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Author Interview with Eliza Noel


One of my favorite things about being a teen author is that we have the entire world at our fingertips, which makes for wonderful communication among us, regardless of where we are. Even though Eliza Noel lives in California and I’m over in New York, I was able to participate in her blog tour, which allows her to reach the computers of people worldwide without any strenuous travel. 

I had the opportunity—and the honor—to interview Eliza about her upcoming release, Dawn Chandler. Regarded as “a story of faith, family, and contentment”, the middle-grade novel follows twelve-year-old Dawn from Fresno to Lone Pine, California as her parents decide to homeschool her and the rest of her siblings. Dawn isn’t thrilled about being homeschooled, but she’s even more upset about the fact that her family might be moving. 

I asked Eliza questions about her book and her writing process to share, marking Teenage Lexicon a stop on her blog tour.



Dawn Chandler is a middle grade novel. What made you decide to write a middle grade novel?
When I was twelve I had a hard time finding middle-grade books with modern settings that were mom-approved. So that's why and when I started writing Dawn Chandler!

How are you like your protagonist? How do you differ?
I'm like her in the fact that I've had to deal with moving and that I struggle with being content. I think our personalities are actually quite different. I'm more of a people person than her. I tend to focus on the good in people which is more like Caroline than Dawn.

Who is your favorite character in the book? Why?
Kenneth! He's Dawn's older brother. I went through a phase when I really wanted an older brother so that's why I wrote him. He's sarcastic, goofy, caring, and handsome.

Are any settings in the book based on places in your life? If so, why did you choose to set these scenes here?
Actually, all of the settings are places that are part of my life. I guess I just wanted it set in places I was familiar with. Lone Pine (the place the Chandlers are visiting for the month) is where I lived from when I was six to when I was eleven. I have a lot of fond childhood memories there and writing this book was almost like going back and visiting.

When writing the book, did you make an outline, or did you just go for it and let the book develop on its own? Would you write another book this way again?
I think I just went for it. I wrote the first draft so long ago it's hard to remember. I'm pretty sure I had a general idea of what I wanted to happen from the beginning though. When I was getting ready to write the sequel's first draft I made an outline. I think in the future, at least for the next project I want to do, I'll make a more detailed outline.

Any interesting facts about this book you want to share with readers? 
A lot of name changes happened. Dawn was Dianne (Deedee), Kenneth went by Kent, and Caroline was Paris. Also, I have the Jennings eight kids because I didn't want them to be exactly like my family of seven kids, but now there are nine of us!




Be sure to check out Dawn Chandler, which releases in both paperback and Kindle edition on May 18th, 2019!

Eliza Noel
Instagram: @elizanoelauthor
Facebook: Eliza Noel
Twitter: @elizanoelauthor

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  1. Eliza NoelMay 15, 2019 at 6:56 PM

    Thank you so much for interviewing me and helping me spread the news about my book all the way on the other side of the U.S. !

    ReplyDelete

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