Meet Leslie Hauser in this Debut Author Spotlight

Chasing Eveline

1- Is the band "Chasing Eveline" based off of any actual 80's bands?

Great question! The band Chasing Eveline is not based on any one particular band, but it is influenced by several of my favorite bands from the 80s: The Cure, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths. I channeled into my Chasing Eveline songs all the feelings those bands evoked in me.

2- Can you share a story from your life that shows who you are as a person and why you are a writer?

I’m only ready to do things once I have determined that I’m ready. I’m a bit stubborn, I suppose. So I can’t start writing a story until I’ve lived with it in my mind for a while and I’m certain I have a sense of the characters and where I want the story to go. This could be traced back all the way to my childhood. My mom tried to get me to read, but I refused. I crossed my arms and said, “No.” At some point—after the time when I should have already started to read—I walked into my parents’ bedroom with a book in my hand and said, “Okay, I’m ready to read now.” That book was Timmy Mouse. And I haven’t stopped reading since then.

3- What ignited your passion for writing?

I can’t pinpoint an exact event or moment that ignited my passion for writing, but I think it stems from my imagination. When I was younger, I had two imaginary friends: People and Kikibrumbrum. I cannot explain the names J, sorry! But I seem to have always had wild stories and imaginary people swirling about in my mind, and that has led me to want to be a writer.

4- Have you been to Ireland?

Yes! It was amazing. The countryside is so beautiful, just like in the movies. And the people are fantastically friendly. One favorite memory of Ireland was sitting in a pub for hours chatting with all sorts of people, and another one was eating fish and chips wrapped up in newspaper by the side of the road!

5- Would you share a picture with us of Mr. Darcy posing with your book?

Mr. Darcy gives it two paws up! And he’s even started reading it!


6- What are some of your short and long term writing goals?

Each week I write a Photo Story on my blog. It’s so much fun to pen a story around a random photo. It also helps me work on my creativity and writing each week. Also in the short term, I’m working on a novel to be completed by August 1. In the long term, I hope to continue writing novels. Whether they get published or not, I want to make these stories inside me come to life.

7- Who is currently your biggest fan? What does that person love most (or "ship") about your debut novel?

So many people are cheering me on and helping me through this journey. So I’ll pick an obvious cheerleader: my mom! She’s so excited about my release. She’s handed out bookmarks to all her friends and talks up my book to everyone she encounters. She loves hearing about the process and wants to buy Chasing Eveline from every site where it’s available! Moms are the best, aren’t they?

8- I see you want to have a cookie delivery service. Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?

I love cookies, but I can’t eat just one. That’s why I wish there was a cookie delivery service that could deliver just one cookie to me on those nights when I’m craving a sweet treat! My favorite cookie is probably a snickerdoodle. And not just because I think that’s a fun name! I love the cinnamon-sugary goodness.

9- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader, and is there a particular scene you hope will resonate with readers?

I hope people will connect with the difficulty of hanging on to memories as they start slipping away. I hope there will be a few tears in some of the scenes with Ivy and her dad. There are for me because those scenes developed out of real situations in my life. But most of all, I hope there will be laughter. Ivy gets herself into some very awkward situations, something that hasn’t stopped for me even in adulthood!

10- What are your feelings on dog-eared pages, breaking spines, and notes in book margins?

I looove dog-eared pages. One of my favorite bookish things to do is to go back into books I’ve already read and turn to one of those dog-eared pages and read the quote that resonated so strongly with me. A flood of memories washes over me, and I love that feeling. The same applies to notes in the margins.

11- What most helped you to improve your writing craft?

I took an online class through LitReactor when I first started writing YA. It was taught by an agent/writer, so I learned a lot about opening scenes, writing for the YA audience, and about what agents/publishers look for.

12- What is the most memorable trait or visual oddity of one of your characters?

Ivy’s dad has the habit of tousling Ivy’s hair whenever he says hello or goodbye. He’s done this since Ivy was a kid.

