Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today
I’m excited to have Dana Mele here to share about their YA horror/mystery new
release, The Beast You Let In. It has a very intriguing mystery, and I’m
looking forward to reading it.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
Everyone in the rural town of Ashling
knows the tale of Veronica Green, a teen who was murdered in the woods. But did
a party trick bring her back to claim her revenge? A fast-paced, suspenseful YA
horror from the author of Summer's Edge and People Like Us.
There is no one Hazel trusts less than her
self-centered twin, Beth. Like when Beth storms out of a party, abandoning
Hazel when she didn't want to attend in the first place. Rather than chasing
after her, Hazel throws herself into flirting and telling ghost stories over a
Ouija board. She might not be the popular twin, but she can be fun too.
Except Beth doesn't come home that night, and
Hazel's anger morphs into anxiety. It only sharpens when Beth reappears a day
later, disoriented and claiming to be Veronica Green, a teen who was murdered
in their small town years before. If it isn't a possession, Beth is really good
at faking it. Did they accidentally release a vengeful horror during the party?
Hazel must uncover what happened to Veronica all
those years ago if she's going to save Beth. But the truth may destroy them
both—if they don't destroy each other first.
Before
I get to Dana’s interview, I have my Insecure Writers Support Group Post.
Posting: The
first Wednesday is officially Insecure
Writer's Support Group Day.
Purpose: To
share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of
appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer
assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all
kinds!
The
awesome co-hosts this month are: Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi!
Optional Question: What
was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents,
editors, and beta readers?
This is an easy one for me. It was the
time the editor at my first SCBWI conference asked me to send her my full
manuscript. Then she sent me a nice rejection letter about a year after I sent
it to her, saying she had taken it to acquisitions. Even though they didn’t
feel my story was strong enough (it needed work), the fact that this editor
took my manuscript that far in the process has given me a lot of confidence in
my writing and hope that I could get published in the years since.
Interview
With Dana Mele
Hi
Dana! Thanks so much for joining us.
1.
Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
Hi!
Thanks so much for hosting me. This is a difficult one to answer briefly but
the TL;DR is that I always wanted to be a writer but wasn’t sure what kind and
strongly doubted that I was good enough. Fast forward many, many years to when
I was laid off after my parental leave ended and I decided to try writing and
querying a novel (I did write a few that weren’t quite there yet). I got one
full request from an agent who ultimately passed but liked my writing and was
interested in seeing more, and I was almost finished writing People Like Us,
so I finished that and sent it along, and she ended up really loving that one.
2.
Where did you get the idea for The Beast You Let In?
You know, honestly? I’m pretty sure
whenever I answer that question for any of my books, I’m not entirely telling
the truth.
It’s not malicious at all. It’s
just that my ideas don’t come from anywhere, and it feels embarrassing
to admit it, so I try to piece together an answer in retrospect, like that
scene in The Usual Suspects where the detective sees all the fragments Kaiser
Soze used to cobble together his story. For example, I’ve said that People
Like Us was inspired by a murder that happened on Halloween night when I
was in college, and I say that because the coincidence is incredible, and it must
have been there in my subconscious. I based the story on my experience at
Wellesley, and that murder really did happen and freaked out me and my friends
that one night. But while I was writing it, I wasn’t consciously thinking about
anything at all.
All of my books start as a one-line
elevator pitch—a what if. I have dozens of them on my notes app waiting to be
written, and the truth is that they randomly occur to me at all hours of the
day.
I write them down, and when I’m
ready to start writing, I pick one that resonates in the moment. Settings,
subplots, and themes are inspired by real life, but the plot lines are mostly
these what ifs that run in and out of my head all day like a crowded
train station.
3. It sounds like a usual tool to
start with an elevator pitch. Did you plot out the mystery of what happened to
Veronica Green and how that ties into Beth’s disappearance and reappearance, or
let the plot evolve as you wrote? Why did this process work for you?
A little of both! I started out as
a writer 100% a pantser but now I’m more of a hybrid. If I stick too rigidly to
an outline, my writing tends to come out sounding rigid and a little
arms-length, because I like to discover the story as I write. If I plot it too
much beforehand, I’ve already discovered it and it’s hard for me to stay
engaged. For this book, I actually plotted it pretty heavily but used my detailed
outline as a guideline rather than a rule, and that worked perfectly.
4. Some reviewers really liked your
plot twists that they didn’t see coming and found this to be a real page
turner. How did you decide on plot twists and keep the tension mounting so
readers want to turn the page? Do you have any tips for other writers?
The plot twists were somewhat baked
into the general premise of this one, without giving away any spoilers! I always
feel like an imposter giving advice, but I can offer a few ideas: it’s helpful
to end chapters on a cliffhanger. It’s helpful to have a ticking clock (like
when Hazel needs to find Beth in the first 24 hours). It’s helpful to have an or
else. Hazel needs to solve the Veronica murder because it appears that if
Beth is possessed, Veronica is formulating a hit list to get revenge on
those who wronged her. Solve the murder or else there will be more
murders.
