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About Miranda Asebedo
Miranda Asebedo was born and raised in rural Kansas with a love of fast cars, open skies, and books. She carried that love of books to college, where she got her B.A. and M.A. in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing and Literature. A Seaton Fellowship recipient, her short fiction has appeared in Kansas Voices, Touchstone, and Midway Journal.
Miranda still lives on the prairie today with her husband, two kids, and a majestic bulldog named Princess Jellybean. If Miranda’s not writing or reading, she’s most likely convinced everyone to load up in the family muscle car and hit the road. Author photo by Alexis Pultz.
A Chat With Rome Galveston by Miranda Asebedo
Miranda: Hi, Rome, thanks for joining me today. So you’re the main character in The Deepest Roots, which is a YA novel that comes out September 18th. Really soon! Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?
Rome: There’s not a lot to say. You know my name is Rome Galveston. I’m seventeen years old and a Junior at Evanston High. I’m from Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, population 250. I know, it’s a real bustling metropolis. There are more cows than people around here. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I have a dog named Steven who is pretty cool. My dad ghosted before I was born, so I can’t tell you anything about him. My mom was just seventeen when she had me. Hard to believe she was my age when she became a mom. I guess that’s why we’re always arguing about who’s in really in charge. My favorite food is peanut butter – but not the crunchy kind, that’s the worst! Oh, and I work part-time at Red’s Auto to help my mom with the rent. What else do you want to know?
Miranda: Well, you said you work part-time at Red’s Auto. That’s interesting. What do you do there?
Rome: I’m a mechanic. Obviously. What else would I do there? It’s mostly boring oil changes and spark plugs. But occasionally I get to do some interesting work, like restoring an old muscle car or figuring out a problem that’s stumped all the other mechanics in the shop. And I love showing up the guys I work with. They underestimate me sometimes because I’m a teenage girl, but I always show them I’m just as good or better than they are at fixing cars. Plus the guy that runs the shop, Red, is a good boss. He gives me extra shifts when he can.
Miranda: So do you like cars?
Rome: Do I like cars? Nope. I love cars. When we were kids, I remodeled the Barbie Dream House of one of my best friends, Lux, so that I could park my Matchbox cars in it. I’ve been obsessed since I was a kid. Now that I’m seventeen, I drive a fully restored 1972 Mach 1 Mustang with a 351 Cleveland under the hood. It’s my baby. I found it in an old barn, and part of the deal I got when I bought it was that I would Fix it all myself. Have you ever tried to rewire a system that’s been chewed up by packrats? Not easy. Not to mention the pack rats aren’t super friendly.
Miranda: That’s right, so you’re a Fixer?
Rome: Yes. All the girls in my town have talents. That’s what the locals call them, anyway. Emmeline Remington, who was jilted by her husband over a hundred years ago when he ran off with a woman from Cottonwood Hollow, decided to get revenge by putting a curse over the entire town. Seems logical, right? I think she went a little overboard. Now every girl born in Cottonwood Hollow has some kind of ability that make outsiders see them as strange. The students at Evanston High, where I go to school, think we’re really weird. Like we’re witches or something.
Miranda: Could you give me some examples? What do you mean by strange abilities?
Rome: Well, my two best friends, Lux and Mercy, were born in Cottonwood Hollow, too. Lux is a Siren. She can make any man fall in love with her. Not that she’d want to. She has a girlfriend named Morgan, who’s from Evanston. She’s rich like most of the other kids from Evanston, but I guess she’s okay. She’s really nice to Lux, so I guess that’s all that matters. And my other best friend, Mercy, is an Enough. And it’s just like the name. She can make Enough of anything. Like when we’re driving my car on pretty much on gas fumes because I’m out of cash. If Mercy’s in the car, it’ll just keep going. Somehow there will be Enough fuel to get us where we need to go. But there’s other kinds of talents, too. Wits, Sights, Readers, Strongbacks, Healers. Lux’s mom is a Healer, and one of my neighbors has a daughter who’s a Wit.
Miranda: So your story, The Deepest Roots, comes out soon. Is there anything you want readers to know about you before they read your story?
Rome: Oh, geez. Um, I guess I want people to know that I don’t have much of a filter. Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t, or in a way that’s not the most flattering. But I mean well, even if I don’t always have the words to say what I want. And readers should also know that I love my best friends, Lux and Mercy, more than anything, and I’d do whatever I have to in order to keep them safe. Well, I guess everyone will know exactly how far I’d go when they read my story.
Title The Deepest Roots
Author Miranda Asebedo
Pages 336 Pages
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Genre Contemporary, Fabulism
To Be Published September 18th 2018 by HarperTeen
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon.com ● Chapters ● The Book Depository
Morgan Matson meets Maggie Stiefvater in a story that will make you believe in friendship, miracles, and maybe even magic.
Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, is a strange place. For the past century, every girl has been born with a special talent, like the ability to Fix any object, Heal any wound, or Find what is missing.
To best friends Rome, Lux, and Mercy, their abilities often feel more like a curse. Rome may be able to Fix anything she touches, but that won’t help her mom pay rent. Lux’s ability to attract any man with a smile has always meant danger. And although Mercy can make Enough of whatever is needed, even that won’t help when her friendship with Rome and Lux is tested.
Follow three best friends in this enchanting debut novel as they discover that friendship is stronger than curses, that trust is worth the risk, and sometimes, what you’ve been looking for has been under your feet the whole time.