13- #DiversityBingo2017 What's your favorite book that covers a square on the card?

I enjoyed Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. Willowdean was a great character.


14- What are your feelings on the Gilmore Girls reboot (A Year in the Life) on Netflix?

I love everything Gilmore Girls. I have so many lines from all the episodes memorized. The reboot was fun to watch. I was so happy to get some more of Kirk and Rory and Luke. I wish there had been more Jess!

15- Which character has your favorite Personality Contradiction?

Ivy is both cynical and hopeful at the same time. Since her mom left her, she doesn’t have much faith in permanent relationships. Yet, her heart never fails to believe in love and happy endings.

16- What is your favorite band of all time?

I love so many bands, but the one I’d have to name as my favorite of all time is The Smiths. Those songs really captured so many of my feelings then and now. The lyrics, Morrissey’s emotional pleas, and Johnny Marr’s guitar…I love it all.

17- As a reader, what most motivates you to buy a new book to read?

I definitely am drawn to covers. But it can’t just be a beautiful cover. I’m most likely to buy a book if it’s YA contemporary or some comedian’s book. I love coming of age drama, but I also love a good laugh! I also stalk authors. So if an author I love has a new book out, I’ll buy it automatically.

18- How will you measure your publishing performance?

I don’t have any sales numbers expectations or review expectations. I just want my book to matter, even if it’s just to one person.

19- What was the deciding factor in your publication route?

I’m really not good at being patient. I queried agents for about a year, but it bothered me to be waiting for someone to choose me, to validate my writing as publishing-worthy. So I wanted to take things into my own hands. I decided to start querying small publishers as well. I had a lot more success and ultimately signed with Pen Name Publishing. This has been the best decision I could make for my writing career. Not only am I not still waiting for someone to choose me, but I’m working with a very supportive publisher and have had a lot of input during the entire publication process.

20- What is one discussion topic which you would like the readers of this interview to answer or remark on in the comments?

I’d love to hear how music has influenced people’s lives and what their favorite bands are. That’s something I hope Chasing Eveline makes people think about.

21- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

About Chasing Eveline:

Sixteen-year-old Ivy Higgins is the only student at Carmel Heights High School who listens to cassettes. And her binder is the only one decorated with album artwork by 80s band Chasing Eveline. Despite being broken-up since 1989, this rock band out of Ireland means everything to Ivy. They’re a reminder of her mom, who abandoned Ivy and her dad two years ago. Now the music of her mom’s favorite band is the only connection she has left.

Even though Ivy wavers between anger and a yearning to reconnect, she’s one-hundred percent certain she’s not ready to lose her mom forever. But the only surefire way to locate her would be at a Chasing Eveline concert. So with help from her lone friend Matt—an equally abandoned soul and indie music enthusiast—Ivy hatches a plan to reunite the band.

The road to Ireland won’t be easy, though. And not just because there is no road. Along the way they’ll have to win over their Lady Gaga-loving peers, tangle with some frisky meerkats, and oh yeah, somehow find and persuade the four members to play a reunion gig. It’s a near-impossible task, but Ivy has to try. If she can’t let go of the past, she’ll never find joy in the present.

Author bio:

Leslie Hauser teaches middle school English and history. She is a Midwesterner at heart—born in Cincinnati, Ohio—but currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with her dog Mr. Darcy. She loves cupcakes, coffee, and most of all—music. You can find her on Twitter or Instagram at @LHauser27 or visit her web site at http://www.lesliehauser.com.


Chasing Eveline

#AtoZchallenge New Tools Every Author Should Be Using

The #AtoZChallenge 2017 Theme at Operation Awesome is the Publishing Journey.

Today's guest post is by Leslie Hauser.
New Tools Every Author Should Be Using

Welcome to another day of the 2017 April A to Z Blogging Challenge. I'm super excited for this opportunity to write a guest post for Operation Awesome and talk about something that I've had a lot of experience with lately: Being an author.

