1. What are three quirky,
interesting, or little known facts you can each tell us about yourselves?
Melissa: Once on holiday we spent about three days
playing that game where you give the person two options they have to choose
from eg: rice bubbles or cornflakes... you know, really important stuff like
that :) I think we chose the same thing for about 90% of the questions. It was
getting a little ridiculous :)
Brenda: Although we have a lot in common, we usually
have different fashion styles or so I thought. The last few times we’ve been
together, we’ve both shown up in the same sort of jeans, boots and same coloured
tees. Spooky.
Melissa: We both like to eat really well and encourage
each other to aim for the healthy option. We eat high protein, low carbs type
food. Once we were away on a girly weekend and really felt like french fries,
we did homemade pumpkin fries instead. I think we got through most of the
pumpkin and were turning slightly orange by the end of the day :)
2. Who are some of your favourite authors and what books do you have on your
‘to be read’ pile?
Brenda:
Melissa Pearl is my favourite author. Seriously. She’s so talented and I am
impatiently waiting to be the first to read her next manuscript!! My to read
pile is pretty huge, but I’m keen to read the next Simone Elkeles book.
3. What have been the biggest challenges and/or surprises you’ve each faced
as writers?
Melissa:
Getting yourself out there is the hardest part for me. Marketing is way harder than
I thought it would be. I'm having fun as I go, learning some of the tricks of
the trade and meeting amazing people along the way, but I'm sure I could be
doing better. Writing is the fun part, marketing is the hard work, but you need
to do both well to be successful :)
Brenda: I’m
super shy around people I don’t know (total introvert) so the writing part is
easy but getting out there and marketing (as Melissa has mentioned) scares the
heck out of me.
4. What has
been the hardest thing about writing Forbidden Territory together?
Melissa: We live an hour's drive apart so that has
been a little challenging. We make it work by having writing weekends away or
just a day together to chat stuff through. We also use ichat a lot and e-mail
each other constantly throughout the day. Good communication is key in
co-authoring a book.
5. Did these stories/characters manifest themselves in dreams/daydreams, voices
in your head etc, or do you sit down and purposely create them?
Brenda: Lexy started off being purposely created but
then I left her with my imagination and she evolved into who she is today. I
don’t tend to dream about my characters but as I’m exercising, driving or
listening to music, they manifest themselves in my head. It’s extremely
fascinating how that happens. And although Mica and Lexy were created
independent of each other, they just happened to work out perfectly together as
best friends.
6. How did you pick names for your characters or did they come with their own
already?
Melissa: That is such a cool question. I always loved
the name Mica for a girl and I had been saving it up for the right character.
When my red-haired bombshell with her sassy mouth and punk rock ways walked
into my imagination, I knew Mica was the perfect name for her. My other
character, Mica's love interest, needed a really strong, masculine name. I
thought Eli was perfect.
Brenda: I have a list of names I keep on a document
that I LOVE and want to use one day. Lexy was the one that jumped out at me and
matched the character I was creating. Lexy is short for Alexandra, which of
course, she hates.
7. Favorite movie and/or TV show?
Melissa: That question is WAY too hard. I have so
many!!! How about I take TV shows and Brenda can do movies. We like all the
same stuff anyway :)
TV Shows: Friends, Big Bang Theory and Rookie Blue
Brenda: Awwww Melissa… You know I have like a MILLION
faves. Hmmmmm favourite movie of all time, if I have to narrow it down, is
Dirty Dancing. Other movies that I can watch over and over and over again are:
10 Things I Hate About You, Never Been Kissed, She’s the Man and last but not
at all least, all of the Twilight movies.
8. Favorite
actor and/or actress?
Melissa: Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing. I think he's a
really talented actor - and let's face it, he's gorgeous!
Brenda: I have a little thing for Rob Pattenson, but I
actually prefer him when he has his own English accent. Super sexy (I created
Tom so you can see I have a thing for Brits). I don’t miss a movie with Sandra
Bullock and I also really REALLY love Lauren Graham, but she’s mostly in TV
series rather than movies.
9. Who is your ultimate swoon worthy man? (Other than your hubby!)
Melissa: Brenda is going to read this and totally
crack up. She knows my answer already... Paul Walker. Happy sigh!!!
Brenda: I TOTALLY could have answered that for her as
she could about mine: Jason Behr (watch ‘Roswell’ and you’ll understand!)
(Ohh yes very yummy!!)
10. What is the most daring thing you have ever done or hope to do?
Melissa: I
am afraid of heights so the most daring thing I've ever done is the Big Swoop
in Rotorua. Basically you get strapped into a really strong sleeping bag,
hooked onto a wire and pulled about 10 storeys into the air. I hung there like
a petrified Superman then my hubby who was strapped beside me pulled the cord
and well fell. After that initial drop, and I swallowed my heart back down, I
had the best time swooping through the air. It was awesome!!
Brenda: On
my bucket list is to do the 10 BEST roller coasters in the world (finances
willing of course), I LOVE anything speedy and fast like that. One of these
days I’ll do a bungy jump too. Love, love, love that stuff. But ask me to crawl
through caves – NO WAY!
Thanks again Melissa and Brenda.
Its been great getting to know you both better and I wish you lots of success with Forbidden Territory and all future Mica & Lexy books :)
Here's their book and my review...
