L.S. Mooney is the second TGNA alumni member I’m interviewing here on the blog. (Jenny Adams Perinovic was the first – and one day, I shall have them all!) I first met L.S. Mooney while working together on the TGNA group blog, The Great Noveling Adventure. I’ve enjoyed being a part of that group so much! We’ve all grown in our writing and been through so much together, and we continue to support each other through our creative journeys. Such a fantastic group of ladies!
L.S. is a binge reader, ballet dancer, and crazy cat lover. And she sometimes writes contemporary YA about quirky girls, the friends who love them, and the boys they don’t really need. She is a big fan of roadtrips and exploring new places, but she is a Midwest girl at heart and an enthusiastic alumna of The Ohio State University.
She is also the Social Media Manager for the Bookish Group Press, an indie publishing collective dedicated to producing Young Adult and New Adult books of all genres. Through this entity, she has her first novel, THOROUGHLY MODERN MIRELLA.
First, let’s learn a little bit about her debut novel:
The Book
THOROUGHLY MODERN MIRELLA by L.S. Mooney
Published by: Bookish Group Press
Release Date: April 12, 2016
Genres: YA Contemporary
Order the eBook: Kindle Edition (US) · Kindle Edition (UK) · Nook · Kobo
Order a Paperback: Amazon
Plot Summary:
In a small town like Paradise, everyone has a role.
High school senior Mirella Danville is a proud “theatre nerd.” That is, until she makes a scene at the Halloween party she shouldn’t have even gone to, flirts with the football captain, and reunites with an old friend who ditched her for the popular crew.
It’s a dream come true when Mirella lands the lead in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it should put her firmly back in her usual role. Instead, it only fuels her desire to change up her boring existence so that her first kiss won’t be onstage with a gorilla-handed junior. The line between Mirella and her character blurs as she dives head first into a world of fruity flavored cigarillos, sweet and sour schnapps, and college boys.
But when her antics–and the expectations of her hot college boyfriend–start to cause drama off the stage, Mirella questions her decision to be more “Millie” than “Mirella.” With her friendships, family, and performance on the verge of crumbling, Mirella has to get back into character…or risk losing herself.
The Interview
Valerie Lawson: Tell us about the inspiration for this story.
L.S. Mooney: Thoroughly Modern Millie was my senior show in high school and it was an incredibly fun show to be a part of. Now, before you run off thinking Mirella’s story is mine, I assure you I was not Millie even if my experience in the show was the first spark. Except, it really wasn’t. Not really. I started writing this book 7 years later after choreographing my first high school show and full of pride for my wonderful students.
VL: Ah! I have fond memories from my teen theatre life, too! Great source of inspiration.
I love the title of you book – the play on words and the plot summary all add up to the promise of a really fun read. What else can you tell us about this story?
LSM: Ah! I’m blushing!
I have such a hard time knowing what to say about this story without it feeling like it’s a spoiler. But fundamentally, TMM is about friendship, boys, small town life, and musicals. There is also definitely a vintage Firebird involved. Just saying.
VL: I love how you injected your love of theatre into your book. Tell us more about your background working in theatre and how it influenced Mirella’s story.
LSM: I’ve been in a lot of shows and worked on even more. And it has really shaped me as a person. My ideas of hard work, commitment, fairness, dealing with disappointment, and staying humble, etc. They all come from my experiences in the arts (both theatre & ballet). And some of my BEST memories also come from those long hours spent in the auditoriums, studios, dressing rooms, and everywhere in between.
My book is dedicated to my musical families, past and present, and I sincerely mean that. I was a weird kid in high school – still am actually – and my high school musical helped me find my family and realize weird was fabulous. However, it was coming back as an adult to the program I had been a student participant in that really made me want to write this story. I had the incredible experience of working as choreographer on 14 elementary school musicals then stage manager & choreographer on three high school shows with phenomenal groups of students that have forever changed my life.
There are pieces of those lessons, those families, and those experiences throughout Mirella’s story.
VL: That’s fantastic! The theatre is definitely a welcoming place for the weird (aka TALENTED and CREATIVE) to find a home, and to flourish.
Who were your heroes/role models growing up? What drew you to them?
