TalkingWithTami: Hello Melissa I think we chatted last year so we need to catch up! Tell us about your newest book Lovestruck Summer?
Lovestruck Summer is the story of 18-year-old Quinn, an indie-rock girl spending the summer in Austin on a coveted music internship. While she hopes to find the perfect hipster boyfriend, she unexpectedly falls in love with a college cowboy who makes her challenge her own stereotypes, expand her musical tastes, and ultimately open up her world.
TalkingWithTami: As an teen novel writer do you feel like its a lot of pressure to crank out new books all the time?
I love writing teen books, and I can usually write at least one a year, so hopefully I can keep that schedule up… we’ll see. It’s still fun for me so I don’t mind the pace… yet!
TalkingWithTami: You’re in New York City. Do you get a lot of your inspiration for your books by the big city?
For the Violet on the Runway series, lots of inspiration came from NYC, yes! This new one is set in Austin, Texas, and I was inspired by a trip I took there last summer. I loved the city, the live music, the spirit of the people! And I had to set a book there.
TalkingWithTami: You also do some freelance writing for many cool magazines. Can you name some and describe your role?
Sure! I write for lots of mags, like Glamour, Teen Vogue, SELF, Seventeen… mainly I pitch them story ideas and then take on writing assignments. Usually I write features about women and girls who are changing the world, which is FUN!
TalkingWithTami: Blogs are growing fast; any do an don’ts for start up bloggers?
I just started iheartdaily.com with my former ELLEgirl co-worker Anne Ichikawa, and we really try to share things people want to hear about–I think that’s the number one thing to do with a blog. Find information that’s useful and inspiring to others somehow. I’d also say keep it short and include a fun photo!
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