Featured Author: Suzanne Van Rooyen

Suzanne Van Rooyen is an author and peanut-butter addict from South Africa. She currently lives in Finland and finds the cold, dark forests nothing if not inspiring. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When not writing you can find her teaching dance and music to middle-schoolers or playing in the snow with her shiba inu. She is rep'd by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

Connect with Suzanne Van Rooyen on Twitter @Suzanne_Writer or visit her website: http://suzannevanrooyen.com.

Q&A with Author Suzanne Van Rooyen:

1. In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?
   
   My story is set in South Africa and is inspired by some of my own high school experiences. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's based on fact, but there are quite a few little details in the The Other Me that are certainly more than fiction.


2. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?
   
   Spontaneous and continuous regeneration like Claire in Heroes or Wolverine. Without the fear of dying or been permanently injured, I think I'd have a lot more courage to do some of the crazy things I've always wanted to do but been a little afraid of – like bungee jumping or skydiving. Continuous regeneration also means I'd never get old. Now that would be awesome!


3. If you could reenact a scene from any book (not necessarily your own), what would it be? Who would you choose for your scene partner(s)?
   
   Wow, this question is just huge! A million different scenes are running through my head right now. It's hard to pick just one and one I can write about without blushing ...ahem... But there's this scene in Maggie Stiefvater's The Dream Thieves where Ronan and Kavinsky are dreaming together – I can't say more than that else I might give away something about the story – but, suffice it to say, I'd like to be the one spending the day dreaming with Ronan, especially if he was played by Liam Hemsworth because damn, that boy can rock the shaved-head look.


4. What other interests do you have outside of writing?
   
   I'm a music and dance teacher at a middle school, which I suppose is technically my day job, but I love music and dance so they really don't feel too job-like. When not writing, I play piano, flute and guitar, and enjoy wall climbing. I also love to to travel and try my best to go to two places I've never been before every year. Of course I love to read as well, and I'm addicted to several TV shows – most recent addictions include Peaky Blinders and Almost Human.


5. Is there one genre of YA that you would love to write but haven’t?
   
   Fantasy for sure. Fantasy was my first love as a child and it's what I lived on as a teen, devouring fantasy novels by the likes of Juliet Marillier and Caiseal Mor. I've always wanted to write fantasy, but haven't managed to get one of my fantasy ideas down on paper yet. Maybe one day.


6. What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
   
   That they're not alone. That no matter how difficult/terrible/complicated life might seem, someone out there has been through what they're going through and not only survived, but thrived. That they should never be afraid to be who they truly are, and that no matter how weird or different they think they might be, there is someone out there just waiting to love them for exactly who they are.

Now Available from Suzanne Van Rooyen:

The Other Me DESCRIPTION GOES HEREFifteen-year-old Treasa Prescott thinks she’s an alien. She doesn’t fit in with the preppy South African private school crowd and feels claustrophobic in her own skin. Treasa is worried she might spend life as a social pariah when she meets Gabriel du Preez. Gabriel plays the piano better than Beethoven, has a black belt in karate, and would look good wearing a garbage bag. Treasa thinks he’s perfect. It might even be love, as long as Gabriel doesn’t find out she’s a freak.

As Treasa spends time with Gabriel, she realizes she might not love him as much as she wants to be him, and that the reason she feels uncomfortable in her skin might have less to do with extra-terrestrial origins and more to do with being born in the wrong body.

But Gabriel is not the perfect boy Treasa imagines. He harbors dark secrets and self-destructive tendencies. Still, Treasa might be able to accept Gabriel’s baggage if he can accept who she longs to be.

Obscura Burning The world's going to end in fire...and it's all Kyle's fault.

Kyle Wolfe's world is about to crash and burn. Just weeks away from graduation, a fire kills Kyle's two best friends and leaves him permanently scarred. A fire that Kyle accidentally set the night he cheated on his boyfriend Danny with their female friend, Shira. That same day, a strange new planet, Obscura, appears in the sky. And suddenly Kyle's friends aren't all that dead anymore. Each time Kyle goes to sleep, he awakens to two different realities. In one, his boyfriend Danny is still alive, but Shira is dead. In the other, it's Shira who's alive...and now they're friends with benefits. Shifting between realities is slowly killing him, and he's not the only one dying. The world is dying with him. He's pretty sure Obscura has something to do with it, but with his parents' marriage imploding and realities shifting each time he closes his eyes, Kyle has problems enough without being the one in charge of saving the world...