.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I try not to write about myself! Obviously, I seep in somewhere—I have to—but that’s part of the work. Not writing about me.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Lots of great television shows over the years. There’s always been great writing in TV and that continues to this day. I like long-form storytelling. Current favourites: The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Artful Dodger, Young Sherlock, The Other Bennett Sister.

Visit Catherine McKenzie's website.

The Page 69 Test: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

--Marshal Zeringue

Shay Kauwe

Shay Kauwe is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) author from Hawaiʻi. She grew up on the Homestead in Waimānalo but moved to Russia because she fell in love with a boy. They now live in Oʻahu. Kauwe holds an M.Ed in Education and was named an NCTE Early Educator of Color in 2021. In 2022, she was awarded an Empowering ʻŌiwi Leadership Award by the Hawaiian Council, for her work in storytelling and literacy. Her debut urban fantasy The Killing Spell is the first traditionally published adult fantasy novel by a Hawaiian author.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The original title of The Killing Spell was a reference to a popular ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb) I ka ʻōlelo no ke ola; i ka ʻōlelo no ka make, which roughly translates to “In language there is life; In language there is death.” My publisher let me know that title may be a bit of a mouthful to remember and suggested the The Killing Spell, arguing that it would be catchier.

They were right.

What's in a name?

In Hawaiian culture, names are taken seriously which is why Kea’s holds so much weight. Kealaokaleo literally translates to “the way/path of the voice,” but she usually just goes by Kea which means something entirely different (pearl-like). I like that Kea gives off the feeling of something pretty and shiny, concealing the deeper, more important meaning that Kealaokaleo holds. Kea would only like her closest friends and families knowing her full name.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

As a teen, I was notoriously “bad” at Hawaiian, so I’m sure that writing an entire book encouraging people to learn it, would be a surprise to me! Now, I’m a really strong advocate for people to learn Hawaiian and all endangered indigenous languages. It’s important for novice learners to push through the shame of not being fluent enough because the alternative is letting these languages die, and that isn’t an option for me.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Endings are a challenge because I hate for a story to end! I tend to know exactly how stories will go before I even start them, but I get attached to my worlds and characters. I never want to write in those final words and have it all stop for good.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Like many debut authors, I’m guilty of making my main character a lot like me. Kea’s an eldest daughter and feels responsible for caring for her family. She is someone who has a strong sense of justice and is vocally opinionated. She can be a lot, and I love her for that.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Modern Hawaiian History was a huge influence on The Killing Spell, specifically the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 70ʻs-90ʻs when ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi experienced a resurgence of interest. In addition, my family has always been at the forefront of my writing because stories without a heart aren’t ones that I’m interested in telling. I believe in love, hope, and community resilience, and I want my work to reflect that.

Visit Shay Kauwe's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

April Howells

With a background in magazine publishing, April Howells has built a career in global communications and employer branding. Raised in southern Ontario, she now resides on the west coast of Canada with her husband and a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Chief. The Unforgettable Mailman is her debut novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I like to believe the title sums the whole story up. Not only is it a play on words regarding Henry’s memory loss, but it also lets readers know the story will linger with them after they turn the last page. Henry is sweet and determined and unintentionally funny. He’s the type of character you root for and one you won’t soon forget.

I wrote the story off and on for years, and in the beginning the working title was much different. It wasn’t until I experienced the impacts of memory loss in my family that Henry’s character fully developed and this title came to me. I provided several alts to my publisher, but The Unforgettable Mailman was the clear winner.

What’s in a name?

Whenever I’m choosing names for characters, it’s important to me that they fit with the era they were born. ‘Henry’ was a popular name in 1885, and it stuck. I never looked into the meaning of it, though now I know it means ‘ruler of the home’. I love that it’s a name associated with influential people who have left a lasting impact in history.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Very! I was a voracious reader growing up, but never a writer. I loved to say that one day I would write a novel, but for a long time that was all talk. Even in my 20s, I daydreamed about writing more than I actually put pen to page.

I think teenage April would be proud to see her name in bookstores, alongside some of her favourite authors. I think she’d also be a bit surprised at the perseverance it took to develop her craft and finish a publishable novel.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Endings, though I can’t say too much without giving spoilers. The ending of The Unforgettable Mailman eluded me for a very long time. I wrote several different versions and none of them were right. I remember walking the dog and it finally came to me. I stopped and thought, oh yes, that’s how it ends.

Visit April Howells's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jennifer N. Brown

Jennifer N. Brown is from New York City and after falling in love with Chaucer in college, pursued a Ph.D. in medieval literature. Her dissertation and subsequent books and articles have mostly been about devotional literature and medieval women as authors, subjects, and patrons of literary culture in medieval Europe. She has taught medieval literature at several institutions, most recently at Marymount Manhattan College where she taught in the English and World Literatures department for over 15 years. She is currently serving as the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University in Boston, where she lives with her husband, two children and two miniature dachshunds: Athena and Apollo.

Brown's new novel is The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

This wasn’t the title I was working with when I wrote the book, that title was Remember Death, which is the English translation of Memento Mori, a medieval concept that recurs several times in my novel. However, my editor rightly felt that it doesn’t fully reflect what’s going on in the novel, so it was changed. It was hard to land on a title that referenced both timelines of my book — the Tudor English timeline of Elizabeth Barton and the modern day timeline of Dr. Alison Sage who finds Elizabeth’s book. When we landed on The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton, I was pleased that we had something that gestured towards both sides of the narrative.

