Interview: The Fall Changes (Honey Cove #1) by Marie McGrath + GIVEAWAY

 

**The Fall Changes by Marie McGrath**

Good Morning, Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! Today we have a fun Interview with a new-to-me author. I love interviews because you tend to find out a lot about the person behind the book. It’s always fun getting to know who created a story you have read or could possibly read. Maybe it even is the reason you choose to read a particular book. So let’s find out more! Please allow me to feature on the blog Marie McGrath and her latest release, THE FALL CHANGES … Plus, a GIVEAWAY!

**MARIE MCGRATH**

**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.

To find out more about Ms. McGrath please visit:

 

         

 

 

**THE FALL CHANGES**

Publication date: August 1^1th, 2020

Series: Honey Cove #1

Genres:  Romance, Young Adult

**BLURB**

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.

**INTERVIEW**

By Marie McGrath

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 at 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 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, it 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 down time 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 may be 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?

The 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 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.

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**EXCERPTS**

 

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 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 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 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.

We walked shoulder to shoulder from Over Easy’s. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked around my car to put my book bag in the back seat. This was different from our normal meetings. Over Easy’s leveled the playing field. It kept things businesslike; walking to the park would be uncharted territory. My stomach did flips as I returned to where he stood.

I moved alongside of him, keeping pace even though his strides were much larger. Compared to his one step, I had to take at least two. We stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the walk light to activate. As I went to take a step, he walked out first and put his hand against the small of my back. He led me, but it also felt protective, like he didn’t want an inattentive car to injure me—always a gentlemen. No matter what had happened to him, he kept his manners and kindness at the forefront. I hoped no matter what happened he never lost that.

Fruit trees lined the sidewalks to the park. He waved and greeted passersby. I stole glances when he wasn’t looking and blushed when he caught me. Every time, he gave me this broad smile, like he only wanted to go to the park with me.

The walk to the park was quick. Along the way, our arms would brush against each other, and it sent tingles up my arm. We found a bench and sat. The sun still had a couple of hours before it would set, but it was lower in the sky, just above the treetops.

He stared into the distance. “This is my favorite place to sit and think.”

“Right here?”

“Right here. This exact park bench. It has the best view of the whole park and then the town beyond it.”

“What do you come here to think about?”

“Everything. My parents. My sisters. You.”

Wait, what? Had I heard him correctly? “I’m sorry. What? Me? Why me?”

“Why not?”

“What’s there to think about? I’m not interesting to think about.” Did I just say that? Wasn’t I supposed to be saying I was exciting and adventurous? Isn’t that what boys wanted to hear?

“That is far from the truth, superstar.”

“Oh, please. How am I interesting? So I won a couple races. Other people have done that.”

“Sure, what you’ve done in track is good for the school, but that’s not what I mean. You’re different, Riley. I could tell when I first saw you in English class, wearing your blue converses with a braid in your hair.”

I thought back; he remembered what I wore? “You could? How? You still don’t even really know me.”

“Well, I want to get to know you. I mean that. You’re a great English partner, but I wouldn’t mind meeting you to hang out. What do you think?”

“I don’t think it’s a horrible idea.”

He chuckled. “Well, as long as it isn’t horrible.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better outside of English too.”

“Then it’s a plan. Maybe sometime next week? I know you have a double track meet this weekend.”

“Sure. That works. I’ll know my practice schedule better on Monday.”

“Great.” He shuffled his feet. “I don’t want to keep you too late. It’s getting dark. We should walk back.”

He was right. The sun had dipped much lower, and I hadn’t even noticed. I couldn’t believe we were going to meet outside of class assignments. I also couldn’t believe he thought about me. I still wasn’t sure it happened, but I didn’t want to clarify, just in case.

The walk back felt quicker than before. He stayed closer this time. When we got to my car, we both waited.

I avoided his gaze. “So, you’ll send me what we have, and I can check it, right?”

“Yes. I’ll type up our additions and send it to you.”

“Great. Thanks for doing that. I’ll let you know about my schedule on Monday.”

“Sounds good. Bye, Riley.” He stepped closer to me. He pulled me in for a hug and just waited, lingering a heartbeat longer. To anyone else, it was just a hug, but I knew he had hesitated. He released me, and I climbed into the Impala.

I had no idea how to process any of what had just happened. I was full of tingles and butterflies, and I couldn’t get this goofy grin off my face.

 

 

**GIVEAWAY**

Blitz-wide Giveaway (INT)

$25 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for joining us today!

HAPPY READING!!!