My interview & review of Betwixt by Melissa Pearl
Thankyou for
joining us today Melissa,
Betwixt is a little different from my usual
reads, I am just curious, Where did your inspiration come from for this book?
It was
actually inspired by a movie I saw years ago - Invisible. I loved the premise
and the whole idea, but I was disappointed with the execution. I pushed the
idea of writing a similar story aside, because I didn't want to copy what
already existed, but about a year ago the story kept plaguing me. I let myself
play with it for a while and a whole new story emerged. It became quite
different to the movie, so I decided to turn it into a book of my own. I'm
really happy with how it turned out in the end :)
Do you
listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?
No - I need
silence while I'm writing. I find music distracts me too much. When I'm coming
up with scenes - out walking or at home on my own - I find instrumental movie
music can really stir emotions within me. It can help me visualize an action
sequence or pull out the emotion I need for a particular scene. So I guess I do
listen to music while I create, but not while I write :)
Oh - Taylor
Swift can always get my imagination moving too. Man I love her stuff!!
What would
you recommend to someone who likes to listen to music while reading Betwixt?
Hmmmm - good
question. The story's a little melancholy in parts so I guess songs that make
you want to cry.
There's one
that I was listening to the other day, which totally made me think of Betwixt.
It's called
"I Need You To Love Me" by Barlow Girl. To me it totally captured
where Nicole is at in her life. It was fun listening to it in the context of my
story.
What kind of
things would we find on your browsing history right now?
Oh no!!!
Haha :)
Facebook,
Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Indies Unlimited.
These are
the sites I check each day.
I am a
little addicted to checking for new reviews. I know you're not really supposed
to read reviews of your books, but I just love to hear what people think about
my stuff. Even the bad reviews can be helpful sometimes. I've read a few bad
ones and thought, "Good point. I must watch for that in my next
book."
Also - it
totally makes my day when I read that someone has enjoyed one of my books.
Makes all my time and effort worth it :)
Do you have
any guilty pleasures?
Dipping
marshmallows in nutella and eating my little heart out while watching TV shows
about cops - I love Castle, Numbers, Rookie Blue... all those kinds of investigative
shows.
What do you
do to relax after finishing a book?
Because I'm
a full time mother and I'm trying to squish writing into every spare moment I
have, I don't usually take any breaks after finishing a book, I just launch
straight into my next one.
I am a
little worried about burn out though, so am planning on slowing down a touch
when my youngest starts kindy. He will be starting with one morning a week soon
and I'm actually planning on fitting in some non-writing me time into my life.
If an aspiring
writer asked for advice what would you tell them?
Study the
craft of writing. I have learned SO much and improved SO much as a writer by
taking the time to do an on-line course and reading a bunch of great books on
writing well. It's totally worth it. I want my readers to trust me. If I'm to
deliver good quality work, then I need to put the effort in to keep improving
as a writer.
What book
did you first buy with your own money and do you still have it?
I think it
must have been a Sweet Valley High. I can't remember for sure, but I know they
were the first books I got addicted to as a young teen. I gave them all away -
WHY I am still not sure :)
If you could
write about any subject that is near and dear to your
heart, what
would it be and why?
I like
writing stories that examine human nature and how upbringing and experiences
can affect someone's behaviour. Anything that touches on human emotion is right
up my alley. All my books have a strong relational element so I already feel
like I'm writing what's near and dear to my heart.
I do have a
few stories that I am very much looking forward to writing at some point, but
I've never worked on a project that I haven't been passionate about :)
Who are your
absolute favourite authors and what would you do if they read & loved your
book?
Francine
Rivers, Dee Henderson and Simone Elkeles are my standard answer. I love all
their work.
If they read
and loved my stuff, I'd be on cloud nine. What a huge compliment that would be
to hear positive feedback from people who have inspired me so much.
Fingers
crossed it will happen one day :)
Optional
questions
What is your
biggest pet peeve?
People who
park badly - taking up two spaces when they could easily fit into one. I just
think it's so rude. It really bugs me!
Favourite
meal?
I love good
food, so I have quite a few favourites.
Interestingly
enough, the one that's popping into my head right now is a gourment chicken
burger. There's a place in Auckland that does this amazing one with blue cheese
dressing, bacon, avacado, chicken and salad. Man - it is so good!
And they go
gluten free buns too, which is just the best because I can't eat gluten.
Dessert wise
- I love to finish off with something creamy like cheesecake, creme brulee or a
lemon mousse :)
Favorite Drink (alcoholic/non-alcoholic)?
Freshly
squeezed orange juice with lots of pulp. There's a super yummy one in the
States. I can't get in China or NZ :(
A nice,
thick vanilla shake always goes down well too :)
All time favorite movie?
Too many to
choose from. I love everything from action to comedy, thriller to romance. The
only thing I want touch is horror.
Best book to movie adaption?
Probably The
Notebook. I preferred the movie so much more than the book. Same with The Lord
of the Rings.
Worst book to movie adaption?
Because I'm
such a movie fan, I actually love books being made into movies and most of the
time, they do okay.
One movie I
was disappointed with though was "My Sister's Keeper." I was
expecting one thing and got something else. I thought they should have stuck more closer to the book.
Thankyou Melissa for being so kind and answering all my questions, Now onto my review, x x
Ebook: Betwixt
Author: Melissa Pearl
Fiction, Paranormal,
This review may contain spoilers
I was given this ARC by the author for an honest review
Summary: 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?
The Review
Wow, I am in awe of Melissa Pearl right now, this story is
beyond words, it has got to be my favourite read of 2012, I was so engrossed in
the book, I literally never put it down, I really don’t do ghosty stories but
hell I loved this storyline, it was different, unusual, I have never come
across a storyline like it before, The
fact that Nicole could only be heard by Dale was just perfect, he has had
troubles of his own, so for him to do something good was brilliant and a
perfect way to prove himself to anyone else in the town, especially the
sheriff, for her to be between death
& life and Dale is the only one who can hear her is just brilliant
especially as she was mean to him
earlier, he still really liked her, because he knows that is not the real Nicole, she isn’t really that
nasty, something made her that way and it’s lucky that he does think that, I adored that Nicole gets to meet her sister
again, even if it was just a brief meeting, at least she got to say Sorry, I
hope we all get that chance to apologise to someone we did wrong to in the
afterlife, I laughed and I cried, I love that in a book, I am glad that Nicole
sees the error of her ways, I felt Sorry for Adam, can’t say anymore as it
would give too much away, I can’t wait
for this book to come out in print, I will be getting myself a copy as I have a
fave shelf which houses my favourite reads and this is definitely going on it,
I can only give 5/5 even though I really wanted to give it more, highly recommend to everyone.
Buy links & Where to find Melissa
Thank you SO much for having me, Julie... and thanks for such a stellar review. You are awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book so much :)
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