What's in a name?

Well, I’m sure it doesn’t take much for a reader to see “Sage” as an appropriate last name for a professor (but is she sage? You’ll have to see). I chose Alison because it’s a name that speaks of a particular generation of women (like Jennifer does!) and also because it is a name of one of the best characters in medieval literature — Chaucer's Wife of Bath. There are also Easter eggs in the novel for some of my fellow academics in medieval studies, and some of these are in names of characters.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Not as surprised as my 20- or 30- or 40-something self. I really wanted to be a writer as a teenager and thought for sure that was my future. I did become a writer, but of academic work, and I think that may have surprised my teenage self more (certainly that I focused on nuns as my subject matter), but in many ways this novel is a return to what teen-Jennifer thought her life may yield.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I’ve only written one and a half novels and in both the beginnings came very easily, although I am a happy reviser — my favorite part of any writing process — so I don’t think anything survived the way it was originally written.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart? What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Certainly I am connected to Alison, in that she is an academic in a field adjacent to mine, my age, a mother. There is a lot about her that I don’t relate to or that is not like me, but I understood her in a very natural way. It was harder to place myself in the Tudor era and the figures that populate it. I knew quite a bit about the period and about what people said and did, but it’s one more leap to understand how they feel. For that section, especially, I looked at a lot of paintings and art from the time, surviving jewelry and clothing, letters, and recipes. I tried to construct the world as it was inhabited, and that required mostly non-literary inspiration.

Visit Jennifer N. Brown's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Anica Mrose Rissi

Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her essays have been published by The Writer and the New York Times, and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves. Rissi grew up in Maine and spent many years in New York City, where she worked as an executive editor in children’s book publishing. She currently lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato.

Rissi's new book is Girl Reflected in Knife.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think it pulls its weight! Girl Reflected in Knife is a short, sharp, unsettling title for a short, sharp, unsettling novel. I hope readers will feel intrigued by the title and the tone it sets, even if they’re not quite sure what to expect. Likewise, I hope they’ll be intrigued by the book’s unstable narrator and her story, even as they’re not entirely sure where it might lead them.

What's in a name?

This is a question the novel poses as well, in the fragments of a dark fairy tale version of Destiny’s story that runs parallel to the main narrative, woven in throughout. Here’s a taste:

The girl’s name contained a promise—an expectation and prediction

of some larger fate, or perhaps of a path she must follow.

But how does a destiny differ from a curse?

Her mother did not name her Lucky.

So was the girl’s twisted fate her mother’s fault? This was,

after all, a fairy tale.

The girl chided herself: not that kind.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

When I was a teenager, my passion was politics. I wanted to go to law school and become a senator or perhaps a supreme court justice—to fight for the issues I cared about and help shape a different world. My teenage self would be quite surprised to see her name on multiple book covers. I don’t even own a gavel.

But in a way, I didn’t stray too terribly far from that idea because, of course, writers are master manipulators. They control what a reader pays attention to and influence what the reader notices, hopes, and feels. A well-written story might change how a reader sees and understands the world. That’s even better than winning an argument or a vote.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Both the beginning and the ending of this novel went through multiple major revisions (as did everything in between—I worked on Girl Reflected in Knife for more than a decade before I figured out how to make it the book I wanted it to be) and, with my editor’s encouragement, I did something radical to the ending, which I won’t spoil here. But I will share the first chapter, which is only three sentences long.

When I found this beginning, multiple years and revisions into the process, I suddenly understood what the story was and could be in a new way. It’s an opening that still thrills me.

1.

Listen.

Be careful the story you tell yourself. It might become the one you believe.

Visit Anica Mrose Rissi's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Anica Mrose Rissi & Arugula.

The Page 69 Test: Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle.

--Marshal Zeringue

Dana Mele

Dana Mele is a Pushcart-nominated writer based in upstate New York. A graduate of Wellesley College, Mele holds degrees in theatre, education, and law.

Mele’s debut, People Like Us, was shortlisted for the 2019 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel and is an ALA Rainbow List Selection. Their sophomore novel, Summer's Edge, was a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Selection and a New York Public Library Best Books for Teens title.

Mele's new novel is The Beast You Let In.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

A little known fun fact is that I have never chosen my own book title. My proposed title for The Beast You Let In was Veronica, after a character whose vengeful spirit may be possessing one of the main characters! The Beast You Let In is a neat title, and I think it speaks more broadly to the themes of repressed anger, buried secrets, and how much we allow the people who surround us to influence us against our better judgment.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Not terribly! It’s a story about twin siblings solving a murder and dealing with a potential possession and revenge from beyond the grave. I was a huge horror fan as a teen and I probably would have inhaled this in the back of the theater during lunch period.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings are harder by far, because for me finding the voice is more than half the battle. Honestly if I can nail a really strong first chapter the rest almost writes itself. But easier said than done. And I always change the ending. I never get attached. Besides, it’s fun coming up with alternate endings!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I tend to form strong connections to places, and much of my writing is inspired by setting. The Beast You Let In is largely about home, however you may personally define it— whether as a family or a community or a country—and the tension that exists when the home you love becomes a hostile and dangerous place.

Visit Dana Mele's website.

--Marshal Zeringue