Today, Olivia is chatting with author Chloe Miles about the first novel in her series, FADED. Check it out!
When seventeen-year-old Savannah Fraser and her three friends are killed in a car accident, they are given a second chance at life by a group of century-old earthbound spirits who need their help.
Savannah learns she is a Chosen One, which means she can switch between human and spirit form, heal people, and control the weather—and she is also now invincible.
The Chosen Ones are the only ones who can defeat The Forces—a trio of evil half-spirits who are slowly destroying the perfect little town of Fort Everwick with violent storms and not-so-natural disasters—and stop them from harming everyone they care about.
The Forces are set on destroying everything Savannah knows and loves, but they also have a more sinister plan—they want a new member to join them. They won’t give up until they get the one they want—and they have Savannah firmly in their sights.
But what Savannah didn’t count on was falling in love with Hunter. She’s never loved anyone the way she loves Hunter, and she knows he loves her, too. But how can they be together forever if he no longer exists and she’s the only one who can see him?
Will Savannah have enough belief in herself to defeat The Forces, or will they be able to lure her to the dark side and turn her against her loved ones—and tear her and Hunter apart?
Olivia with YA-Mag: Chloe, welcome to the Young Adult Magazine!
YA:Let’s talk about Savannah. How did you two first meet? What makes her the perfect character to tell this story?
Chloe Miles: Savannah is a lot like my own former teenage self, so I think her voice was naturally the one that came through when I started writing her story. Savannah is a little shy and reserved and more at home with her nose buried in her textbooks than confronting a room full of her peers … let alone coming face to face with The Forces and having to protect her entire town! (Thankfully, I never had to contend with the latter.)
She’s relatable in the sense that she has that internal self-doubt that I think all teenage girls have at some point in their lives. We slowly see her emerge further and further from her shell as the series progresses, guided in the most part by Hunter’s unconditional love and undoubting belief in her, and eventually, her belief in herself.
YA: What sets Savannah’s story apart from other supernatural romances? What will readers find that they can’t anywhere else?
CM: I wanted to write a paranormal romance that was a little different to everything else that’s already been written. Being a hopeless romantic, I loved the idea of eternal undying love, especially between two characters who are so young but whose love is so rare and beyond their years.
Obviously, with Hunter being a spirit and Savannah being a human, their relationship is certainly not without its difficulties and obstacles, but the message throughout the series is that true love can conquer all, even the impossible. Love is an emotional feeling. The idea of Savannah and Hunter’s love for each other is that the strongest feelings we feel aren’t always physically felt but felt wholly and powerfully within your heart.
I believe there is a powerful and inspirational message behind The Faded Trilogy, and I hope that the readers will walk away from this series with a little more hope and love in their hearts.
YA: What non-book influences (films, television shows, music, plays, etc) helped spark this story?
CM: It happened to be storming when I was coming up with the idea for the series, so that’s the inspiration behind the power over the weather that the characters possess and the unpredictable storms terrorizing the town.
There weren’t really many pop culture influences on the actual storyline as such … mostly just the inner workings of my own vivid imagination, which I guess can be thanked in part by my love of magical worlds growing up, like the Harry Potter series and even watching shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a kid. I’ve always loved the idea of magic, and although the series isn’t based on the typical idea of magic, it still has that enchanting element of fantasy to it.
YA:When you were a teen, what was your favorite book (YA or otherwise)? Now that you’re an author for teens, what is your favorite contemporary YA?
CM: Growing up, my favorite series was definitely the Harry Potter series. I was just completely captivated by that magical world J.K. Rowling created, as were most kids (and kids at heart).
I would have to say my current favorite YA book would be The Fault in Our Stars. It’s one of those rare gems that can completely affect you and inspire you and capture your heart. The premise of the storyline is close to my heart, as I’m sure it is to a lot of people. I think everyone, no matter how young you are, knows too well the absolutely heartbreaking affects of cancer. We all know someone who has been touched by it, and it unfortunately doesn’t discriminate by age, as proven in this beautifully moving story.
