Interview♥Giveaway: Betwixt by Melissa Pearl

Book description:

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well. 

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

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Interview

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

About ten years ago. I always had a vivid imagination and stories were always dancing around in my brain, but I didn't write my first novel until I was 23 and after that, I was completely hooked. I wanted to quit teaching there and then, but we couldn't afford to. I'm lucky enough to be a stay at home mom, so it gives me the opportunity to pursue my writing. I'm really hoping by the time my youngest starts school, I'll be in a position where I can stay home and write my little heart out :)

Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

I have a diary that is always full of stuff I want to get through in a writing session. I tend to tick off all the small jobs as fast as I can - blogging, clearing my inbox, any guest posts or interviews. Once those are done, I quit out of my internet, open up Scrivener and read the last thing I've written - usually a chapter. My mind clicks into the right mode and I'm away.

This seems to work quite well for me. I like not having any deadlines hanging over me. It helps me focus on my writing. In saying that, some people might argue that I spend too long on the other stuff, but there has to be a balance between writing and marketing. I find big blocks of time suit me better when I'm writing, so my darling husband gives me bigger chunks on the weekends, sometimes even a whole day. On those days, I don't touch my internet, I focus solely on my manuscript. It's amazing how much you can get through with uninterrupted time.

Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

Some have come from people I know or movies I've seen. Most of my characters are a combination of many factors. I'll take a little bit from here or there. I like to base the look of a character on an actor. I don't know why, it just helps me write them better. Personality wise, I draw on things I already know about people and observations I've made. Being a teacher, I have seen many personality types come through my classroom and it's been awesome for my writing. I also put quite a lot of my own emotion into stories. I've faced some pretty big ups and downs and it's actually been really helpful to draw on some of that stuff to get my character's reactions right.

What books have most influenced your life?

So many.

I find Francine Rivers and Dee Henderson excellent writers. Their stories are filled with emotion, tension, mystery and just the right amount of meaningful romance. I first started reading these two authors in my late teens and when I started writing, I really wanted to produce books like theirs... but instead of writing about adults, I wanted to write about teens. That's when I discovered Simone Elekeles. I really love her stuff too. She writes excellent teen romances, filled with raw and real emotion. She's awesome.

From a learning stand point - Robert McKee (STORY) and Chris Vogler (The Writer's Journey) have written two amazing books that I refer to all the time when I'm planning my stories.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I love playing the piano and singing, watching movies with my husband, exploring the world with my children - hiking in the forest, playing on the beach... and nothing beats curling up in bed with a good book :)

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