The Fall Changes
Marie McGrath
(Honey Cove, #1)
Publication date: August 11th, 2020
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Change where you live.Change your parents being married.And maybe, change who you are.
At 16 years old, Riley Mills has had more change than she ever wanted. A new high school would be daunting for most teens, but between getting attention from the most popular girl and being paired with a boy for her class project, she is navigating many situations she never could have imagined.With homecoming fast approaching and rumors about her swirling, Riley must confront her true nature. Is she a popular girl at heart? Could someone actually like her?With no clear answers, Riley may just find some answers from the most unexpected sources.
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EXCERPT:
A girl with reddish-brown hair didn’t allow me to dwell on it for very long as she sat across from me. “Hey, new girl.”
Now what? Wasn’t one interaction enough? Couldn’t I have one minute of peace in this school without someone bothering me? All I wanted was to blend in and move on. If people kept reminding me I was the new girl, then neither of those things would ever happen.
“I’ve never seen those two stomp away in my entire life. I decided I had to introduce myself to the person who would accomplish such a feat. I’m Sophie Graham.”
I was unsure of what to say. After what I just experienced, my walls were all the way up, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled with being called the new girl.
“Look. I know you don’t know me, and I can only assume what those two must have said to you, but seriously, I mean no harm. Okay? I think it’s cool what you did. Those two have been asking for it for, well, forever.”
“Thanks … I guess. I didn’t say much.”
“Well, for not saying much, they certainly bolted out of this lunchroom. Not to mention their bad mood could be felt like an earthquake across the cafeteria.”
I tried to stifle a giggle but wasn’t very successful. I imagined those two as an earthquake and couldn’t help it.
Sophie seemed to be really nice. But I thought Shelby seemed nice too, and look how well that turned out. I supposed if I was cautious with Sophie, it couldn’t hurt, could it? Something about her made her seem familiar and genuine. As my mom-mom always said, “You catch more bees with honey.” If I didn’t try, I would never know.
Sophie sat and blabbed about the school and her classmates.
I had a hard time concentrating. Instead, my brain churned everything that had happened so far. My thoughts were at war with each other. How much should I trust these people?
Sophie waved her hands in front of my face and snapped her fingers. “New girl! Hello! Are you in there? I asked you what class you had next. Lunch is almost over.”
I retrieved my schedule and showed it to Sophie. “I think it’s the gym.”
“Well, isn’t that ironic. So do I. I’ll show you how to get there. Follow me, new girl.”
I hesitated before getting up and throwing away my trash. “The name’s Riley.”
“I know, new girl. Remember it’s a small school and town. You’re famous. We don’t have many newcomers, and most people have already heard your name, but the new girl is more fun to say.”
I shot her a look.
“Well, I guess so is Riley. Come on, let’s go. Coach Schneider does not like you to be late. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.”
I may have only known Sophie for what felt like ten minutes, but Sophie was easy to listen to and seemed like she would be easy to get along with. I hoped things would be different with Sophie than how they had turned out with Shelby so far.
Q & A
Why do you focus on writing romance with teenagers?
Teen love is special, intimate, and unique. It’s full of firsts and hormones and that unique combination makes a perfect playing field for writing a novel. I love those cute glances and quick brushes of fingers that cause the explosion of feeling. It’s beautiful and I never get tired of writing it.
Is The Fall Changes a stand-alone novel or part of a series?
In a way, it’s both. The Fall Changes is the first novel in a series of four. However, each novel takes focus on one specific character and their life, so while it helps in some ways to read all of the books in the series, it could be read separately.
What made you decide on the setting for your series?
Honey Cove, North Carolina came from the inspiration that Riley needed a small town place to move to. I wanted it to feel like North Carolina with the mountains in the west and the beaches to the right, as well as their normal agriculture. However, I wanted it to be a creation of my own. A place unique to their story. I looked into the culture of Honey Cove and found out that bees were important to their population. Then, Honey Cove was born.
What message does your book have for today’s teens?
Being a teenager is hard … at any time, but especially today. I wanted teens to read my novels and know that things can be good. They can find their people and they can do it being themselves. I want them to be proud of their idiosyncrasies, not ashamed. So my message is to be true to themselves and fall in love doing it.
What inspires your stories?
Everything. Movies, other books, conversations I have in real life. Everything, even if it’s only a small part, all inspires me in some way.
Do the titles in the series follow a theme?
Yes. The first title The Fall Changes took me a while to come up with, but once I did, I realized I wanted to tell the story of Shelby and Sophie as well, and then, of course, do something fun in the summer, so I continued to look for words that described their experiences until I found the perfect ones. They all follow the season they take place in and the strongest verb that describes their experience.
When do you usually write?
Whenever I can! I have a toddler and downtime to write is a rare and beautiful thing. So whenever it’s possible, I sit down and write.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I love to do many things, but my favorite would probably have to be reading or playing with my toddler.
How do you come up with the titles of your books?
My titles tend to have a varied process. My debut novel, The Many Faces of Charlotte Barnes came to me before the whole novel was even written. For The Fall Changes, it took me a little longer to come up with the title. I was about halfway through writing the novel before I figured it out. In general, I try to come up with the major themes of the story and allude to them in some way in the title.
Who is your favorite character in The Fall Changes?
That’s easy and maybe surprising to others … Randy. He has a lot going on in his life, yet he is still sweet and caring to other people, especially to Riley. I have a soft spot for that kind of person.
What was the highlight of writing this book?
Growth. The highlight was how much I grew over the course of writing this novel. I had so many events happen that helped me grow and improve as an author.
What’s your editing and revising process?
I focus on writing the novel in its entirety first. I only reread when I have to catch up on what I wrote previously. Then when the whole thing is done, I take some time away from it. I print out the manuscript and then I hand fix what I see. When I have gotten it as far as I can, I send it to betas. They send me feedback, I make changes and then send to my editor. I make those changes and then it becomes ready for publishing. It ends up being several drafts to get to the final completed novel.
Author Bio:Marie McGrath lives in a small rural town in Maryland. She hopes to inspire others with her stories. Her favorite genres to read are YA Romance and Contemporary Fiction. She loves the color turquoise, tigers, and listening to music.
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