Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Melanie Hooyenga!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Melanie Hooyenga
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.
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About the Book: The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway
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.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The idea for this book is one of the few I’ve had as a result of intentional brainstorming. I had just finished reading a book about twins and was drawn to writing a story about twins, but, I argued with myself, I don’t have a twin. No problem, I’d make one of the twins disappear.
I’m passionate about mental health — destigmatizing it, making sure people get the help they need, and openly talking about my own struggles — and it plays a major role in the story. This was the first time I wrote a character who is a writer, and I was able to share some of my teenage dreams through her. I also wanted to write a book with an unreliable narrator, and had a lot of fun creating a character who keeps the reader guessing.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Even though she’s only in two chapters in the middle of the book, Mariela, the girl Eve meets at a baseball game at another school, may have been my favorite to write. She’s a breath of fresh air from the doom and gloom inside Eve’s head, and she upends Eve’s world. In the scene, Mariela teaches Eve how to score a baseball game, something that I learned from my husband, and changes Eve’s perspective on things she’s wondered about herself.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
Definitely the novel! This book was called The Other Me up until I was getting ready to publish. One very important step before publication is searching the title online to see how many other books share the title, and in this case, there were PAGES of search results with the same title.
Including the name of the main character is common right now, so I played around with different last names that had a pleasing (to me) cadence and also had significance to the story. Ellaway means “you are fine when in harmony but changeable when in discord.” The name “may be derived from the Gaelic alla which means wild and mhagh which means field.”
One funny note: a name that almost made the cut had to be scrapped because when I searched the full name, I discovered an Only Fans account with that name! This shows the importance of researching names, especially if they’re used in the title.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There are a lot of very emotional scenes in this book, and many were challenging — even without the parameters of having the main character talking to her missing sister in her head. As the title implies, Eve is quietly unraveling mentally as the book progresses, and this scene around the 100-page mark shows her feeling like she’s reached her limit with the charade she’s been forced to live. Eve is with her mom, pretending to be Gen. Gen’s dialogue is in italics.
My entire life, Gen has followed me wherever I go. Her voice has strengthened as we’ve gotten older, whether arguing with or encouraging me, and as much as I’d love to have my headspace to myself, the idea of her being quiet is as far-fetched as Mom suddenly realizing she only has one daughter.
I’m not that intrusive.
Keep telling yourself that.
You’d be lost without me. You’ve said it yourself.
Okay, fine. I do need you. But let me get through this. Please.
Mom’s shoulder presses against mine for the rest of the show, and when it ends, she stretches. My cue to leave. “Tell Eve to give that boy a chance.”
I have a fricking almost-boyfriend and if you weren’t so self-absorbed you would know that. Rage colors everything red. To try and try and try to be good, only to have it slapped back in your face—this must be what it feels like to truly lose your mind. The threads of lies disintegrate into a boiling cesspool in my belly. My breath sticks in my throat, catching the hurtful words I long to scream at her.
Eve.
My feet carry me from the couch to the door. My arms cross themselves. My lips somehow lift in a smile. My voice doesn’t scream or shout or crack, it simply functions as it has every day before. “I’ll try.”
The door shuts with a click behind me and I slide down the wall.
“This has to stop.”
One hundred thirty-three and a half days.
I didn’t know you were keeping track.
It’s all you think about. How can I not?
Do you really think this will end with graduation? Or me going to college?
Her silence is heavy.
Gen?
My pulse speeds then slows, speeds and slows, as if beating for the both of us. Her, calm and calculating and unconcerned with what the future holds. Me, gripping the final delicate thread keeping me connected to reality like a string to a balloon that’s being ripped from my hands, shredding my flesh until I’m forced to let go.
My hands burn. Half-moons pierce my palms, perfectly matched with my fingernails. I stretch my hands open and blood colors the moons, tangible evidence that this is real. That I’m real. That my actions have consequences.
Gen hovers nearby but she’s not sharing her thoughts.
I place one hand on the floor, then lean forward and rest the other next to it so I’m on my hands and knees. When I lift the first hand, bloody half-moons stain the carpet.
Satisfaction pushes away Gen’s indifference. I control what I do. Not her, not Dad, not Mom. Me. For too long I’ve tiptoed through this hall, letting Mom’s delusions dictate my life.
Dad’s somewhere downstairs, oblivious to this precipice I’ve found myself on, so I crawl to Gen’s room, carefully pressing my hands into the carpet. Leaving marks that prove I exist.
Me.
Eve.
Her door is open, the light off. Across the hall in my room, the faint pinks and purples of the setting sun do nothing to soften this newfound resolve pulsing through me. My heart’s still racing but adrenaline lifts me to my feet instead of crushing me to the floor. The carpet absorbed most of the blood, but I drag a hand across her door anyway. Claim her room as mine.
Inside it looks like it always does. Bed made, photos of her friends swiped from social media taped to the mirror, random crap Dad bought to decorate her room lining the dresser and windowsill. I turn on the light and pause in front of the pictures, my reflection looking nothing like the cheerful selfie taped in the top corner. In the photo my ponytail is smooth, a fitted t-shirt showing off my body in a way only Gen can pull off, but in reality, pieces of hair hang around my face, Gen’s baggy sweatshirt concealing the sculpted body only Cal gets to see.
The picture peels away from the mirror with a tug, tears in half with a twist of my fingers. The other photos follow until Gen’s friends lie shredded in a pile at my feet. With each rip the knot in my chest loosens and my breath comes easier. I look around for more. My hand wraps around a stuffed unicorn, hurls it against the wall.
Not enough.
A book about soccer rests on her nightstand and makes a satisfying thump against the baseboard. The bookmark flutters in the air, a small detail Dad must have added. Has he moved it to mark her progress every night, too?
