Did you know, Amaleen Ison excelled at going un-noticed until the night of her Leaver’s Party? #interview

What was it like to be a teenage Amaleen Ison?

My other car was a ________________
I grew up in the Cotswolds (on top of a big hill), a mile and a half from the nearest bus stop (at the bottom of the big hill) and ten miles from school and friends (on top of another big hill). So in all seriousness, I would have considered a motorised shopping trolley a gift from the gods. When I bought my first car, a Vaxhall Astra, it liberated me and my parents who taxied me everywhere. My social life took off and shortly after I started dating my first boyfriend. Coincidence? Definitely not 🙂

Now that we know a little about Amaleen, let me tell you where I met her … online! Of course, you say, right? We’ve shared some of our writings and critiquing over at a site called Scribophile. The Trouble with Nightingale, a YA Horror novella, is her first release and I’m SO excited for her! Congratulations! Now, let’s get on with the show and see just what she did a a teen to make her parents cringe. 🙂

There was a hot teacher … her/his name was …
I only took Physical Education because of the gorgeous Mr. Daily. I still daydream about his demonstration of muscle extension and contraction. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and flexed his bicep. I’d never seen anything so sexy in my whole short life. Totally swoon worthy.

There is no better class than _____________
I adored art class, the one subject I excelled at. I spent hours drawing, painting, and creating. Me and a few friends hung out in the Art Department at lunchtime and had such a giggle. Not much has changed. I now work in a school Art Department, and I’m still having fun.

I will never, ever, ever do ____________________ again.
I will never again try to ‘get off with’ (UK slang for a kiss and a cuddle) a boy on a bouncy castle. We ended up knocking head to nose. There’s nothing romantic or sexy about concussion and a nosebleed. Trust me.

If I could do it all again, I would …
I wish I’d been more confident. I was a real wallflower at school, shy and uncomfortable with my tall frame. I spent so much time worrying if people liked me, I never stopped to consider if I actually liked them back. And some of the kids were real tools. I look at the photos of myself in my teens and see a smart, beautiful girl. I just wish I’d realised it at the time. I might have had more fun and worried less.

Now, before we get to the last question, let’s look at Amaleen’s book …

When eighteen-year-old Millie Scrubbings moves to new digs on East London’s Nightingale Estate, she believes she’s finally closed the door on a childhood dictated by strangers. But overnight, her peaceful high-rise turns bonkers, and a series of grisly murders leaves Millie frightened and more helpless than ever.

Millie must accept her lead role in rescuing Nightingale from its descent into anarchy, or risk all Hell breaking loose.

Favorite review about the book
“Excitement, charm and dark wit on every page – a devil of a good time.”

Favorite 6 sentences from the book
“Millie prodded the lift’s grimy call button and glanced over her shoulder. Shadows thick with movement skulked beneath the concrete stairwell, darting away from each flicker of the orange security light above her head.

She leaned an ear toward the graffiti-scratched doors and listened for the rattle-clunk of the descending elevator. Like the rest of Nightingale Estate after dark, the mechanism remained eerily quiet.

She hitched the rucksack higher on her back and absently muttered a prayer of protection. Only last week, a guy about her age—seventeen–had been murdered on the fourth floor, his body scattered like a macabre crumb trail up the stairs to the tenth floor–Millie’s floor. ”

Buy it now at Amazon.

But before you go, one last question …

What really happened on prom night …
We didn’t have prom in the UK when I was a teen. We had something called a leaver’s party – a little disco in the school hall with plastic cups of fizzy pop. We all dressed up and hung around the dance floor, girls on one side, boys on the other. I’d excelled at going un-noticed at school and nobody recognised me with my hair styled differently. I was the mysterious stranger and even ended up having my first kiss at the end of the night down by the bike sheds. I don’t remember the boy’s name, only his abrasive tongue. Yuck!

Congratulations, Amaleen! Good luck with The Trouble With Nightingale!

Have more questions for this author? Ask in the comments!

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