Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 27

Hello! Jennifer Martin here! I'm a budding short story writer and a new volunteer at The Writer's Workout as well as a recent graduate. I have learned that breaking into the literary world can be daunting feat and so I am taking every opportunity to meet new and interesting people in the literary community, like today's guest Marcelina LoBue.

Starting her publication journey at a young age, Marcelina is a mystery romance YA author with an unrelenting passion for the craft. Juggling high school, writing, and a literary focused YouTube channel she is proving to be a powerhouse in the indie author scene. Make sure to check out her website and socials, which are linked below, so you don't miss out on any of her work. I was very pleased with the opportunity to meet Marcelina. I know you will be too.

Hi Marcelina! Thanks so much for meeting with me today. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Many people are surprised when they find out I’ve already published two books—both YA mystery romance standalones—as a teenager. I’m currently 16 years old and trying to juggle both high school and being Student Council Vice President, but the main thing I’ve learned since starting my career is that age doesn’t define talent. 

My love for books blossomed at a young age; I’d learned to read on my own prior to school, my first chapter book read at 6 years old, and my first story (in a composition notebook) written at 8 years old. When I was 11 years old, however, the desire to publish grew. All thanks to my teacher at the time, who, upon reading my horror book I’d submitted for an assignment, researched the easiest publishing options for children, introduced me to Amazon KDP (which I still use today!) and helped me edit. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for her, so I’m eternally grateful. 

That was really the turning point that immersed me into the mysterious, don’t-read-this-at-night genre of thrillers. I dappled in fantasy for a bit, but kept coming back to thrillers—add in a splash of yearning and kisses because, what can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic at heart.

Tell us about your writing style.

My two published books are both YA mystery romance standalones, but vary a bit in content and vibes. The Blood that Divides Us is my first public leap into the genre and is more of a murder mystery that focuses on one central whodunnit—featuring an academic rivals to lovers romance. I would recommend it for ages 14+. My newest book, Labeled Innocent, Presumed Dead, leans more toward true crime (due to a web of mysteries being highlighted) with a twist on the hated love triangle because I love reinventing tropes. This one is probably more suitable for ages 14-15+, just due to the main theme of dark subject matter. As I am a teenager myself, I write completely clean books with no spice and make sure they stay within the Young Adult category, but I’m a huge mental health advocate, so all of my stories tackle at least two heavy societal/psychological/physical issues.

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it. 

Maybe I’m biased because this one just released a month ago and it’s still my baby (yeah, I’m definitely biased), but I have to spotlight Labeled Innocent, Presumed Dead. It’s about a teen girl who spends her days lonely, outcasted and…hacking random companies for the fun of it. But one day, when she hacks the wrong people, they reveal themselves to be a secret society branch of the FBI that specializes in finding missing women and children. Worse—they want to recruit her. She has trauma from the cold case of her sister who went missing five years ago, however, so she wants nothing to do with them. But as the line between friend—or more—and foe blurs and a stalker looms closer, she’s wondering if boys who know more about her sister than they’re letting on should be the least of her concerns right now.

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, Amazon as both an ebook and paperback, as well as Barnes and Noble as a paperback only. You can access these links via my linktree: https://linktr.ee/authormarcelinalobue 

(Make sure to add these on Goodreads if you do pick them up: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21538474.Marcelina_LoBue).

Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?

Hmm…can’t quite spill all the tea just yet because where’s the fun in that, but I’ll just throw some keywords out there: summer camp psychological thriller romance (planned release in June of 2027). ;)

What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?

Write what you want to, not what you think you have to. So many of us (me included) can get caught up in conversations of “BookTok’s Newest Obsession” or, vice versa, “No One Wants to See XYZ Trope Anymore” and we think, “Aw, man, I had such a good idea for that…guess I can’t do it because I’ll get a one-star review.”

But guess what? In this day and age, people will hate on literally anything! There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like what you do. For example, a popular fantasy book has an average Goodreads rating of 4.63 with over 2 million five-star reviews, but 20,000 one-star reviews. Your job as an author is not to please everyone. Write what YOU want to, tell YOUR story, and you’ll find your target audience at some point. If you like your story, there’s guaranteed to be at least one other person who will too.

Who is your favorite Indie Author? 

Picking one is genuinely impossible, but some of my favorites are: Katie Wismer, Bethany Atazadeh, Abbie Emmons, and Keona Mistisshen (another fellow teenage author).

Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links. 

I plan to get TikTok in the near future, but in the meantime, the main social that I’m incredibly active (and have an amazing community of 1.2k subscribers) on is YouTube. I post short-form edits and quote snippets 4 times a week, in addition to long-form writing vlogs every Friday. 

https://www.youtube.com/@authormarcelinalobue 

I also have a website (as well as a newsletter, sign up linked in website, where I give first-look updates and sneak peeks), which can be found here: https://marcelinalobue.wixsite.com/marcelinalobue 

If you want to know more about Marcelina, check out a 2nd interview over on The Writer's Workout Substack! - https://writersworkout.substack.com/p/marcelina-lobue-second-interview

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