Being an author can sometimes feel like this:

But I've discovered through my journey that a few tools can make life as an author a lot easier and open up a lot of doors:


1. QueryTracker

As an author, you have several paths to publication: 1) secure an agent as a means to be published by one of the major publishing houses, 2) submit on your own to smaller publishing houses, and 3) self-publishing. No matter which you choose, you need to keep track of the process.

If you are querying agents, then QueryTracker is for you. QueryTracker allows you to find agents listed in its database. This will help you narrow your search to include only agents who accept your genre. It also has a feature that allows you to track and organize your queries, and you can review agent data such as response time and preferences. This is all free! ItÕs such a great resource. If you want to track more than one novel or are into data reports, you might want to upgrade to the Premium membership. If not, then the free version has all you need.






2. Hootsuite

Social media is so important for an author. You have to get your name out there, and some publishers won't feel comfortable taking a chance on you if you don't have a social media presence. There are many choices: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Goodreads, Snapchat, Litsy, Bloglovin', LinkedIn, Google+, and your own blog. It's a ton!

My advice is to pick 2 or 3 that you really feel comfortable with and focus on those. But even with this, keeping up with your social media channels could be a full-time job! This is where a social media manager can help you. I like Hootsuite the best. You can schedule posts, track certain hashtags, track your mentions, and be alerted to all of this. It's very easy to use. I'm still getting used to it because scheduled tweets sometimes sound forced to me. And sometimes I like to tweet in response to things I read on Twitter. But when I have blog posts or weekly Instagram quotes I want to post and promote, the scheduler is helpful in getting multiple tweets out throughout the day. It's also helpful to track hashtags I might want to participate in.


3. PicMonkey

As an author, you want to make as many contacts in the writing and blogging worlds as possible. This will mean participating in blog hops, weekly memes, and posting some attention-getting posts on social media. When I started doing this, all these people had such fun graphics to go along with their posts. If you're not much of a graphic artist like me, you might also be wondering, How do they do this? Then I stumbled upon PicMonkey. I looked into it, and it's been one of the greatest tools I have now. I create graphics and announcements for blog posts; I add text to pictures for weekly quote posts on Instagram; and I'm able to create Facebook banners and other site-specific graphics that don't look all wonky when I try to upload them.

This is a cover image I made in PicMonkey for my weekly Photo Stories post on Niume (another tool explained below!).

4. Pixabay

If you want to have great blog posts and use PicMonkey for personalized graphics, you need pictures. But with all the copyright laws, it becomes a little scary and confusing. What can you use? What kind of attribution is correct? This problem was solved for me when I discovered Pixabay. All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. This means you are free to use them! I always try to link back to the profile of the person who posted the photo as a courtesy. By far, this is the best free-use photo site I've found. It has the most choices, and I canÕt think of a time I've been looking for a photo and haven't found it there.

I make my weekly literary quotes with pictures from Pixabay.

5. Niume

Do you want to make money for all this blogging that you're doing? Do you want to get a blog post and social media outreach done at the same time? Then let me introduce you to my new friend, Niume. It's fairly new and rising in popularity. It uses a concept called "collaborative blogging". Bloggers are separated into themed segments known as Spheres. Here people can share interests and find information on shared interests. The best part is that you get paid! I'm still relatively new to this, and by no means am I quitting my day job. But, the more "shares" and "hype" your posts get, the more money you make. With enough hype, your post can become a Staff Pick and be featured. What does all this mean for you? More exposure and a little help by giving you a built-in audience, especially if you're new to blogging or promoting yourself. Plus if you get really good at it, you can make some nice side money!


Overall, I'd say being an author is exciting, but it can also be extremely overwhelming. Hopefully some of these tools will help make your journey a little more manageable, too. Good luck!

Author bio:
Leslie Hauser teaches middle school English and history. Though originally from Ohio, she currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with her dog Mr. Darcy. Her debut novel CHASING EVELINE releases 2017 from Pen Name Publishing. Visit Leslie at www.lesliehauser.com.