Indie Author Week - Rachel Meehan

I now pass the Spotlight on to indie author, Rachel Meehan!

Rachel is the author of the YA Dystopian, Water's Edge. It is book one in her Troubled Times series.

The climate is changing.  Thousands are fleeing the chaos and social unrest.

With their own water and power supplies, fourteen year old Nairne and her family are well prepared to cope, but most people are less fortunate.  When Nairne persuades her father, Daniel, to house some of the evacuees on their small holding in the south of Scotland she plunges the family into a world of violence, deception and murder.

With society at breaking point, she has to grow up quickly as she discovers that the fortress Daniel built to give his children a chance has become the prize in a struggle where winning can mean the difference between life and death.

Rachel Meehan lives in rural, southern Scotland and has been writing fiction for a number of years, concentrating on the young adult genre. This passion for writing comes from Rachel’s artistic background and reflects her own interests in plot-driven writing that has its context in real life.

Rachel loves reading fiction especially, young adult, end of the world and dystopian novels. She also has a keen interest in the environment.

Rachel lives with her partner, and their house is situated well above sea level where they grow much of their own food and generate some of their own electricity.

Rachel checks her garden and surrounding areas regularly for signs of triffids...

Welcome Rachel! I was very happy to see that you are ever vigilant when it comes to Triffids. (If you don't know what a Triffid is go ahead and click the link. We'll wait.) Let's talk a bit about your novel, Water's Edge. Is there one character in your novel that you feel the most passionate about? 

The character I have chosen is Nairne Grear. She is the main protagonist in the novel. Nairne is fourteen years old and lives with her father and older brother in rural part of the south of Scotland. The story is seen through Nairne’s eyes and the plot unfolds through her responses to life changing circumstances. Nairne is the girl who doesn't fit in and who does not know how to fit in.

What aspect about this character was the most difficult to envision? The easiest? 

The easiest aspect of Nairne’s character to develop was her moral compass. She is a girl who sees the world in black or white, right or wrong and finds it difficult to change her views which she comes to quickly. She is very driven and focused and does not find friendships easy to develop. She has a lot of self belief and conviction in her views and actions, which can sometimes make her difficult to like. 

Her physical appearance was not the most difficult thing to imagine, and in my mind it is quite clearly developed, but it is not contained within the book in any detail. This was a purposeful decision at the outset as I was much more interested in her actions and views defining her character than her physical attributes which for Nairne are unimportant. I also hope that by deliberately leaving some of that to the readers’ imagination it may allow readers to identify with her more easily and to take on Nairne’s role throughout the novel. 

During the birth of your novel, was there any point where this character took an unexpected turn? (Ex. In personality, actions, heroism, characteristics) 

I would have to say no to this. The character of Nairne was quite clear in my mind from the earliest ideas about the book. Even though the plot was not fully formed until I started writing, her character was already quite developed. As the book took various twists and turns in its development it was more a case of analysing how this character would respond to the unfolding situation in which she finds herself. This sometimes led the plot in a different direction rather than making the character behave in an unexpected way. 

If this character suddenly sprang from the pages, what questions would you have for him/her? 

I think there would be a couple of questions for Nairne as we find her by the end of the story. These would be: 

Do you still see the world and its inhabitants as good or bad, or do people have the ability to prove you wrong? 

Do you wish at the beginning of the novel you had been able to compromise when your circumstances changed? 

Is there a particular passage or scene from your novel that you feel embodies this character the best? 

The scene I have chosen is near the beginning of the book (to avoid spoilers!) but I think it sets the scene for Nairne’s relationship with her peers and to some extent the world around her. The school has received a huge influx of new students who have had to move to the area to avoid the impacts of climate change. It is the start of the new term.

"Nairne felt like time had slowed down; each glorious August day spent in a classroom seemed longer than the previous one. By the following Wednesday afternoon, it was as if the holidays had never happened. It was double biology and they split into groups of three to look at samples under the microscope. Nairne was teamed with Laura Howard, one of the self-appointed class beauties, and Tamara Potter-Smith, a new girl. Nairne set up the microscope and loaded the first slide into place; she examined it and stepped aside for Laura.

“I don’t want to look,” said Laura pointedly.

“Nor me,” chimed Tamara.

Nairne made notes of what she had observed and loaded the next slide; once again the two girls did not participate. Mr Cunningham, the biology teacher, became aware that only Nairne was taking part while her team mates stood idly by, whispering to one another.

“Is there a problem Laura? Nairne, make sure you all get a proper look at each sample.”

“They don’t want to look sir,” said Nairne.

“Laura, do you know the answers to this lesson without taking part?”

“No sir.”

“Then why won’t you look in the microscope?”

