Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to Melanie Hooyenga on the release of The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

This is my first published book that didn’t come to me in a flash — I actually spent time brainstorming ideas. I don’t recall what I had just finished reading, but it made me want to write a book about twins. Since I don’t have a twin, I decided the twin could be missing.

TQUEE is about a family in the wake of their infant daughter being kidnapped, but I didn’t want this to be a story about a family missing their daughter, I wanted to take it in a completely unexpected direction. As I thought about the different ways people react to tragedy, I went to mental illness and how some people’s brains block trauma to protect them. In this situation, Eve’s mother refuses to accept that one of her daughters is missing, and so rather than get her the help she needs, Eve’s dad raises her as both girls.

The story begins in the spring of Eve’s senior year of high school. She’s been compartmentalizing her life for as long as she can remember, which is expressed in one of my favorite lines: “I’ve been pretending to be my sister for so long I don’t know how else to live.”

While several of my other series began with the intention of being a standalone novel and turned into a series, this book will not have a sequel.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I’ll be honest, this is not a feel-good book. Eve is dealing with a host of mental problems caused by a lifetime of mental abuse from her father. Her primary goal is to go to college so she can escape her current situation and start life over on her own terms. That said, there are still things readers can take away from the story.

Everyone is worried about how they’re perceived, even though most of the time people are more worried about themselves than anyone else. Eve spends most of her energy keeping her secret from people at school, and while they do wonder about her, everyone has their own issues.

Things may not turn out as planned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. I’m avoiding spoilers here, but if you’ve read the book, you’ll hopefully understand. Eve is very focused on what her life will look like once she leaves home and while BIG THINGS HAPPEN, the book has a satisfying ending.

Being near the water is calming. Okay, that might be just me, haha. TQUEE is set in Grand Haven, where I live and grew up, and spending just a few minutes watching the waves recenters me and slows the churn in my brain. Eve finds solace there, whether running on the beach or just watching the waves from her car.

What inspires you to write?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to tell stories. As soon as I knew how to write, my imagination found an outlet with words. (And art—I’m a very visual person as well.) But simply writing is not where it ends for me. My favorite part is hearing or seeing my readers’ reactions. I crave feedback!

I know a lot of authors refuse to read reviews, and I completely understand that inclination, but I love them. TQUEE was on NetGalley for several months and I refreshed Goodreads throughout the day to see if new reviews were posted. There will always be people who don’t like what I write, and some of the comments can sting, but the good reviews? Those are magical. They make me want to keep going.

If you happen to have my phone number and want to text me while you’re reading? Even better.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

I’m going all out for TQUEE. I slacked off on my last series (all three were released during the pandemic), so I built a 9-month plan that included:

Kickstarter – I raised $4000 toward marketing and audiobook production costs

Kirkus review – I didn’t get a star rating, but I received a positive review and Kirkus flagged it with the “Get it” checkmark

Other top-rated review services (School Library Journal)

NetGalley listing – listed for 3 months to get early reviews

Goodreads giveaway – my first time running a giveaway since it stopped being free

Blog tour – I paid for a 2-week blog/social media tour that includes 30-40 posts

Last summer, SCBWI shared that members get a reduced membership to IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association), which has discounts for other services I wanted, like Kirkus, NetGalley, and IngramSpark (IG waives the upload fee!). It took some serious mathing to determine it was a good deal, and I’ve been happy with the results.

Other parts of my marketing plan:

Requesting bookstore and library visits

Press release to media outlets, including local/regional newspapers, radio stations, and TV Stations

Sending eARCs to anyone who asks via Bookfunnel

Requesting blurbs from authors in my genre, including a few stretch asks

Reaching out to Bookstagram and Booktokkers and actually sending print copies. In the past I’ve only offered ebooks

Planning a book launch party at one of my local indie bookstores

Creating my first book trailer using iMovie

Offering a preorder gift (signed postcard with an excerpt)

This is on top of my newsletter, blog, and social media accounts. I do have a street team, but I’m really bad at utilizing them. I’ll keep trying though!

You can find bookseller options here.

What's next for you?

I’m glad you asked! I recently signed with an agent (Michelle Grajkowski with 3 Seas Literary) and I’m working on a YA romantic suspense that she plans to send on submission this spring.

The partnership came about in a completely unconventional way: we met when my friend/her agent-mate invited me to present about self-publishing at an online writers’ workshop during the pandemic. Michelle and I hit it off but lost touch for a bit, then she reached out last fall when she heard about TQUEE. I had already started plans to publish it, so she asked to read anything I’d yet to publish. I nervously sent her two unfinished first drafts, and a week later she signed me.

My dream is to be a hybrid author, and representation put me one step closer to making that dream a reality!

More about the book . . .

All Eve Ellaway wants is to escape to college, start a life of her own, and finally sever the connection to her twin sister Gen who disappeared when they were babies. Because while the rest of the world moved on from the kidnapping, Gen’s still very much alive at home.

Most families would grieve their missing child. Some families might create a shrine for their lost daughter. But the Ellaways are not most families.

Every night, Eve pretends to be Gen to protect her mother's delicate grasp on reality — dividing her life, her stories, and her dreams so there’s enough for two sisters. Eve’s forced to maintain her father’s lie to ease his guilt over Gen’s disappearance, but is she sacrificing the last threads of her identity and any hope for a normal future?

As the lies propping up Eve’s life start to crumble, she no longer knows what she wants. But Gen does, and she’s ready to take it.

Publisher: Left-Handed Mitten Publications

More about the author . . .

Multi-award winning young adult author Melanie Hooyenga writes about strong girls who learn to navigate life despite its challenges. She first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. When not writing books, you can find her wrangling her Miniature Schnauzer Gus and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy. The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway is her tenth novel.

melaniehooyenga@gmail.com

https://www.melaniehoo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MelanieHooyenga

https://www.instagram.com/melaniehoo/

https://www.threads.net/@melaniehoo

https://bsky.app/profile/melaniehoo.bsky.social

https://www.tiktok.com/@melaniehooyenga

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572696.Melanie_Hooyenga

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/melanie-hooyenga