LSM: This is going to sound weird, but we’ve established that I am weird. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was absolutely my role model. I loved that she was kickass and feminine. That she could slay in her halter top and boots and was still stronger than Riley in more ways than one. That she could go on a date and save the world in one night. I realize as I’m typing this that it explains A LOT about my allergy to free time and severe penchant for over-committing myself. I watched Buffy slay hell hounds and still make it to prom, why can’t I stage manage a show, perform in one myself, and write a book all while in grad school?
VL: I love Buffy. She kicks ass. And I heard Stephen Chbosky (of PERKS OF A BEING A WALLFLOWER fame) say at a conference once that he learned a lot about the page turn from watching Buffy. Excellent endorsement right there.
Who was your childhood best friend?
LSM: I am so fortunate to say that I met my childhood best friend Megan in dance class when we were five. We were in the musical together in junior high and high school and, although we now live several states apart, she is still one of my best friends. And she flew nearly 1000 miles for my book launch party.
My other best friend, Ashley, and I met freshman year of high school. She was never a huge fan of the time I spent at the musical but we were doubles partners on the tennis team, and there were definitely a few lesbian rumors. Though our lives are in very different places, we are still incredibly. She helps me be my most me.
VL: What’s the worst job you ever had while going to high school?
LSM: In high school I worked the dunk tank at my town festival (I lived in a town a lot like Paradise) for three summers. It was …intense. I wasn’t properly dry for four days, we recited Shakespeare to annoy people, and literally everyone I knew threw balls at me.
But actually, it wasn’t that horrible; it’s hilarious looking back on. Way worse was the summer in college that I spent making phone calls to alumni asking for donations. That was pure torture.
VL: Ugh! That would be way worse. Drown me, please.
You took on the daunting process of self-publishing for the book. Tell us about that decision and why it was right for you, for this project. Did you have that goal in mind when you started out or did this evolve throughout your writing process?
LSM: I definitely did not originally think I wanted to self-publish. We all have that big book deal dream, right? So I did a few pitch contests on Twitter and did two small rounds of querying. However, after watching Jenny Adams Perinovic rock the socks off self-publishing with her debut, I realized I didn’t even want to sell this book anymore because it was too close to my heart to let anyone else control it.
So, yes it was an evolution, but a short one. And after release I’m still positive it was the right choice for me but I couldn’t have made that choice without Jenny and Sarah at Bookish Group Press. They are literally the best.
VL: They do put out some beautiful work! If you’re going to self-publish, I say, do it right and get a great team behind you. That seems to make all the difference.
What surprised you most about the process of writing this first book and publishing it yourself? What wisdom would you impart to fellow writers thinking about going through the same thing?
LSM: Oh, geez. I’m not an expert, and I asked Jenny Adams Perinovic SO MANY QUESTIONS about everything. But I think my best advice would be to find a community, find critique partners, find people who love your characters as much as you do.
I horded my writing for a long time and realized that you can’t get any better if you’re the only one reading it. Also, I recommend following you gut. Whatever that means to you!
VL: Excellent advice! My critique group is my creative lifeline. They keep me going when I want to give up, and they know how to push me farther than I thought possible. I’m a much better writer because of them.
What has been your favorite book to read over the past year?
LSM: I am incapable of choosing just one. I read too many phenomenal books this year. I will say that Jenny Bravo’s THESE ARE THE MOMENTS ripped my heart apart in the best way and Sarah Rees Brennan’s conclusion of THE LYNBURN LEGACY was perfection. Also SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA and FIRST FROST by Sarah Addison Allen.
VL: LOVED loved loved SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS! And thanks for some more interesting titles to look into.
What’s next for you? What are you currently working on?
LSM: Technically I’m currently writing my Masters thesis but I’m pretty sure that isn’t what you meant…
Fiction wise, I’m not doing a ton but I’ve got a bunch of things started. I’ve got a NA retelling of the ballet Giselle that I’m kind of obsessed with but it’s incredibly hard to write so it’s slow. I’m also tentatively drafting a companion novel to TMM set 7 years later. It might never see the light of day, but it’s fun to play with my teenage characters as 25 year-olds!
VL: All sounds intriguing – and the thesis is a fairly big deal! Can’t wait to read more from you! Thanks so much for stopping by and speaking with us, L.S. It’s been a pleasure! Good luck with your book!
Learn more about L.S. Mooney here.
Follow her on Twitter here.
Timothy Lange has been a graphic designer, illustrator and fine art painter for over 30 years. He graduated from the Colorado Institute of Art in 1982 and studied at the Art Students League of Denver (off and on) from 1989 to 2003.
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