Hey everybody and welcome back to the blog, Reading, Writing, and Living for Jesus! Today I am super excited to be bringing you an interview with author Eliza Noel, whose debut middle grade novel, Dawn Chandler, is releasing THIS WEEK. I had the opportunity to send Eliza an e-mail and ask her about all-things-Dawn, but before we get into that let me give you an introduction to the wonderful author and share all the details about the book and where you can pre-order it!
About the Author: Eliza Noel is a home school graduate with passion for Jesus, people, and literature. Growing up, her favorite books were always Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, and Pride and Prejudice. Around age twelve she wanted to read something with positive values in a modern setting, but couldn’t find what she was looking for. So she wrote it. When not doing something book-related (reading, writing, blogging, bookstagramming), Eliza works at her day jobs, spends time with her many younger siblings, longboards, has coffee with friends, eats chocolate, and listens to music. California is home, but she would like to travel more and feels she could learn to be content anywhere. You can follow her writing journey and see snippets of her everyday life on elizanoelauthor.blogspot.com or by following @elizanoelauthor on social media.
Alright, blogging Jenna has to interrupt here because those were some of my favorite books when I was growing up too!!! 😀 Anyways, back to your regularly scheduled programming…
About the Book:
Dawn Chandler likes the way her life is— or was. She liked going to the mall with her best friend, excelling at middle school, and attending church with her family. Typical life for a twelve-year-old in the city of Fresno. When Dawn’s parents announced they were going to homeschool her, on her birthday no less, she felt like her world was falling apart. Normal kids are supposed to go to school, not read books at home. To make matters worse, they may be leaving the only home she’s ever known. What are her parents thinking? Before making the final moving decision, the Chandler family visits Lone Pine, a small town between Mt. Whitney and Death Valley. While there, Dawn and her siblings become acquainted with their eccentric great uncle, explore the new area, and meet a large homeschooling family. All of this makes the ‘vacation’ more bearable. Still, Dawn isn’t sure if she can make the move and leave everything she’s familiar with behind. Can Dawn learn the values of faith, family, and contentment?
Okay, now for the fun part! The interview!!! I hope you enjoy the questions and answers! Since I know I have a variety of people who follow my blog (both readers and writers) I tried to balance out some reader-questions as well as some writing-questions. Without further ado, *que the fun intro music* here is the interview!!! You’ll find my questions in bold, and Eliza’s answers in italics.
1. Tell me about the title character, Dawn Chandler. Are you similar to her in any ways? Different? Dawn is a twelve year old girl who loves her friends and isn’t a fan of change. I’ve been told that she’s the sassier version of me, hahaha. I personally don’t think we’re that similar, but our life experiences are. Kinda. Dawn lives in Fresno and is possibly moving to Lone Pine. I lived in Lone Pine then moved to Fresno around the same age. I think I took the change a bit better than she did 😉 I’m also very much a people-person and I don’t see that in Dawn quite as much. Aw, haha! Well it’s super cool that the story was partly inspired by some real-life experiences, even if you and Dawn do react differently to those!
2. What made you choose to write her story and set it in Lone Pine? I guess I chose to write Dawn’s story because I wanted to look at my situation (moving from a small town to a big city) from a different viewpoint and see what would happen if I changed things. It’s set in Lone Pine because, like I said, I used to live there. After moving, it took me years to stop missing the charming small town atmosphere and the fond childhood memories I had made there. Writing this book helped me deal with my homesickness and it also came quite naturally because I know the town so well. That is such a great story, and I think it’s incredibly inspiring that your writing helped you work through those emotions. I’d like to think that your book might fall into the hands of a girl experiencing the same thing, and hopefully bless her as much as writing it blessed you!