5. Thanks for those useful tips! Twin
sisters Hazel and Beth are intriguing characters, and I’m wondering why they
aren’t close. Share a bit about them and what you found fun about developing
these characters.
Beth and Hazel were super close as
kids, but they’re very different people as siblings (Beth is nonbinary, though
they are not out to Hazel at the beginning of the book). As they grew older,
they grew apart, and resentment and distrust started to drive a wedge between
them. Hazel has a hard time understanding why Beth would spend time with the
people Beth likes and Beth doesn’t trust the people Hazel trusts. So there’s a
slow erosion of the trust between them, and it’s very mutual, though we only
see it from Hazel’s side at the beginning, culminating in what Hazel views as
the ultimate betrayal, which of course is not quite Beth’s experience of the
same event. I always find it fun to start a story telling one character’s side
of the story and then kind of present the defense case. Maybe it’s the lawyer
in me.
6. I’m a retired lawyer and get
what you mean about there being another side to the story. Ginger Clark is your
agent. How did she become your agent, and what was your road to publication
like?
I described my road to publication
in a nutshell above, but Ginger was actually my third agent. It’s so common to
have multiple agents when you’ve been in publishing for a while (nine years for
me!) My previous agent and I had parted amicably and I was referred by a mutual
friend. Ginger represented a lot of authors and books I was a huge fan of and I
sent her the book I was working on. She loved it, made an offer, and that was
that. I was absolutely thrilled it worked out!
7. This is your third book since
your debut novel, People Like Us, was published in 2019. How have you
been able to consistently continue to publish new books besides the obvious of
writing good stories?
So, People Like Us actually came
out even before that, in February 2018–I can’t even believe it’s been that
long! Multiple major world events and personal life experiences have occurred
in that time and I honestly don’t feel like the same person. I have to believe
that’s true for many people, including authors. We have all been through a lot.
And that’s the part that has made
writing hard. I started writing this book during the height of COVID, and then
stopped because everything was too much. There were a lot of personal reasons I
needed to stop writing and focus on life. And when I picked it back up again, it
was a more meaningful story.
I’m glad I took that break. I will
always take a break when I need to. It’s one of the things I think (besides the
obvious) is a real bummer about authors falling back on AI when they hit a
roadblock. Sometimes that roadblock is needed, both for your own wellbeing and
for your creative development. If your brain is telling you stop, you
have to just stop. There are other matters to attend to.
8. I saw on your website that you
had an exclusive cover reveal in People magazine, and The Beast You Let In
was featured in Cosmopolitan. How did both of these great promotion
opportunities come about?
I asked my publicist if she would
mind reaching out about a cover reveal and an excerpt reveal. I am so beyond
grateful that both of those worked out. Media coverage is never a given and
I’ve been incredibly lucky with my previous books, so it’s always a little bit
of a nail-biting experience, especially because I don’t have a huge social
media following.
9. How are you planning to market
your book? How has your approach to promoting your books changed since you were
a debut author?
My approach has changed in that I
have a healthier work life balance. I’m doing several events that I’m super
excited about, I’m hyping my book on Instagram, and I’m really excited to share
it with the world!
At the same time, I understand that
as an author, I can’t move the needle. I engage in social media when it’s
healthy and fun to do so, and when it’s not, I don’t.
When I was a debut I also never
said no to anything. There can sometimes be a pressure to always be on
call that can be particularly hard on neurodivergent and disabled authors,
though I can only speak for myself. The biggest change for me was learning to
make healthy decisions. It’s okay not to be available 24/7. To delete apps or
take a social media hiatus. The world will keep turning if you put your health
and safety first. It will be glad you are still in it.
10. What are you working on now?
A couple of things that I’m not
sure I can talk about in detail yet, but I’ll say this: one is a YA with witchy
vibes that I hope to be able to talk about very soon, one I can say absolutely
nothing about, and the last is another YA that is the book of my heart.
Like, this is the book that will haunt me to my grave. I know because it’s
already begun.
Thanks for sharing all your advice,
Dana. You can find Dana at
www.danamele.com
Giveaway Details
Dana’s publisher is generously offering a paperback of
The Beast You Let
In for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my
blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right
sidebar) and leave a comment by May 16th. If I do not have your email
(I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the
comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or
other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Dana on
their social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an
extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway
is US.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts,
and Blog Hops
Monday, May 11th, I have an
interview with Sarah Marie Jette and a giveaway of her MG One Fair Share
Wednesday, May 13th, I have an
agent spotlight interview with Andrea Colvin and a query critique giveaway
Saturday, May 16th, I’m
participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
Monday, May 25th, I’m off for
Memorial Day
Monday, June 1st, I’m participating
in the Very Berry Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, June 3rd, I have an
interview with Dana Swift and a giveaway of her YA When Dealing With Dragons
and my IWSG Post
Monday, June 8th, I have a guest
post by Rebecca Caprera and a
giveaway of her MG Eva to the Max
Tuesday,
June 16th, I’m participating in the Dad-o-Mite Giveaway Hop
Wednesday,
June 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Madelyn Knecht and a query critique
giveaway
I hope to see you on Monday!
