Meet the #Author Monday - Renee Meland #YA #dystopia #scifi

Please tell us a bit about yourself: There's been something magical for me about writing ever since we got to make our own books out of cardboard and wallpaper in my first grade class. I've been hooked ever since.

Tell us about Burning Doors: Burning Doors is the second book in The Extraction List Series. It came to life because I absolutely fell in love with one of my characters in the first book, and decided he had his own story to tell.

What inspired you to write this particular story?: The Extraction List Book One is about what happens after a particular law turns America upside down. I used Burning Doorsto show the reader how the situation got so bad in the first place, a situation that allowed the law to take shape.

Which comes first for you? A character's looks, personality or name?: Personality, definitely. The name usually comes after I figure out who the person is internally.

Any tips for aspiring authors?: Don't give up. There's a lot of propaganda out there saying it's impossible to get  a book deal/make money/get exposure/etc. If other people can do it, so can you. Just keep at it!

  

Questions for fun: 

If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? I don't think I would change anything, since I believe in the Butterfly Effect (one thing changed can have severe consequences...many things happen for a reason). But I would go back and see Ancient Rome.

Why/why not?: Ancient Rome has always had a pull on me. I'd like to have a beer with Julius Caesar.

What super-power would you choose?: Flight for sure. Heights scare me to death but if you can fly it wouldn't matter.

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?: 1) Make it on the NYT Bestseller List 2) Somehow make it so every dog has a good home. 3) Make it so my dogs live as long as people do.

Coffee, tea or wine?: Can I have all three? 

What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!): The Unwind Series by Neal Shusterman. Brilliant!

Favourite genre and why?: Science Fiction because it's so full of possibility.

Favourite colour?: Red

Upcoming news and plans for the future?: I'm working on a book about doomsday preppers, and preparing to release the third installment of The Extraction List Series. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! 

BOOK NAME: Burning Doors         

GENRE: Young Adult Dystopian

BLURB: Cain Foley committed his first murder before he could even drive a car. Not that he would’ve had anywhere to drive to. When he was fifteen, America was one of the poorest countries in the world, and its’ citizens took their hatred of that fact out on each other through gangs and violence. Children barely tall enough for carnival rides peppered the streets selling drugs (or themselves) so they could buy their next meal.

Every night on the news, Cain watched as an angelic blonde woman who lost her own child swore she’d end it. She assaulted America’s televisions with praise for the Parental Morality Law: a set of rules that spells out exactly what it takes to be a parent in the eyes of the government, and the consequences of breaking those rules. He prayed every night that she’d come to rescue him before his father took off his belt again.

Before she could save him, Cain faced a fatal choice: fight back or die on the basement floor.

He chose life.

Now on the run, he finds himself being hunted by a police officer with his own special brand of torture. Before he can save even a handful of the children who have been swept up in the gang life, he must first cover up not one, but two murders: his father’s and one committed by a teenage madam who is either the love of his life, or his final undoing. As he feels himself being pushed further and further to the edge, he realizes that surviving his father was just the beginning.

RELEASE DATE: April 28th, 2015

AUTHOR INFO: https://reneenmeland.wordpress.com/

Twitter @reneenmeland

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8194285.Renee_N_Meland

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Renee-N-Melands-Books/311899338826241  

Author Bio: Renee N. Meland lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two dogs. Her favorite obsessions are Rome, learning new recipes, and exploring the world around her. She is an avid reader of speculative fiction, and believes that telling stories is the best job in the world.