“We don’t want to share, Mr Cunningham.”

“You heard what Mr Watson said, with so many new students we all have to make allowances and share some of the equipment. All right?”

“We don’t want to share with her! Can we join another group?”

Mr Cunningham paused, he knew that Nairne was unpopular, but he hated the petty squabbling and bullying that went on in school and he would not tolerate it.

“No, you will stay exactly where you are and participate in the lesson or give me a good reason why not.”

“It’s her sir, she’s dirty, I don’t want to touch that thing not after she’s touched it, and you can’t make me. She’s a dirty gypsy; she shouldn’t be in the class with other people.” Laura’s face was flushed with excitement as she spat the words; Tamara stood behind her giggling nervously, as a hush descended on the room.

Mr Cunningham removed his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose and rose to his feet.

“Laura, come here right now!” There was an edge to his voice. The girl walked forward, stopping a few feet from him.

“You will report to the headmasters’ office at the end of this lesson, but first, you will apologise to Nairne.”

“I won’t,” she said defiantly, looking to the rest of the class for support. “It’s true, everyone knows it; her mum had dysentery. And you get that from being a dirty gypsy. They just have to touch you, I saw it on the news and you can die from it. She shouldn’t be here; she should be sent home.”

Mr Cunningham was speechless. Nairne closed her notebook and placed it in her bag. She swung the bag over her shoulder and walked to the front of class towards Mr Cunningham and Laura.

“I think I need to go home,” she said to Mr Cunningham.

“Nairne, it’s okay. Laura will apologise or we will take this matter straight to Mr Watson.”

“Oh it’s okay sir, it is true. My mum did have dysentery, so maybe Laura’s right to be scared.” With this she spun the other girl round grabbed her head tightly between her hands and kissed her hard on the lips. Whoops of disbelief from the class filled the air. “Let’s just hope I’m not that infectious.”

Minutes later Nairne was out of the school gates and running along the street, her heart pounding as tears of rage ran down her face. She never wanted to go back.

Wow! Thanks for sharing such a great excerpt! And thanks for taking part in my spotlight week.

Readers, don't forget to show some author love and visit Rachel on her WEBSITE and on GOODREADS!  
It is also available for purchase on AMAZON!

Indie Author Week - Heidi Loney

~ Welcome to the Indie Author Spotlight! ~

Since Little Hyuts is all about supporting the indie author community, 

I have created this week long event to showcase 14 independent authors in 7 days! Each has been handpicked by yours truly, and I am sure you will enjoy every one of their books! New authors, interviews and giveaways will be featured every day, so keep checking back to see who's in the SPOTLIGHT!

It's Monday! And were starting the week off right with some good dystopian YA! I'm pleased to welcome self-published author, Heidi Loney to the spotlight! *Don't forget to enter her giveaway at the bottom of the post*

Heidi Loney is a Toronto based Young Adult Author. Her new dystopian novel, Ravenous (Ancestry, Book 1), will be available June 1st in Kobo and Kindle e-book format. Heidi also plans to release her satirical YA novel, Love and Cola Wars this September. Currently, she is writing Ancestor (Ancestry, Book2) to be released in 2014. Before becoming a novelist, Heidi studied theatre and worked for 15 years as a costumer in many of Toronto’s theatres. Heidi’s other passion is politics, and you can find her tongue-in-cheek posts on Toronto city politics blog, leftwingpinko! Heidi lives in the city with her husband Jack and two (mostly) darling children.

Hello Heidi! Can you tell us your main inspiration behind your novel? Be it person, book(s), random occurrence, etc... 

I was in the middle of writing another thriller, when the idea for my story Ravenous came to me while I was having a shower. For some reason I get a lot of great ideas that way! The question I asked myself is, what would happen if the government made it illegal to be fat? Sure, it’s far-fetched, but then I read that some employers in Japan weigh and measure their employees every month, and if the employee gets above a certain limit, they are sent for some sort of counselling.

Was self-publishing your first choice? What was the most nerve wracking part of the process? 

Self-publishing was definitely not my first choice. I tried some other things first, like entering some short story competitions and sending queries to literary agents and book publishers for my novel Ravenous. When the rejections came pouring in, I knew that things did not look good for me going the traditional route. 

There were a few issues really. One, is that the dystopian genre is highly saturated, and many agents don’t want to take on this genre at the moment, because the trend in the next few years could die out. Secondly, I am a debut author with no publishing credentials and a small platform, which does not bode well for me. Thirdly, while many agents thought the story was a good idea, it was not strong enough in their mind. But I took everything they said and reworked my draft until it was best as I thought it could be for self-publishing. 

