Title: The Truth About Us
Author: Tia Souders
Genre: YA Contemporary/historical fiction
Published: September 7th, 2018
Synopsis:
The present is built on the past. But what if your past is a lie?
When 18 yr old Abigail Bridges’ grandmother dies, she leaves behind a mysterious letter asking her to unravel a hidden family secret.
There is only one rule: tell no one.
But meeting strangers in the dark and receiving old journals dating back to the Holocaust isn’t what she bargained for. Neither is a chance encounter with the enigmatic, brown-eyed Kaden Oliver, who makes her want to discard her usually reserved nature.
After a key clue goes missing, Abigail ignores her grandmother’s rule and tells Kade everything. Together, they begin to unravel a terrifying secret. The truth may set others free, but for Abigail, it will tear her family apart.
Now, she must decide between continuing to uncover her families’ lies or burying the past once and for all.
Link to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41065599-the-truth-about-us
Purchase Links:
Author Interview:
1.
What does your writing process
look like? Do you know the whole story when you start? Or do you just
start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)? If you plan it
out, how do you do that? Outline, notecards, post-it-notes,
etc.?
My writing process involves a lot of
screaming and crying. Just kidding. (Not really.) Seriously though, I TRY
to plot and get the outline for the book done ahead of time, but usually I
change the entire book several times. LOL It’s quite frustrating, actually. I
typically have about thirty pages of notebook paper in which I have rewritten
the plot point a dozen times and twenty random post-it notes clinging to every
surface of my desk. I’m pretty much a mess. haha
2.
Do you edit as you go,
or wait till you're finished before you edit? How many times would
you say you go over it yourself before having another set of eyes look it
over?
Typically, I edit as I go. The Truth
About Us is actually the first time I avoided doing that and I don’t think I’ll
do that again. I had SO much more work with editing and rewrites to do because
of this. I think it makes everything easier to edit as you ago a little bit.
Now, you can’t get all crazy, going over every scene a dozen times because
you’d never finish! A little goes a long way though. Once I’m completely done
with the novel, I read through at least once, usually twice and edit, rewrite,
give the book what I think it needs. Once I’m either happy or stumped, then I
pass it on to Beta readers.
3.
Are you part of a writers group
that gets together and helps each other with their writing?
Sadly, I am a part of many author
groups, but none where we swap critiques.
4.
How do you come up with your
ideas for your stories? If your story is based on a historical time
period like this one, how much research do you do for your stories?
I usually get a random spark of an idea
from somewhere and/or I find a topic that interests me and run with it. For
example, I’ve always found anorexia to be such a terrible, yet fascinating
disease (from a psychological standpoint) and so I wrote More Than a Number.
With this one, the Holocaust has always horrified me, and I have always loved
fictional stories centered around this time period and so The Truth About Us
was born.
As for research, I tend to go way
overboard. LOL The Truth About Us is set in modern times. It’s not a historical
novel. It’s simply a YA Mystery that involves the historical event of the
Holocaust, yet I treated it like I was straight-up writing historical fiction.
LOL I feel like I need to know EVERYTHING before I can write anything.
5.
What tips do you have for
aspiring writers?
There is no timeline and no race to the
finish line! Work at your own pace. Take your time and don’t put pressure on
yourself. Often times, it is simply us who cause our own stress! Work hard, but
enjoy the process, and you’ll get there!
6.
What are your favorite:
Ugh! This is super hard! Okay, let me
try…
Books/authors/genres: YA, chicklit, and
women’s fiction. My favorite book is Gone With the Wind.
Movies/TV Shows: Again Gone With the
Wind for movie. My favorite TV show is tough, but I hate to admit it, I’m a
huge Bachelor and Bachelorette fan. I know, so lame, but I love it! I can’t
help it. I’m a romantic at heart.
Food/Writing snack: Good pizza (straight
from the take-out box), and for a writing snack, anything with chocolate!
About the Author:
Tia Souders is the author of young adult novels MORE THAN A
NUMBER and BETTER THAN THIS, as well as the women's fiction novel WAITING ON
HOPE. When she isn’t writing, she’s likely working with her hubby renovating
their century home. She’s a wine-loving, coffeeholic with a sweet tooth and
resides on a farm in rural Ohio with her husband and children.
She loves chatting about books and has always wanted to join
a book club but her introverted self won't let her. She loves connecting with
readers, so reach out!
Visit her at tiasouders.com
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