3. Your book cover is GORGEOUS! Can you tell me about the cover design process? Thank you, I think so too! I messed around with different cover ideas on my own way before I was ready to publish. When it came time to have an official and professional looking cover I messaged a few different art accounts on Instagram. The three things I knew I wanted were a cute drawing of Dawn, at least some Lone Pine scenery, and beautiful hand-lettering. I found several talented artists who could do one or two of those things, but not all three. Eventually, someone recommended Liza Proch so I texted her to see if she was interested in doing it- she was! After that I chose what size the cover needed to be, wrote a description of what I thought I wanted, and sent Liza pictures I found on Pinterest for inspiration. She sent me about a total of three different drafts. Each draft had slight changes, hair color, mountains, fonts…eventually, it was perfect! I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s definitely PERFECT and truly represents the genre.
4. I believe you are self-publishing (correct me if I’m wrong), what are some challenges you’ve faced? Yes, I am! You’re correct. Underestimating how much time various aspects are gonna take, silly formatting mistakes that took me forever to figure out the easy fixes, and the fact that the whole process can feel a little lonely sometimes. I’m still glad I chose this route though! That’s great! I think we’re all a little guilty of underestimating how much time something will take, even outside of writing and publishing, but it’s lovely that you have such a great perspective on it.
5. What are some advantages about self-publishing? What have been some of the best parts of the process? An advantage would be being in control. I hired an editor (Abigayle Claire) who made it so much better than I could have ever made it, but ultimately the decisions were left to me. Same with the cover. I was able to get exactly what I wanted. One of the best parts of the process has been reading the advanced reviews! It’s so rewarding to know people are actually enjoying my story now. Woohoo for great reviews!!! It sounds like the self-publishing path was and is perfect for you.
6. How did you decide that you wanted to write inspirational/Christian fiction? I typically categorize it simply as children’s fiction, but Dawn is a Christian and she grows in her relationship with God. As a Christian I want everything I do (writing included) to glorify my father in heaven. I can’t imagine writing a story without God in it. That’s a great answer! I definitely feel the same way. 🙂
7. How did you incorporate faith into Dawn Chandler? This was something I struggled with a little bit. In an earlier draft, the reader didn’t know much about Dawn’s faith until towards the end when she was suddenly acting like a fairly mature Christian. I did want to show growth, but I didn’t want it to be so sudden. I ended up going back through the beginning and adding a few prayers and thoughts about God here and there to help fix that. I don’t know if that necessarily did, but I hope it answered your question! Oh yeah, definitely! It’s especially interesting hearing about your writing process and how those aspects changed in the various drafts.
8. Finally, what is your favorite chapter that you wrote in Dawn Chandler, and without spoilers, why is that your favorite? What should readers be looking out for? Any funny/endearing moments? Sweet scenes or surprises? I can’t wait to hear what people say about it! The prologue is actually one of my favorites. It’s the only part not told from Dawn’s perspective. It portrays the craziness of a Sunday morning in a large family. Several of my beta readers said it was truly relatable. I was happy to know my family wasn’t the only one like that, haha! I also especially enjoyed the playful banter that takes place between the main characters and the good old-fashioned fun they have in a chapter about sledding. You can actually read an earlier version of it on my blog here: https://elizanoelauthor.blogspot.com/2019/01/snow-daydawn-chandler-series.html Ooohhh I can’t wait to read it! Yep, you’re definitely not alone! XD I’m ALL FOR the relatable, big family moments!!!
Thanks so much for interviewing me, Jenna! I loved answering all your questions and I’m honored to be featured on your blog ❤ Of course! Congratulations on your upcoming release! I hope we get to see you here on my blog again someday!!!
Alright, y’all! If you’re ready to pre-order Dawn Chandler, then here is the link to do so!
You can also enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win!!!
I hope you guys take the time to check out this book and support an indie author. If you or someone you know (a mom, a sister, a friend) may enjoy reading this book then please consider sharing it with them. This truly sounds like a wonderful story and a charming start to a great new series for young girls.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and if you’re new here (referred from a friend, or heard about my blog as a part of the blog tour for Dawn Chandler) then it would mean the world to me if you’d pop your e-mail address into that subscription box and subscribe to my blog so you never miss a new post. I’m an inspired writer and an inspirational fiction reader who posts about all things reading, writing, and living for Jesus. If that sounds like your thing, then I’d love to have you a part of the RW&L family.
Until next time,
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