"Spotlight Saturday": Author Melissa Pearl

Penned Series: Time Spirit Trilogy", "The Elements Trilogy","The Fugitive Series", "The Masks Series", "The Betwixt Series" and "Songbird Novels", as well as the "Mica & Lexy Series" (Co-Authored with Brenda Howson)

Website: www.melissapearlauthor.com 
Other Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Amazon Author Page, YouTube Channel.

Email: hello@melissapearlauthor.com

Check out the Spotlight Saturday Post on Masks Series: 2/28/15

Fugitive Series

Author Bio:

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. 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 continued to produce a steady stream of books, ranging in genres from Fantasy to Romantic Suspense to Contemporary Romance. She loves the variety and is excited about the books she has coming out in 2015. 

The Elements Trilogy

 "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.” 

The Betwixt Series

Melissa Pearl is an open book when it comes to her readers and fans. It’s hard for any reader not to become a fan of Melissa once you read one of her books. Then there is just the fact that Melissa makes it extremely easy to get to know her. She is not shy about conversing via a YouTube channel she created to keep readers up to date on her works in progress, answer any questions, show her character inspiration boards and just be overall personable with her readers. 

Songbird Novels

Time Spirit Trilogy

“I am an indie author who is passionate about the craft of writing. I love every stage of a book’s journey, from conception to final edits.” 

 Melissa Pearl believes in her author motto of “Laugh, Cry, Swoon.” And boy, does she deliver on that promise book and book again, as each story she writes gives readers memorable highs and lows. 

Now, Melissa was gracious to give me a moment of her time, especially since it was just her birthday, but she took a few minutes to answer some questions revealing a little more about herself and what may inspire some of her writings. Truly you can tell a lot about a person, and author, when they say what movies or music they like. ;)

What is your favorite color? 
         Purple, I also love orange, because it's such a bright and happy color. :)

Who is your favorite author? 
    I have a ton of authors I enjoy, but just off the top of my head - Cambria Hebert comes to mind first...and Anna Cruise. I also like Francine Rivers and Nora Roberts. I also think Jodi Picoult is a REALLY talented author, but I don't always love all her books, but man - that woman can WRITE!!!

And what was you career goal as a child? 
          I had SO many. I changed my mind all the time. The ones I can remember are.... Nurse, teacher, singer, actor, make-up artist on a movie set, builder, architect...never a writer though, I've always found that funny. :)

What birth order are you? i.e. first born, middle, etc. 
         Youngest. It's just me a my big bro. There's four years between us, but we were really close growing up.

Where was your favorite place to have lived, or visit? 
         My 9 month trip around the USA and Canada was so incredibly EPIC and will always be considered a favorite year in my life. All those AMAZING national parks and the history up the east coast of the USA was totally fascinating...and then though mountains in west Canada....STUNNING!!!!!

Favorite book boyfriend? *not one you've written(Sorry we already know yours are great catches)                
           Ummmm - oooooo - let me think... Probably Alex from Sarah Alderson's Lila Series. TOTALLY fell for that guy!

Who is your Celebrity Crush? *No worries, they can be anyone from musician to an actor 
         Paul Walker was always right up there for me...and most definitely Chris Evans. He seems to have a cheeky charm that I find very appealing Oh - and Olly Murs...he does too.

Favorite song at the moment or all time? *I know music is your thing, so you can list a few if you'd like 
         That is a REALLY hard question. I LOVE music...and all kinds too! How about I just list the songs I've been enjoying this week. Haha 
          "Country's Written All Over Me" by Kira Isabella 
          "Goodbye In Her Eyes" by Zac Brown Band 
          "Trust Me" by Amanda Marshall 
          "Come On Over" by Jessica Simpson 
                  **Can you tell I've been listening to the Home soundtrack a lot this week?** I've also been enjoying.. "You're Not Alone" by Owl City and Britt Nicole, "If Your Lips Are Moving" by Meghan Trainor, "True Love" and "Run" by Pink. There are a ton more, but those would be my top picks for the week. 

Favorite TV show from your childhood, teens, college years and now adulthood/present time?                     
         Childhood - Gummy Bears & Full House 
        Teens - Beverly Hills 90210 & there was another one about cops that I really loved, but I can't remember what it's called. It had Blue in the title. 
        College Years - FRIENDS 
        Present - Rookie Blue & Castle would probably be my top two, but there are plenty more. 

Last Movie you saw? 
        I watched Focus last night with Will Smith and Margo Robbie. It was really cool.

Favorite character you've written? 
       Ahhhh - that's super hard!!! I love all my characters. Um - the characters from the Fugitive Series would be right up there for me. I really love their friendship and how quirky they were. I also adore writing Mica because she's a crazy, silly nut.

Worst character you've written, as in the hardest character to develop or most annoying? 
      Tracey from Forbidden Waters drove me nuts. She is SO annoying!! You'll meet her at the end of this month. But other than that, I actually really love writing bad guys. I love that they can say and do things I'd never do myself. It's like a release or something. LOL As for character development - Nicole from Betwixt was a tricky one in the sense that she can be kind of unlikeable to start with because of all her issues, but deep down she's actually a really awesome person. I LOVED her, but I was worried my readers wouldn't give her a chance. Thankfully most of them have.

Are you struck by story inspiration at random moments, or do sit in your office contemplating your next novel? 
      Definitely random moments - the shower is my most inspirational place or if I'm out walking...also lying in bed and cooking in the kitchen. Any task that doesn't take my full concentration to do...so that my mind can wander. :)

-------------------_________________________-----------------

Well, that's it for now peeps, as you can tell Melissa is just too cool for school. So she dropped teaching and became a writer. Anyways, bad joke aside, you can chat or check in with Melissa any time on her website, or sign up for her newsletter (CLICK HERE) to always stay informed of her upcoming novels. 

Speaking of which, Melissa and Brenda Howson have their next installment of Mica & Lexy Series coming out this month titled: "Forbidden Waters".

Melissa will also be releasing her forth installment in her Songbird novels, titled "Home" in the coming months, so stay tuned as the release date is set for sometime in August.