I think the most nerve wracking part of the process was how everyone would perceive my novel. When you self-publish, you really have no idea what the public will think of your work. I’ve learned not to take the criticism too personally and take the feedback and use it for my future writing. 

As a self-published author, did you choose to edit your novel yourself? What was the biggest change you made to the story and/or characters? 

I definitely had help along the way. I had a story coach help me with the plot, which is completely different now from my original draft and I had a copy editor help me with proofreading and line editing. I also got feedback from Beta Readers and a few more objective eyes. The biggest change in the story is that I made Chef into a major character, where he was originally just a minor character, which is so funny because he is now my favourite in the book!

Do you have any unusual writing habits that aide your process and/or character development? 

I drink a lot of coffee, does that count? 

Well, I’m a mother of two young children, so I have to work around them for now. It makes it a little difficult to do spontaneous writing. One thing that helps me is I write down plot ideas in a little note book whenever something pops into my head. The other thing is I sometimes imagine my characters being played by someone famous or base them on someone in my own life. For instance, I imagine Chef being Bruce Willis. Kinda bad ass but also a real sweetie inside.

Before we get to the last question, I want everyone to know a little about your debut YA dystopian, RAVENOUS!

Overpopulation throttles the world’s food supply. In 2050, the government of the Americas introduces the Food Crisis Act—new measures that create a system for growing and rationing food.

Calla Ryan is pretty much your average teen, except for enduring hunger every day of her life. One morning, new sensors at her high school determine that she exceeds the weight limit of the State, and they send her north to a “fat camp” or re-education centre.

Calla begins to realize the centre holds many secrets. Her counsellor dies mysteriously, and new shipments of recruits are the picture of health. Finally, Calla becomes a guinea pig for a dangerous lab experiment.

On the outside, a virus that began overseas has now made its way to the Americas with deadly consequences.

Calla must run from her captors, escaping to the far north with help from the facility’s chef and fellow inmates Billy and Madge. And to complicate things, the infected are very hungry.

You definitely have my interest peaked! Is there one passage or scene from your novel that you are most fond of? If so, include the excerpt below! 

That’s such a hard one! I guess one of my favourite scenes is when Calla and Billy manage to find a moment to have fun, since the rest of the novel is so intense. Here is a small excerpt:

        " The harvest goes as planned as we extract thousands of corn stalks, beans and squash. We strip the ears of corn from the stalks, peel back the husks, and dry them in the sun. We separate the beans from the vines, dry them in the sun, and store the squash in a cold cellar on the property. This process involves the entire village and takes many days. The good mood resonates in the village, despite the unknown outside our perimeter.
          At the end of a long week, everyone in the village attends a dinner at the community centre, followed by a dance. The men and women clean up and wear their best clothes. Marnie lends us a couple of pretty dresses from her youth. I cinch the waist in with a sash and put some wild roses from Marnie’s garden in my hair.
          The women of the community and Chef prepare the feast. The unattached women of the village have taken special notice of him. I suppose he is handsome for a man of his age. He’s tall and strong and neatly kept. I always thought that Chef was cold as ice, but as I get to know him better, I realize that he’s a real softie underneath. Of course, he’s also a lean, mean, killing machine. What’s not to love? 
             There’s an assortment of old and new dishes: succotash, three sisters’ soup, and Iroquois soup with haddock and wild mushrooms; grilled elk, venison and cranberries, and venison stew. The main dishes are accompanied by baked squash, grilled corn on the cob, cornbread and corn pudding, and wild rice pudding. I try not to “pig out” but everything tastes so yummy that I have to have a little sample of everything. Everything except the mushroom soup. By the end of the meal, I am stuffed. It’s the first time in my life I have ever felt this way, the feeling of being so full that I can’t move. Billy is in the same boat. He suggests we go for a walk before the dance starts.
               With the business of the harvest, we don’t have much time together. He takes my hand as we stroll through the village. The village is tranquil with everyone assembled at the centre. Billy looks very handsome in his dress-up duds borrowed from Caleb

“That was an amazing meal,” I say to break the ice.
Billy turns to me and smiles.
“What?” I say with some embarrassment.
“You’ve changed.”
“I have?”
“For the better.” 

             He kisses me before I have a chance to respond. It’s so deep and intense, the kiss he gives me. I feel a tingling feeling down in my core.

“I love you,” he whispers in my ear.
I smile at him. “Let’s get back. I want to be the first to dance with you, before all the other girls in the village get a hold of you.” 

            We walk back to the recreation centre, arm in arm. "

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Heidi! Readers, if you want to grab your own copy of Ravenous it is available through AMAZON and CREATESPACE. And please, don't forget to visit the author on her WEBSITE, GOODREADS and TWITTER!