Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!"
She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has produced four more books and has a YA fantasy trilogy coming out this year.
"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."
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Hi, Melissa! Thanks so much for
joining me today! I’m really excited to get to know more about you and your
books!
Let’s get to know a bit about you
first:
How
would you describe yourself in one word?
A dreamer
How
did you get your start in writing? Was it a childhood hobby or something you
became interested in recently?
I always had stories floating around
in my brain as a kid, but I never thought being an author would be an option. I
wrote a few stories for fun, but never took it seriously until I was in my
early 20s. My friend, who was the only person I told my stories too, told me
she wanted to read one of them and asked me to write the one I'd just told her.
I decided to give it a go and immediately fell in love. When she read it and
loved it, I decided to get serious and took a two-year writing course and
started learning about this awesome craft.
Are
you self-published or traditionally published? What made you choose that
particular path for yourself?
I am an indie author and very happy
to be that way. I love having control over my writing career. I was initially
looking at traditionally publishing and spent two years looking for an agent. I
was also completing my writing course during this time and realized I had a lot
to learn before my work was ready to publish. When I finally got to the point
of having publish-worthy work, I was so sick of getting rejected by agents. I
mentioned this to my brother and he told me about Amanda Hocking. I immediately
looked her up and then started researching the self-publishing movement. I knew
it was the right path for me and I haven't looked back. I love being an indie
:)
Let’s
talk about your books: What was the first novel you published and can you tell
us a bit about it?
My first published novel was Golden
Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #1), which is currently free in digital format. It
is about a girl who can travel through time. Noone but her family knows this.
She falls for a boy she is not allowed to be with. He discovered her secret and
so begins a forbidden love affair. It follows their fight to be together. It is
the first in a three book series.
What
genre do you write in? What do you love most about that genre?
I write in a few different genres -
all YA at this stage although I'd like to try my hand at NA at some point. I
have written an Urban Fantasy trilogy, a contemporary romance with a paranormal
twist, a contemporary romance/thriller and I am about to release an epic
fantasy trilogy. All I can guarantee is that my novels will always have
a really strong romance in them. I'm a sucker for love :) I love writing YA.
Teenagers are the coolest characters to write. I have so much fun.
You
have published five books since 2011. Who is your favourite character out of
all your books?
Ooooo - tough question. How do I
choose? LOL :)
The first one to pop into my mind is
a character called Gabe. He is not an MC, but actually a key minor character in
my Time Spirit Trilogy. He was so great to write. I really loved him.
I also loved writing Nicole from
Betwixt. She can be quite misunderstood, but I love how complex she is. She has
a really sharp tongue too and would say stuff I would never dream of saying.
Oh yeah - and I can't forget Mica.
She is my MC from Forbidden Territory. She makes me laugh and I'm SO in love
with her boyfriend, Eli :)
Can
you tell us a bit about the inspiration for your novels?
I get inspired from so many things
in my life, but my main themes probably come from a faith I have grown up with.
It's such a strong part of who I am, it's hard to not to let it come through in
my writing.
What
are you currently working on, and what was your latest release?
I have just spent the last 6 months
working on The Elements Trilogy. This is a trilogy set in a fantasy world. It
is based around an ancient prophecy and two seekers who leave home to find, and
resurrect, the light so they can save the earth from darkness.
Unknown will be released on June 13th. Unseen is due for
release mid-July and Unleasehd, mid-August. Once that is done I will be working
on two novellas - a prequel and a sequel to Betwixt. I have a plethora of
novels iined up. 2014 is already full. LOL :D
What’s
one piece of advice that you have learned on your writing journey that you can
share with aspiring authors?
Take the time to study the craft of
writing. It's so important to know the basics of story structure and understand
the elements needed for a good novel. If you want to produce quality, then
learn the craft and pay an editor to help you refine your work so that it
shines.
Last
question: What do you love most about being an author?
Living in my imaginary worlds. I
love walking the journeys with these characters. I laugh with them, cry with
them, live these exciting adventures with them. I don't even have the words to
describe how incredibly cool it is.
Thank you so much for joining me
today, Melissa! I really appreciate it!
Thank you SO much for having me, Komal :) xx
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To find out more about Melissa Pearl and her wonderful books, please visit her on the following links below.
Thanks for having me. It's so cool to be on your blog, Komal :) xxx
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