Welcome to our weekly special feature post, Author Of The Week!!

Each week we will be interviewing a different YA author and highlighting their upcoming release!

We will also be hosting a giveaway of the book we are highlighting!!

Introducing Emily Bain Murphy, YABC's Author of the Week!!

Emily Bain Murphy grew up in Indiana, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. She graduated from Tufts University, and has also called Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California home. She now lives in St. Louis with her family. The Disappearances is Emily’s debut novel. Visit her at emilybainmurphy.comand on Twitter at @EBain. 

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Meet The Disappearances!

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared?

Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home—and the place where Juliet grew up.

Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together—scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream—vanish every seven years.

No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible—and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind. 

As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up.

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YABC:  Who is your favorite character in the book?

Beas Fogg, the girl who becomes Aila’s best friend. She’s very loyal and has a backbone and she’s a little quirky and she loves her violin and her boyfriend Thom. She writes lines of poetry above her knee every day, and she has never seen what the stars look like.

YABC:  Which came first, the title or the novel?

The novel! When I queried my agent and when we went on submission with it to HMH, it was called Between Sand and Glass.

YABC:  What do you like most about the cover of the book?

I love how the mirror is sort of swirling away and it looks like ink spilling. I think that effect is so haunting and beautiful—and I absolutely love the colors in it.

YABC:  What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2017?

So many!! I’ve read Dear Martin by Nic Stone and Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza, and they are both stunning. As for books I haven’t read yet: I’m looking forward to Gray Wolf Island by Tracey Neithercott, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie Dao, and An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson. There are so many more, but I’ll stop myself there…

YABC:  What was your favorite book in 2016?

I loved Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir.

YABC:  What’s up next for you?

I’m working on my second novel, and I’m right in the middle of a move to St. Louis! In the span of about a week I’m moving across the country, buying a house, and launching my debut. So hopefully after all of that, a long nap. :D

YABC:  Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?

There’s a scene where Aila is remembering her mother and the night that she died, and it’s a recurring nightmare that sort of haunts her. I had to be in a specific mindset to write that scene and mine the depths of those feelings of loss and sadness. So I waited until I was ready for a good cry and I wrote it then, and I definitely shed some tears imagining what she would feel in that moment.

YABC:  Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?

I like both—to be honest, it just depends on what mood I’m in. I love the freedom of getting to create brand new settings and just enjoy the fun of writing something fresh if I’ve been looking at the same scenes over and over again. But sometimes it’s nice to have something already established as a foundation to work from, too.

YABC:  Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?

Yes! Love146. They are an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation through survivor care and prevention. I’ve been part of their community Task Forces in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and seen firsthand the incredible work they’ve done over the past ten years. I’m so inspired and moved by them, and most of all, by the young people they serve who are doing the work of recovering their childhoods and finding hope and light in the world again after some incredible darkness. For more information, and the powerful story behind where their name comes from, visit: https://love146.org/love-story/.  

The Disappearancs

By: Emily Bain Murphy

Release Date: July 4th , 2017 

Publisher: HMH Books For Young Readers 

*GIVEAWAY DETAILS* 

 Three winners will receive a copy of The Disappearances (Emily Bain Murphy) ~ (US Only)

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