As 2Wrds wraps up its summer reading series, this week’s Young Adult author will not disappoint! An avid reader of YA fiction, I wanted to feature a local author that writes clean teen fiction with positive messaging. I entitled this blog, Accept Imperfections, to encourage teen girls to love themselves for how they were made! 2Wrds is excited to introduce you to award-winning author, McCall Hoyle.

McCall, what inspired you to write The Thing with Feathers?

As a teacher and mom, I observe so many teenage girls hiding their true selves from their peers. I wanted to write a hopeful story about a girl learning to a accept herself for who she is.

A few years ago, I taught a student who struggled deeply with the stress and worry caused by her sister’s epilepsy. At about the same time, in a lucky twist of fate, my family inherited a golden retriever who was bred to do therapy work. The dog was more human than many humans. I began working with this amazing dog training him for agility and obedience. I became fascinated by golden retrievers and assistant dogs, and did lots and lots or research and reading. I was especially intrigued by seizure alert dogs, as seizure alerting cannot truly be taught, and is greatly affected by the bond between the owner and dog. I knew I had to write a story about a girl with epilepsy learning to love herself unconditionally the way her golden retriever did.

 What theme does The Thing with Feathers convey to teen girls?

Although The Thing with Feathers deals with some very serious issues, grief and the effects of epilepsy on one’s emotional and physical health, it delivers a hopeful message to ALL girls about learning to love themselves so that they are able to open up their hearts to love others.

 What do you hope teens will get from reading The Thing with Feathers?

I hope girls will learn to accept themselves—imperfections and all! I hope they will learn to keep an open mind before making quick judgements about others. Above all, I hope that they learn to believe that we all deserve our own happily-ever-after.

 What is the significance behind the title?

The title comes from a line of my favorite Emily Dickinson poem. She writes, “Hope is the thing with feathers; That perches in the soul; And sings the tune without the words; And never stops at all.”

What was your favorite scene to write and why?

If I tell you my favorite scene, it would be a huge spoiler! So, let me just say, I really enjoyed writing all the scenes that involved Emilie’s dog, Hitch. Early readers love Hitch as much as Emilie. He kind of tries to steal the scenes he’s in. I also loved writing the scenes with Emilie’s crush. He has a way of bringing the best out in Emilie.

Pre-order your copy now on Amazon! http://amzn.to/2vrf6ph

McCall can be found on Twitter @mccallhoyle, Instagram @mccallhoylebooks, and Facebook @mccallhoylebooks. To contact McCall, visit http://www.mccallhoyle.com

McCall Hoyle writes young adult novels about friendship, first love, and girls finding the strength to overcome great challenges. Her debut novel, The Thing with Feathers, releases from HarperCollins/Blink on September 5. She is a high school English teacher. Her own less-than-perfect teenage experiences and those of the girls she teaches inspire many of the struggles in her books. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s spending time with her family and their odd assortment of pets. She has an English degree from Columbia College and a master’s degree from Georgia State University. She lives in a cottage in the woods in North Georgia where she reads and writes every day.

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