Author hopes otherworldly novel, 'Night Meets Moon,' can help young people deal with change

It was Linden Mize's reflection about mortality that inspired her novel "Night Meets Moon."

"I was thinking about when I get older," she said. "Maybe I won't be around to tell my grandchildren a story or give them some advice that I grew up with, and I know when you get older, you tend to start forgetting things."

A first novel by Mize, "Night Meets Moon" contains an amalgamation of events that have happened in her life, as well as people who've passed through it.

"I just put it all together in a book," Mize said. "I was inspired by a bunch of different people."

A friend of her son's, who has cerebral palsy, is included.

Linden MizeSubmitted photo

"He will never be able to walk or talk, but he can in this book," she said.

Even Mize's cat is included in the novel, she said.

"I promised him when he died, he would be in the book, so I wrote him in there," she said.

The main character in the book, Mason Night, is 11 years old and finds himself moving to England with his mother, who falls in love with a famous English actor, Neil Moon.

Mize also always has been interested in traveling, which is why she set the book mainly in England.

Mason has never known his own father, and though initially, he is jealous and resentful of his mother's newfound love, he finds his new stepdad to be not only a father figure, but a mentor and friend as well, something Mason never expected.

Something else that comes as a surprise is he has another new connection, this one with spirits.

"I've always been fascinated by ghosts," Mize said.

Growing up, Mize said she loved to watch black-and-white horror movies starring greats such as Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney. The TV series "Dark Shadows" also was a favorite.

"But I've always had God in my heart," Mize added. In fact, she said she believes the book was God-inspired.

Despite the otherworldly aspect of the story, or perhaps through it, Mize said she hopes the book may help other young people cope with the situation of being transplanted to another city or having a new stepparent.

Mize, who points out she didn't attended college, said she never expected to be a novelist but felt led to write the book and got help from friends who read the book and encouraged her.

One of those readers, a 12-year-old boy, coincidentally named Mason, said he loved the book.

Other friends and editors helped out a bit with punctuation and grammar, Mize said.

The book, released in March, has been well received, and Mize has held book signings.

The first two were in Cape Girardeau and Carbondale, Illinois. Another is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Mounds Public Library in Mounds, Illinois. Mize said she's especially looking forward to that one, since she grew up in the area and claims Mounds as her "stomping ground."

"Night Meets Moon" is available at Barnes & Noble and at local bookstores. It also is available on Amazon and in e-versions on Kindle and Google Play.

Mize is already at work on her second novel, which also features Mason Night.

"It starts right where this one left off," she said.

Pertinent address:

418 1st St., Mounds, Ill.