Interview with Magnetic Author, Carissa Miller **Giveaway**

Magnetic
Carissa Miller
Publication date: September 10th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult


When Elle Christiansen’s rebellion leads to her father’s expulsion from a parsonage in small-town Ohio, the forlorn pair is forced to move to Oklahoma to live with an aunt neither of them has ever met. Here she encounters her aunt’s neighbor—Maverick Mason, the quietly confident son of a wealthy oil tycoon who infuriates her as much as he inexplicably draws her in…

Maverick slowly gains Elle’s trust and coaxes her out from the seemingly impenetrable walls of self-protection she erected around her heart when her mother was murdered. He convinces Elle to confide the secrets of her tortured past: that she saw her mother’s murder before it took place, and she was the one who found her, bleeding to death at the end of a lonely dirt road. Together the unlikely pair begins to unlock the secrets of not only Elle’s sordid past, but her mother’s and grandmother’s as well, to uncover decades of greed, corporate corruption, lies, and murder. Quickly, the sobering realization hits: if they do not solve her mother’s murder, Elle will undoubtedly suffer the same fate. As she continues her journey toward truth alongside the boy she is magnetically drawn to in a way both frightening and uncontrollable, Elle finds the road she is most afraid of going down—that one lane dirt road where her mother was murdered—just might be the only place she can truly find redemption.

Magnetic tells of the enduring pain of living with unsolved violent crime. Inspired by debut author Carissa Miller’s true-life events, it’s a haunting account of a young girl’s struggle in the aftermath of shattering loss. With an unraveling love story, puzzling mystery, unexpected twists and turns, and a gripping pace that will keep you turning pages, our heroine takes you on her journey as she learns one of life’s great lessons: facing your fears instead of running from them, is the only way to truly find freedom.

Goodreads / Amazon

An Interview with Carissa Miller

Welcome to Character Madness and Musings

Tell us about your writing career. How long have you been writing? 

Magnetic was my debut novel. The writing process was very organic and unplanned for me, since I wrote my book as a way to cope with the pain of growing up with an unsolved violent crime—my mother’s attempted murder. Writing has always been something that I loved though. I won numerous writing competitions as a young kid and have blogged for years, enjoying the writing process as a creative outlet. Until writing Magnetic, I didn’t realize that I would like to write for a career choice however!

How did you choose your genre? 

Young Adult has always been my favorite genre to read. When I was inspired to write Magnetic, I knew that it would be about a young teenage girl who was struggling in the aftermath of unsolved violent crime, so it made sense for the genre to be Young Adult.

Tell us about Magnetic.

Magnetic is a Young Adult mystery/romance that tells of the enduring pain of living with an unsolved violent crime. Elle Christiansen, the heroine of Magnetic, is a rebellious, confused, and above all else—angry—teenage girl trying to come to grips with her mother’s unsolved murder. Elle’s rebellion leads to her father being fired from his job as a preacher in their small town of Brookville, Ohio, and they are then forced to move to Oklahoma to live with an aunt she has never even met.

Here she meets Maverick Mason, the quietly confident son of a wealthy oil tycoon who infuriates her but inexplicably draws her in. Slowly, Maverick gains Elle’s trust and begins breaking down the walls of protection she built around her heart when her mother was murdered. He convinces Elle to confide the secrets of her tortured past: that she saw her mother’s murder before it took place, and she was the one who found her, bleeding to death at the end of a lonely dirt road. Together, the unlikely pair begin to unlock the secrets of not only Elle’s sordid pasts, but her mother’s and grandmother’s as well, to uncover decades of greed, corporate corruption, lies, and murder. As Maverick and Elle’s bond continues to deepen, they realize they must solve her mother’s murder, or else Elle will undoubtedly suffer the same fate.

Inspired by debut author Carissa Miller’s true-life events, Magnetic is a haunting account of a young girl’s struggle in the aftermath of shattering loss. With an unraveling love story, puzzling mystery, unexpected twists and turns, and a gripping pace that will keep you turning pages, our heroine takes you on her journey as she learns one of life’s great lessons: facing your fears instead of running from them, is the only way to truly find freedom.


Tell us a little about the other books you’ve published. 

Magnetic is my first book. It is set up to be a series of three.


So many of us are intrigued by covers and titles. How did you come up with your title? 

I knew Magnetic was the perfect title for the book because it speaks to many of the themes throughout the book—not only Elle and Maverick’s undeniable magnetic connection, but also the force at work that draws Elle back to Oklahoma, to solve her mother’s murder. My idea for the cover was for it to have a Native American element, so I chose the dreamcatcher that Elle sees when she visits the Osage Reservation, but I wanted a more modern, geometric feel. The colors—red blending to maroon—represent the mystery and murder that is prevalent throughout the book.

What inspires your work most? 

Real life events and music 

Who are your favorite authors, and what is it that draws you to them? 

Growing up, I was a huge fan of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The worlds that they create are intriguing and magical. Now I am still drawn to fantasy and have enjoyed reading Sarah J Maas recently. 

Are you working on a new story now? If so, please share a little about it? 

I have several stories I’ve started. One is a YA fantasy and I have also started writing the sequel to Magnetic.

What do you anticipate your release date to be? 

To Be Determined

Any stories sitting on the back-burner? 

Yes, a YA fantasy I have tentatively entitled The Chasm. I started it on an airplane ride and my kids have read the first two chapters and are always begging me to finish it.

Do you have a website? 

Yes! That is my day job actually…I’m a lifestyle and design blogger. My husband and I build, design, and remodel homes in the Midwest and blog about our experiences. Our website is http://www.ccandmike.com/

What will we find there? 

You will find before and after pictures of the homes we have remodels, some of our favorite recipes, family stories, details about my journey to becoming a Young Adult author, and home design information.

Do you have an Amazon Author Page? 

Amazon


Where else can we find you? 

 Instagram! www.instagram.com/ccandmikecreative and Goodreads

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ccandmike

Twitter www.twitter.com/ccandmike


Thank you for joining us today.

About the Author

Carissa Miller writes a lifestyle and design blog called CC and Mike, where she and her husband blog about their experiences designing, building, and flipping houses in the Midwest. She was inspired to write her debut novel–Magnetic—because of her firsthand experience living with the trauma of an unsolved violent crime, her mother’s attempted murder. When she’s not writing, blogging, or designing, Carissa loves Oklahoma summers on the lake with her husband and three children, going to Oklahoma State sporting events and cheering on the Cowboys, and traveling cross country with her family in the RV she and her husband renovated. Carissa laughs loudly, loves with her whole heart, tells it how it is to a fault, and enjoys living life to the fullest, every moment of every day.

You can follow along with Carissa and her family on Instagram – ccandmikecreative, Facebook – CC and Mike, Pinterest – CC and Mike, Twitter, or by subscribing to their blog – http://www.ccandmike.com/.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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