Magnetic
by Carissa Miller
Publication date: September 10th, 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
When Elle Christiansen’s rebellion leads to her father’s expulsion from a parsonage in small-town Ohio, the forlorn pair is forced to move to Oklahoma to live with an aunt neither of them has ever met. Here she encounters her aunt’s neighbor—Maverick Mason, the quietly confident son of a wealthy oil tycoon who infuriates her as much as he inexplicably draws her in…
Maverick slowly gains Elle’s trust and coaxes her out from the seemingly impenetrable walls of self-protection she erected around her heart when her mother was murdered. He convinces Elle to confide the secrets of her tortured past: that she saw her mother’s murder before it took place, and she was the one who found her, bleeding to death at the end of a lonely dirt road. Together the unlikely pair begins to unlock the secrets of not only Elle’s sordid past, but her mother’s and grandmother’s as well, to uncover decades of greed, corporate corruption, lies, and murder. Quickly, the sobering realization hits: if they do not solve her mother’s murder, Elle will undoubtedly suffer the same fate. As she continues her journey toward truth alongside the boy she is magnetically drawn to in a way both frightening and uncontrollable, Elle finds the road she is most afraid of going down — that one lane dirt road where her mother was murdered — just might be the only place she can truly find redemption.
Magnetic tells of the enduring pain of living with unsolved violent crime. Inspired by debut author Carissa Miller’s true-life events, it’s a haunting account of a young girl’s struggle in the aftermath of shattering loss. With an unraveling love story, puzzling mystery, unexpected twists and turns, and a gripping pace that will keep you turning pages, our heroine takes you on her journey as she learns one of life’s great lessons: facing your fears instead of running from them, is the only way to truly find freedom.
~AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Carissa Miller~
1) What gave you the
inspiration for the storyline?
When I was ten years old, a man
hid in the back of my mother’s mini-van with a knife. When she turned onto a
road less than a mile from our house, he came out from his hiding spot in the
back of the van and plunged his knife into her chest repeatedly. He tried to
rape her and he stabbed her multiple times, then left her lying in a ditch on
the side of a road in McAlester, Oklahoma, naked and bleeding to death. The man
who tried to murder my mom was never apprehended and was never brought to
justice. I grew up with the pain of an unsolved violent crime, and that is what
inspired me to write this story about a young teenage girl struggling to cope
in the aftermath of murder. And perhaps, I wrote this story as well because
although my mother’s attempted murder will never be solved, I realized I could
heal by writing a story where a young girl is able to solve her mother’s
murder.
2) Are there any hidden themes in the book that you hope readers
will discover?
That facing your fears, not running from them, is the only true
way to find freedom.
3) Are any of the characters based on real people you know?
Yes!
Maverick Mason is inspired by my husband and Aunt Cordelia is inspired by the
aunt I went to live with when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school.
4) Who has influenced you most as a writer?
I am so inspired by many authors but
some Young Adult others that I respect most are Suzanne Collins, Stephenie
Meyer, and Sarah J Maas.
5) If you could have any three literary characters over to your
place for game night, who would you invite, what would you play, what would you
serve, and why?
Feyre, Rhysand, and Morrigan (from ACOTAR Trilogy) because I love
their strength, wit, and camraderie, and friendship. I would play QUIPLASH, a
new game I just found out about that I’m obsessed with because it’s so fun and
hilarious. And I would serve pizza and wine, lots of wine!
6) Do you feel that you can ever have too many books?
No way!
Author Bio:Carissa Miller writes a lifestyle and design blog called CC and Mike, where she and her husband blog about their experiences designing, building, and flipping houses in the Midwest. She was inspired to write her debut novel–Magnetic—because of her firsthand experience living with the trauma of an unsolved violent crime, her mother’s attempted murder. When she’s not writing, blogging, or designing, Carissa loves Oklahoma summers on the lake with her husband and three children, going to Oklahoma State sporting events and cheering on the Cowboys, and traveling cross country with her family in the RV she and her husband renovated. Carissa laughs loudly, loves with her whole heart, tells it how it is to a fault, and enjoys living life to the fullest, every moment of every day.
You can follow along with Carissa and her family on Instagram – ccandmikecreative, Facebook – CC and Mike, Pinterest – CC and Mike, Twitter, or by subscribing to their blog – http://www.ccandmike.com/.
