I am thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Miel Moreland in support of her first book, It Goes Like This. Meet the author, learn about her book and then enter to win a great prize!
Miel Moreland was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With time spent in California and France, she has a Midwestern heart but wandering feet. When not making pop music references and celebrating fandom, she is likely to be found drinking hot chocolate and making spreadsheets. She currently resides in Boston, where she works in higher education. It Goes Like This is her debut novel.
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Books, Tea, Healthy Me Exclusive Interview with Miel Moreland
Is there something special about It Goes Like This that you want everyone to know? Y
IT GOES LIKE THIS is a love letter to changing your mind, friendship, and fandom. My main character, Eva, is actually named after a character in a show I’d just finished watching before I started writing this novel (the original Skam).
From where do you get your ideas for your books?
It really depends on the book! I’m very inspired by setting—I can walk into a room and instantly decide I need to write a novel set there—but also by music and other books. I might read four books with some shared characteristic (and love them!) but think, “There’s an angle here none of them took. What if I wrote that?”
Where do you begin when you develop new characters? Physical characteristics, personality, plot? What comes first and how do you go from there?
A key personality trait, as it relates to a central theme or question that the premise demands, generally comes to me first. From these twin beginnings, I further develop the character and the plot. What does this character want, and why? What needs to happen so they are challenged throughout the narrative? Physical characteristics come last. In IT GOES LIKE THIS, Eva didn’t even have a hair color until one of the final drafts.
Does writing exhaust or energize you? Why?
On the whole, writing energizes me. It’s exhilarating to create a story simply from your mind.
What is your writing kryptonite? And what is the cure?
Plot and tension are always going to be my downfall in the early drafting stages. I just want to explore my characters without too much stress. Luckily, my agent intervenes so my books have the industry-expected tension paths.
What book are you reading right now?
I’m reading The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow. The tagline is, “Can their love of books and pop music save the world?” Which is pretty exactly relevant to my interests.
What do you do to keep yourself healthy? What is your #1 healthy lifestyle tip?
Allowing myself time to rest is key. Fresh air and sunshine are also essential for my mental health—as Elizabeth Bennet would say, I’m very fond of walking.
What is your go-to recipe when you cook at home? It doesn’t have to be healthy – just yummy.
I’m not much of a cook! I make very simple foods at home. A recipe I make often is pumpkin muffins—with chocolate chips, of course.
It Goes Like This
Miel Moreland
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: May 18th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
In Miel Moreland’s heartfelt young adult debut, It Goes Like This, four queer teens realize that sometimes you have to risk hitting repeat on heartbreak.
Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they’ve been though a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair.
But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens’ band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste’s starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Gina and Celeste step further into the spotlight, Steph disappears completely, and Eva, heartbroken, takes refuge as a songwriter and secret online fangirl…of her own band. That is, until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they’ll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.
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