Another book follows, its pages fluttering as it slams against the wall above her bed.
Why are you doing this?
Stuffed animals and soccer cleats and other stupid crap that has nothing to do with me laugh and jeer and taunt until the roaring in my head drowns them out. I grasp and heave without aim, the frustration and fury building with each insignificant plot point Dad added to this room.
Gen but not Gen whispers “Is that all you’ve got?” and I attack the dresser. Unworn clothes land on the unused bedspread and a strangled cry rips from my soul. I expect footsteps on the stairs, a knock on the door, but the only sound is my inner voice urging more, more, more. Not Eve but not Gen. My movements become frenzied, unrecognizable, until every piece of minutia in her room is scattered on the floor.
Still not enough.
I yank the elastic out of my hair. Pull off the sweatshirt and fling it at the window. The hood catches on the miniblinds, a small detail that slips past my wrath, freezing me as the scene splits in two. Into a new Before and After.
Remnants of my lies litter the carpet and nothing but the sound of my heartbeat fills my head. I slip off the rest of Gen’s clothes. Naked and shaking, I drift down the hall to the bathroom. Turn on the shower.
Let the water drown away my despair until the trembling finally stops.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
When you’re first starting as a writer, people tell you that you need to find your voice as an author. This is true, but it’s such vague advice that it’s really not helpful until one day, perhaps in your second or third book, you realize you’ve found it. “Your voice” includes your style of writing, the rhythm and length of your sentences, and the topics you choose to address. It’s what makes you different from other writers, even if you were to write about the same topic.
In my early years, I was afraid to read books in the same genre that I was writing because I didn’t want to accidentally copy that author’s style, but now that I’ve grown comfortable with my voice, I prefer to read books that are similar to mine to keep me in the mood of my story. Meaning, if I’m writing a psychological suspense, I want to read similar books to keep my mind there.
Getting to this point as a writer takes time — it’s not something that can be rushed. Another thing I heard as a newer writer is it takes one million words to become a good writer. Now, I think that’s entirely subjective, but the point is valid. Like anything, writing takes practice and the more you do it, the better you get at the craft.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Eve’s eyes. They are so creepy! I must confess that I designed the cover myself, so I truly love every detail about it. The little threads unraveling from the letters took a lot of effort and I’m thrilled with how they turned out. The words printed over Eve’s face are from the beginning of chapter four, which is her first journal entry in the book. I just love the cover so much!
YABC: What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2025?
I jumped on the Fourth Wing bandwagon at the beginning of 2024, and while I already have Onyx Storm on my kindle, I haven’t had time to read it yet and I cannot wait. I’m not typically a fantasy reader but this series hooked me right away.
YABC: What was your favorite book in 2024?
I really enjoyed Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker. We met at an event in my town and the idea of a group of teens trapped on a plane over the ocean with MURDER was an insta-buy for me. The cast of characters, the endless list of lies, and the heart-pounding thrills amongst the teens keep this story flying from page one until the twist at the end!
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m currently writing the first draft of a YA romantic suspense called It’s Always Been You. It’s a mashup of Gossip Girl and the show You, and is about a girl who’s in love with one of the brothers of the family she spends every summer with. This summer she’s determined to make him hers. They’re drawn together by the increasingly dangerous crimes that keep happening in the neighborhood, and—well, that’s all I can tell you right now.
YABC: Is there anything that you would like to add?
Writing about mental health can be tricky. The premise of the book hinges on the father manipulating his wife and guiding his remaining daughter into behaviors that will keep his wife happy. Showing a character’s struggles without relying on offensive stereotypes or making them a caricature of a diagnosis is definitely a challenge.
I worked with two mental health professionals to determine which diagnoses can be caused by a person’s environment versus genetics, and —without giving away spoilers — those conversations guided the outcome of Eve’s story. It was important to me to that Eve was both believable and sympathetic, despite how unlikeable she could be. (You’re not supposed to like her, something reviewers have picked up on.)
Together we discussed the plausibility of a person enduring the type of psychological abuse that Eve experienced, combined with her parents’ history of mental illness, and what that would look like for a person. My intention with this story was to get inside the head of a girl who had the odds stacked against her before she was old enough to have a say, and then show how she found a way to survive despite those odds.
In the book, Eve’s part of a project that pulls real data from the Youth Assessment Survey from Ottawa County, MI, where I live, focusing on human trafficking. All the stats in the book are real.
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
There are a few scenes where Eve reaches a breaking point and lashes out. Showing how her emotional turmoil escapes her was mentally exhausting, but I’m very proud of how they turned out.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Eve! She’s the most complex character I’ve ever written and living inside her head was very demanding. I set out to write an unreliable narrator, so staying true to her hopes and dreams while also keeping the reader guessing was a big challenge.
YABC: Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?
Drafting, absolutely. I write very clean so when I go back to read, the types of changes I need to make are typically bigger picture issues — things I have a harder time identifying on my own. I’ve learned different techniques over the years that help, but I usually need other readers or an editor to help me figure out how to improve my story, and that takes time.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Being able to put myself in another person’s shoes. In my day job as a marketer, that’s been helpful because I can often anticipate negative or unexpected reactions to my work. As an author, I feel it allows me to create well-rounded characters who bring depth to my stories — even the characters who readers aren’t supposed to like.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
I recently joined the board of my town’s Pride organization. I live in a very conservative community and this June will be our third Pride fest. I’m excited to help in any way I can.
Title: The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway
Author: Melanie Hooyenga
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Publisher: Left-Handed Mitten Publications
ISBN-10: B0DL4QNMX9
ISBN-13: 9798330430468
Genre: YA psychological suspense
Age Range: 12 +
~ Giveaway Details ~
Three (3) winners will receive a signed paperback copy of The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway (Melanie Hooyenga) ~US Only!
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
