First of all apologies to Katy Huth Jones because this blog post is late! Stupid Christmas and The Day Job has turned December into a bit of a whirlwind! Nevertheless, I’m here to talk about my next project – The Vanished.

If you’re not aware of my YA dystopia trilogy you probably won’t know that The Vanished is the second instalment. Here’s some info:

What is the working title of your book?

The Vanished

Where did the idea come from?

Well, The Blemished arose from my fascination with feminist science fiction and genetic engineering. The Vanished is a homage to my love of apocalyptic fiction.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA science fiction or perhaps YA dystopia. You could also call it post-apocalyptic. I’ve never been one to stick to one genre!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Crikey, one sentence is tough. Ok, here goes… Mina Hart fought her way to The Clans to live a normal life but instead the threat of war is just around the corner, along with a surprising betrayal and more danger.

That wasn’t great! It’s a good book, honest!

How will your book be published?

I’ll be using self publishing avenues to make The Vanished available through all the usual ebook channels and a print on demand publisher for the paperbacks. It’ll be available everywhere

How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Probably not much longer than a month but I completely rewrote it after I published The Blemished with some major plot changes. I’m now working on the final edits and am ambitious enough to think that it will be ready in January

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

This is tricky. The original idea could be compared to Uglies by Scott Westerfeld but The Vanished has moved on from this idea and deals with different issues. It has a more post-apocalyptic feel so I would perhaps compare it to the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I think it was partly down to me realising that I needed to write. I’d tried many creative outlets from painting to scrapbooking to sewing and none of it was enough. I used to write as a child and then as a teenager but insecurities always stopped me taking it further. An amazing thing happens in your twenties – those insecurities begin to disappear. It was probably after reading the Hunger Games that I realised I wanted to be a writer and I wanted to write YA. I loved the style and the characters. Since then I haven’t stopped writing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, there are feminist themes, elements of science fiction and apocalypse, but the very heart of the book is about relationships. Mina is a teenage girl who has a terrible relationship with her dad and a great relationship with her boyfriend. She’s learning how friendships can go wrong and first loves can be complicated. Like many young girls she has a dysfunctional family life with a parent who loves her but seemingly on his terms. So many young people go through the same things Mina goes through.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my next big thing. Thanks to Katy for suggesting this to me!

Here is the trailer for The Vanished:

Add it to your GoodreadsTBR list!