Book: Hungry Hearts
Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
My name is Julie Hoag. I’m an author of Young Adult books and a Family and Lifestyle blogger/influencer. I write contemporary romance and middle grade novels. My debut novel is “Hungry Hearts” and my next book “Out of Control” is scheduled to release in 2021 with Swoon Romance. I blog about family life, topics for kids and moms/women, pets, recipes, and travel, with some DIY added in here and there. I am also published across the internet in nonfiction. I am a wife and mom of three boys, two dogs, and a guinea pig.
Q2. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Hungry Hearts’?
The book cover was fully created by Month9Books/Swoon Romance, the publisher of the book. I loved the cover instantly when I first saw it. They did an amazing job, it’s just so gorgeous. The title fits because the book is about anorexia, food, and being hungry both for food and for love. Landra’s heart is starving for love and attention almost as much, if not more, than her stomach is for food. She severely lacks emotional support and evidence of love at the beginning of the book, only receiving it from her two best friends. So, her heart is very hungry. The title was originally longer but upon collaboration with the publisher, we thought the shorter version was better.
Q3. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I wrote this book as a part of the Twitter writing challenge NaNoWriMo. This is a writing challenge for writers/authors to attempt to write at least 30,000 words in a month. It was in the month of November and I exceeded the goal and made it to 45,000 words in the month. I took two more weeks of intense writing and I finished the book in a total of just six weeks. I had beta readers read it, I revised it and shipped it off and I was offered a book contract in January. For me, keeping it fresh means writing manically. I feel I’m in the zone of a book when I write on it constantly, so I keep that intensity going because I feel I’m living in the book. This helps me remember who is doing what, who is saying what, and helps keep me in the flow of the story better than when I take large breaks. So, I guess I tend to write books in chunks of time rather than over a long period of time.
Q4. What does success mean to you?
I have already met my goal of becoming a published author. That is a dream I’ve had since I was a very young girl in the fourth grade. Of course, I want to sell more books and move people emotionally and mentally with more books, but to me, I am already successful no matter what happens next. I’ve written seven manuscripts/books, two of which I have contracts for, and that is a huge accomplishment in and of itself.
Q5. Are there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?
I usually start with characters and a basic premise for the book, a set of themes I wish to touch on in the story. It’s been different for each manuscript. I often need to research something about a storyline, to make it accurate, and I do that as I go along writing usually. I do like to have an outline, query letter, or hook written out before I start to keep myself oriented to the storyline.
Q6. How long did it take you to write this book? On what all platforms can readers find your book to buy?
I guess I touched on that already, I wrote this book in six weeks, rather manically. But to me, if I’m in the zone of the book, it’s easier to keep going. If I have ever taken breaks, I have to go back and reread what I’ve written to get back into the zone of that book, so it’s rather an ineffective way to write in my world. My book is in ebook form, audiobook, audio CD, and paperback. It is sold on Amazon, Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, all the independent small book stores, play.google.com, and more.
Q7. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Anywhere on the coast as I love the beach. I love the sound of water, so lakes are nice too, but the ocean shore is unmatched in beauty, serenity, magic, and majesty.
Q8. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Hungry Hearts’ book?
My key challenge was to depict the characters as true teens. My greatest compliments have come from those who called my book “a true YA book”, “almost too real” they were uncomfortable, that the characters were almost painfully too realistic. This means I’ve done my job in writing true to life characters, which is what I’d be honoured to be known for. It was a challenge I enjoyed trying to incorporate my own experiences with teen anorexia into a book where the character showed her true anorexic nature but also experienced growth, healing, and maturity.
The other thing I wanted to illustrate is that teens with disorders and low self-esteem can still fall in love. Not that love is a fix all for problems, if only it were that easy, but the support a person can receive from someone they love can help them down the path to healing. Other books with teens who have anorexia delve into the deep dark arena of anorexia where they may have severe health problems resulting from the anorexia. Well, the truth is, less severe cases of anorexia are far more common and can be just as potentially dangerous as those who end up in the hospital due to their anorexia. Anorexia is on a spectrum, just as all disorders, there are less severe cases and more drastic cases. I wanted to show the case of a girl with anorexia who definitely was negatively impacted by her poor eating but who didn’t end up with organ damage or hospitalization. A person with anorexia needs the support of her family and friends, and therapy if that’s available. But support from those in one’s life can have a significant impact on heading down the road to healing.
Incorporating multiple themes, including low self-esteem, bullying, and grieving on top of all of the above into a book can be a challenge, but that is accurate to real life. No one lives in a bubble. We all have challenges, issues, hurts, and healing ongoing throughout our lives. I wanted to create a character who reflected that reality. It’s very close to what I lived through myself having lost my own mother at sixteen. But, yet, I also wanted to show the upbeat nature of teens falling in love so the challenges were definitely there.
Q9. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Oh, that’s almost impossible to say. I’ve read so much over the course of my life; I’ve consumed so many books it makes my head spin. From teen romance novels as a young girl (and still now… I read YA all the time), to mysteries, to horror, to romance, and a whole line of classics. I love to read fiction, poetry, and memoirs too. To pick some who have inspired me I guess I’d pick Stephen King, John Green, J.K. Rowling, Kami Garcia, Stephanie Perkins, Sara Dressen, Jenny Han, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Niven, Clare Di Liscia, just so many amazing authors. I couldn’t even begin to name them all.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
The boy she falls in love with ends up pleasing her in ways she never expected.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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