YA: What is the story behind the title FADED?
CM: The title of Faded actually took a while to decide on. I think I just referred to it as “my novel” for the first few months I was writing it. I already knew the titles I wanted for the subsequent books in the series – See No Evil and Ever After – but Faded took a little longer to decide on. I knew that I wanted something that represented Hunter and him being a spirit. There is actually a line Savannah says to Hunter at one point that made it seem like the perfect choice: “Hunter, you’re still here to me. You’ve just faded a little, that’s all.” From then on, The Faded Trilogy was officially born.
YA: This is the first in a series. What can you tell us about the next installment? How are the stakes raised?
CM: With each of the books in the series, we see The Chosen Ones become more confident in their abilities, The Forces more sinister in their tactics, each storm fiercer and more unpredictable than the last, and, of course, a love that builds in extraordinary strength between Savannah and Hunter.
Savannah isn’t your typical butt-kicking heroine in the beginning of the series … but by the end … well, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that she could give the best of the butt-kicking best a run for their money!
YA: You self-published this novel. What has been the best part of self-publishing? What has been the hardest?
CM: The best part by far is having 100% creative control. That always has been and always will be the most important part of writing for me. The hardest part is definitely the self-doubt. There’s no assurance of success, which is a little worrying at times. But I’m nothing if not a dreamer, and I have huge plans in mind for the series … specifically, world domination. That’s not asking for much, is it?!
YA: If you could cast the Dream Film of FADED, who would you cast?
CM: I have to admit that I have thought about this probably more often than I should this early on in the life of The Faded Trilogy. (I can dream, can’t I?)
As far as casting Hunter … I have absolutely no idea!! He would have to be Mr. Perfect … and I don’t know if Mr. Perfect even exists, does he?! (If he does, please kindly guide him in my direction.)
But I do know that if I were to cast anyone as Savannah Fraser, it would definitely be Taylor Swift. Besides the obvious physical resemblance to the character – blonde hair, blue eyes – she has this extraordinarily relatable emotional depth to her. And she has an obvious strong acting ability that you can see in her stage performances and her videos. She just gives herself completely to the emotion of her songs, and I can only imagine the emotion and presence she could bring to a lead character.
Savannah has such an emotional storyline throughout the series, and we see her evolve from a timid young girl who is so unsure of herself into this amazing, independent, powerful force to be reckoned with. I think if any actress were to ever bring her to life, Taylor would definitely do her justice.
YA: What’s up next for you in YA land? Any pet projects you can tease us about?
CM: I want to dedicate my heart and soul to The Faded Trilogy and ensure its success before I move on to any other writing projects. You never know what may happen in the future in regards to other writing projects, but right now my heart belongs to Savannah and Hunter.
YA: All right, last one! If you could spend one day with Savannah and Hunter, what would you do together? What would advice would you give to Savannah about her past or future?
CM: I think spending one day with Savannah and Hunter would give me the fearless confidence to do anything I’ve ever wanted to do but been too scared to. Maybe I wouldn’t take it quite so far and jump off a roof like Savannah does knowing that she has no risk of harm, but I think it would give me a little reassurance to be brave knowing that Hunter Emmerton’s arms would always be there to catch me … or heal me if needed!
I think I’d definitely want to visit a children’s hospital too and use Savannah and Hunter’s healing touch on all the brave, beautiful children going through a tough time in their young lives.
My advice to Savannah about her future would be to never give up on things that seem impossible. Who or what has the power to determine something is impossible? Impossible is only a word to remind you that if everything in life was seemingly possible, there would never be any need for miracles to happen. Miracles happen in life all the time. (And remember, I wrote your story’s ending, so trust me when I say that I know what I’m talking about.)
YA:Thank you very much, Chloe! And again, from YA Mag, congratulations on FADED!
~*~
Readers, be sure to check out Chloe Miles on Twitter @ChloesMiles_.
FADED is now available online for all of your favorite ereaders!
Olivia Hennis is a transplanted New England girl dropped by a tornado into the magical Land of Jersey. For more info, follow her on Twitter.