The Book that Changed My Life

Originally posted on Book Gift Guide 2013

I read The Hunger Games and it made me want to read more dystopian novels. I read Divergent and it made me want to write dystopian novels. And then I wrote The Moon Dwellers and it changed my life.

When I started writing The Moon Dwellers while holding down a fulltime day job as an operational risk officer at an investment manager, I never would’ve guessed it would turn into a 7-book series with thousands of sales and fans. Not in a million years would I have guessed it would be listed on Buzzfeed as one of “15 Series to Read if you Enjoyed The Hunger Games,” alongside bestselling series such as The Mortal Instruments, Divergent, and Delirium. And if you told me that 18 months later it would be compared to Divergent in The Book Gift Guide 2013, I would have said you were crazy.

But life’s funny that way. It throws you curves when you expect it to be straight—and is like an arrow when, from a distance, it looks all twisty. That’s what keeps it interesting.

So here I am, almost two years after finishing my first draft of The Moon Dwellers, shaking my head and pinching myself. I’m an agented full time writer of YA and Children’s novels travelling the world. I sometimes wonder if I’ll wake up from an exceptionally vivid (and long) dream. I think I’d cry on the way into the city, completely unready to take my place back in my tiny cubicle.

So where did The Moon Dwellers come from? Was it the result of a strange dream about people living underground or did I simply watch one too many episodes of Fraggle Rock growing up? Honestly, I have a terrible memory, and I can never seem to pinpoint the exact moment that the idea popped in my brain, but I do remember cocking my head and thinking “Hmm…interesting.” I thought about it during meetings, during my commute to and from work, and in the shower, and as I did I got more and more excited at the potential. There are so many dystopian novels out there, but one thing they almost always have in common is that they’re set aboveground for most, if not all, of the story. So I went deeper, deeper, deeper…underground.

It’s hundreds of years in the future and the citizens of the United States have been forced underground due to the earth’s surface being deemed “uninhabitable.” Living conditions are harsh for the lower classes and plush for the upper classes. Rebellion is stirring. And at the center of everything is a middle class girl, Adele, whose parents have been arrested for treason, and the upper class son of the president, Tristan, who’s quickly learning of the inequalities of the world he’s destined to govern over.

The Tri-Realm’s are about to explode in violence; and in this world there’s only one truth: Someone must die.

Honestly, I’m just thankful that I had the inspiration to write the book, and the motivation to see it through for six sequels. I’m even more thankful for the thousands of people who have given The Moon Dwellers a chance and written the most moving reviews and messages I’ve ever read. You are my inspiration every day of my life. And to my future readers, I hope you enjoy the world and story I’ve created!

 

Happy reading!