Author Interview: Dana Mele and The Beast You Let In Giveaway and IWSG Post

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!