Interview with YA Author Linda Hoover

Today Linda Hoover talks about her new book, Mountain Prophecy, a young adult novel set in the Appalachian Mountains. 

Who is your main character and what problem does he/she face?

There are three main characters. Dusty, Darla and Aidan. In the beginning, Dusty and Darla, teen twins, have the same goal. Rescue the missing girls and prove to their cousins they’re more than city kids. Then Darla believes God is calling her to help by going into the mine. Dusty’s new goal is to prevent her from going in on her own. He still wants to rescue the girls, but it’s not to make himself look good. Now he believes it’s the right thing to do.

Darla wants to be sensitive to God’s leading, and she has a soft heart for those who need help. Her problem is convincing Dusty to see her point of view. When that fails, she has to find the courage to do it without his support.      

Prince Aidan knows his people need help, but his father refuses to do anything other than wait for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Aidan has a hard time believing it could be real until he catches a glimpse of Darla. From that moment on he is focused on doing whatever it takes to make life better for the people living with him.

What prompted you to write this book?

Several years ago I took a correspondence course with the Institute for Children’s Literature. One of the assignments was to write a short story. I wrote about trolls in a mine. That idea stuck in the back of my mind and I eventually turned it into Mountain Prophecy.  

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

What I wanted to be when I grew up changed several times over the years. They included being a teacher, nurse, actress, airline stewardess and astronaut. By the time I got to college I still hadn’t settled on anything and chose psychology because it was interesting.

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

From the time I was small I corralled my siblings and friends into acting in  plays I’d come up with or I’d set the scene for active play. I was only nine when I started writing fan fiction in my head. By the time I was twelve I started putting it on paper. The stories never stopped coming and a friend suggested I take a course and try to get published. It was an “ah ha” moment. I’ve been working toward that goal ever since.

What’s the most times you’ve read a book and why?

I loved the Little House on the Prairie series. I don’t even know how many times I read those books.

What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

I’ve been blessed to do a lot of traveling. The furthest I’ve gone is Australia. We crossed the international date line which caused us to lose a day on the way there. It was especially strange on the way home, because we landed in the US the day before we left Australia. On the way back we got home the day before we left. 

It was a wonderful trip, but I think the most adventurous thing I’ve done was when my husband and I took our kids on a mission trip with Heart to Honduras. We witnessed third world living first hand. It was an eye opener for all of us. On our last day there the trip organizers took us to a park with a beautiful waterfall. 

We actually got in the water and swam/walked behind the falls and if that wasn’t exciting enough there was a rock, almost as high as the falls that we could jump off of. I didn’t let that opportunity go by. I’ll have to say that’s the most adventurous thing I’ve done. 

Do you have life philosophy? Favorite verse?

My favorite Bible verses are found in Philippians 4:4-7

What advice would you give a teen who wants to be a writer?

Learn all you can about the craft of writing. Write everyday. Have patience, don’t give up even when you receive rejections and criticism. Try to learn from those experiences. Know going into it that it’s not an easy road.

Linda playing Rock Band with her son.

Connect with Linda on her webpage or her Facebook author page

You can buy the kindle edition of her book HERE