Author of The Summer Before Forever, Melissa Chambers Interview ~ Book Music Playlist & Giveaway

Today I have a wonderful author interview with the lovely Melissa Chambers. Thank you so much to Melissa for doing this interview your answers were perfect! Also, thank you to Entangled TEEN for giving me the opportunity to have this great content for my post. Melissa has an amazing upcoming novel called The Summer Before Forever. It is such a nice novel and I will be posting my review for it very soon!


Series: Before Forever #1
Publication Date: August 22, 2016
Publisher: Entangled TEEN
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 340



Some boys break your heart. Others teach you how to heal it.
Chloe Stone’s life is a hot mess. Determined to stop being so freaking skittish, she packs up her quasi-famous best friend and heads to Florida. The goal? Complete the summer bucket list to end all bucket lists. The problem? Her hot soon-to-be stepbrother, Landon Jacobs. 
Landon’s mom will throttle him if he even looks at his future stepsister the wrong way. Problem is, Chloe is everything he didn’t know he wanted, and that’s...inconvenient. Watching her tear it up on a karaoke stage, stand up to his asshole friend, and rock her first string bikini destroys his sanity. 
But there’s more than their future family on the line. Landon is hiding something—something he knows will change how she feels about him—and she’s hiding something from him, too. And when the secrets come out, there’s a good chance neither will look at the other the same way again...


Meet the Author


Melissa Chambers writes contemporary novels for young, new, and actual adults. A Nashville native, she spends her days working in the music industry and her nights tapping away at her keyboard. While she’s slightly obsessed with alt rock, she leaves the guitar playing to her husband and kid. She never misses a chance to play a tennis match, listen to an audiobook, or eat a bowl of ice cream. (Rocky road, please!) The Summer Before Forever is her debut YA novel.








Thank you so much for having me today, Chioma! I loved answering your questions and talking about my favorite subjects - books, writing, and movies!

Music plays a huge part in The Summer Before Forever, largely because it plays such a big part in my own life. Landon doesn’t like listening to music. That may sound odd for a teenage boy, but he has had some bad experiences that he associates with music, and so his answer has always been to avoid it. He’s a sports guy, anyway, so he listens to sports talk radio. 

Chloe is flabbergasted by the idea of someone not LOVING music. It runs deep to the core of who she is, and she treasures it with all of her being. So when asked to make Landon a playlist, she’s all on board!

While this book has a very specific playlist that is introduced throughout the story, Chloe has more tunes up her sleeve than she knows what to do with. So here’s another one she put together just for Chioma’s readers. Hope you enjoy!


Book Music Playlist

The Moth & the Flame “Red Flag”
Foals “What Went Down”
Wild Nothing “Summer Holiday”
My Goodness “Shiver + Shake”
TV on the Radio “Could You”
Young the Giant “Something to Believe In”
Viola Beach “Swings and Waterslides”
Arctic Monkeys “I Wanna Be Yours”
DMA’s “In the Moment”
The Shelters “Rebel Heart”
Editors “Sugar”
Wolfmother “Best of a Bad Situation”

You can hear this list on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2bQSXVV



Author Interview



1.)     What would you say is the most challenging part of writing a contemporary romance novel?

Most plotting classes include a villain and danger. We don’t have those things in straight up contemporary romance, so we have to find ways to keep it interesting. We all love the scenes where the characters are connecting and falling for each other, but we writers have to work hard to find that balance between sweet and precious and, “Okay, this is getting old.”


2.)     Which character was your favorite to write about and why?

You’re asking me to pick?! As much as I love Landon and Chloe, I probably would have to say Jenna. She’s such a mess, and she’s absolutely nothing like me, which makes her so much fun to write! I love slipping into her skin for her moments and getting inside her screwy head!


3.)     Describe the main character,  Chloe, in three words

Artistic. Cautious. Modest.


4.)     Describe the love interest, Landon, in three words

Hunky. Conscientious. Smart.


5.)     Any favorite summer songs you like to jam to in the car?

I’m totally obsessed with “Swings and Waterslides” by Viola Beach! http://bit.ly/1ThC2fH This song is best when played at a robust volume with the windows down (sunroof open if you have one!).


6.)     If you could only read books by one author for the rest of your life, what author would you choose?

You’re killing me here! Man, this is tough. I’m going to have to go with Sophie Kinsella. I adore that woman and her characters. I was walking through Target a while back listening to Can You Keep A Secret, laughing like a hyena by myself. I know people thought I was nuts.


7.)     What are some of your favorite movies of all time?

These questions are great! I love super quirky movies like 500 Days of Summer, The Way, Way Back, Death to Smoochy, and 200 Cigarettes (to be watched on New Year’s Eve). And anything quotable like Raising Arizona, Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space, The Big Lebowski, or the Vacation movies.


8.)     What do you like most about being a published author?

Oh, gosh, I guess just sharing the characters and stories I love!


9.)     Sitting down and writing a novel cannot always be easy, so what are your three biggest distractions while you are writing?
  1. Hunger! If I’m hungry, my belly makes me go get a snack.
  2. My dogs! They’re both just so cute and precious I have to give them both big hugs and smooches all the time. 
  3. Big Brother. I gave it up for years but got sucked in this season. I spend an unhealthy amount of time wondering what’s going on in the Big Brother house.

10.)    What is the one thing you would hope your readers would get out of reading your book?

I want readers to know that they deserve love...the good kind. I want them to see it’s not okay to be treated poorly by anyone, and I want them to set their bar high!


11.)    Are there any current projects you are working on that you would like to share with us?

Book two in the Before Forever series! I can’t wait to share Jenna’s story with readers! You’ll finally see what goes on in that convoluted brain of hers! :)




Once again, thank you to Melissa for all your wonderful answers. I am so happy I could have you on my blog. Luckily for those of you viewing this post, there is a giveaway Melissa is hosting that you can join in on!




Giveaway


Disclaimer

FTC Disclaimer: Books specified to be in the "ARC" or "eARC" format were sent to me for free by the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. How I acquired these items does not have an effect on my opinions and thoughts on them in my reviews. Everything written on this blog are my honest opinions only unless otherwise stated!

All book cover photos and synopses used in my posts were either sent to me directly by the author/publisher or gotten directly off of Goodreads and/or Amazon.

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