Author Spotlight: Raebeth McGee-Buda

RaeBeth McGee-Buda is the author of one soon to be published book within the young adult/suspense genre. She loves blogging, reading, and above all spending time with her daughter and husband. She’s normally quiet until she gets to know you and then the talking gates open.

Synopsis of Silenced:

Amber Brown spent her entire existence believing Dave was her father. When her mother reveals this is untrue, she goes through an emotional spiral with depression. It's hard for her to believe her mother had lied to her all this time.

A move to a new home and town causes Amber to be consumed by her "darkness" and reverts to cutting to free herself from her pain.

When Casey, her new friend enters her life, she introduces Amber to parties, drugs, and Amber's new boyfriend Landon. The secret of cutting begins to take affect on Amber as she tries to hide it from her friends and family. In the mist of everything, Amber has the desire to find out who           her biological father is.

Follow Amber through her trials of depression and cutting, along with the discovery of love. 

Click HERE to buy it for the KINDLE

Click HERE to buy it in paperback

Questions:

Without giving too much away, can you tell us how does the title of your book, Silenced, connects to your book's themes?

The title Silenced  connects to the theme because my protagonist uses cutting to silence her feelings of depression, along with the need to cut.

If you were to compare your protagonist, Amber, to any popular film or book characters, who would you choose? Why?

I would say Amber would partly compare to Emily Osment in Cyberbully. She plays the main character, Taylor that fell victim to online bullying. Although my character deals with bullies in school and not on the internet, it still makes the characters feel the same way. Taylor is well aware of her social status in school like Amber does. Although their looks vary, I believe they play a close part.

Why do you think Amber's internal conflict might be interesting to readers?

I feel that readers who are depressed and dealing with self harm can relate. When a person reads Silenced, they can feel her pain and see her world through her eyes, which I feel is important. I think Silenced can not only have those who are depressed relate but help those who aren’t understand what’s going on in the mind of a person who may be dealing with the same issues.

Your book depicts a high school experience that is hardly idyllic. In your opinion, what are some factors in school that could contribute to a teenager's negative self-image?

There are many factors that could play a part. I’m not a psychologist and therefore can not tell of the exact reasons. But I can tell you from experience and from my own research. Several people I’ve interviewed for Silenced felt that school was a popular contest. Not all teens fit in. This could lead to a bad self image and low self esteem.

Who might be interested in reading Silenced? (This question is asking you to mention the names of popular books readers might have read before picking up your book, and it's also asking if readers might be interested in a specific concept in the book they can relate to ).

If one has read Cut by Patricia McCormick, I believe they will love Silenced. Although the plots are a bit different I think they have about the same feel to them. I think those who would be most interested are people who enjoy suspense, understand self harm and depression, and anyone wanting a great read.

Do you often follow a process when you create one of your stories? Did you do anything differently with Silenced?

I normally sit down at my computer and let my finger go away at the keys. I don’t follow a plotline or anything of the sort. I think if I tried doing that I’d end up going off track any way. When I first come up with an idea I start writing but by the time I’m at the end... the entire story is completely different then the original thought.

What inspired you to write Silenced?

There’s a lot of inspiration. First, I suffered from depression and it sort of bothered me when others made comments about it when they didn’t fully understand what I was going through. I know several people who self harm and feel there’s no end to it. Silenced is here to give hope to those who suffer from depression and understanding to those who want to understand. If I can help one person understand or give hope to one person... then the mission for Silenced was accomplished.

Finally, do you have any advice for new writers?

Never give up and don’t let anyone say you can’t. You can!!! The process is trying and you may find discouragement along the way but don’t let it stop you. Even if you have the little voice in your head saying you can’t. Grab some tape, place it over that little voice, and continue on. In the end, you’ll be excited and happy that you didn’t give up.

Relevant Links:

Find out more about me at my website here: http://raebethmcgee.weebly.com/index.html

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/raebethbuda

Twitter: https://twitter.com/raebethmcgee

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5095502.RaeBeth_McGee_Buda

Bio:

RaeBeth McGee-Buda was born in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1987, the second daughter of Rachel Yost and Arthur Curtis McGee. RaeBeth grew up loving to read and write poetry, as well as short stories. Her childhood dream was to become a teacher. Rae Beth's dream of writing was created in her eleventh grade literature class where writing became her passion.

RaeBeth married in August 2012 to her husband, Gregory Stephen Buda Jr. and resides in a small Pennsylvania town of Fairchance. RaeBeth is a full time mother of one and is expecting her second.

She graduated from American Intercontinental University with her associates in business administration. She enjoys spending her time writing and feels that connecting with readers is her main goal.

RaeBeth published Silenced under her maiden name but plans to continue writing under her married name with any other works.