Bookworm Buzz

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: ANDREA MICHELLE

Today, we have the amazing author of Escape the Doubt for an interview with us. Read on to know more about her debut novel, what's she's currently working on, how she overcomes writer's block, and some advice shared with the rest of us.

Escape the Doubt book cover

BWS: Hi Andrea, thank you for agreeing to this interview. What inspired you to write Escape the Doubt?

Andrea: Escape the Doubt is actually inspired a lot from my own past. Although the story is fictional, many of the emotions involved in the story were my own at the age. In fact, the poems in the novel were written by me when I was sixteen and seventeen years old.

BWS: Give us an insight into your main character in Escape the Doubt. How did you come up with Riley Shaw’s character? 

Andrea: Riley Shaw is a troubled seventeen year old. She struggles with relationships. She knows she wants to love and she wants to be loved. But she doesn’t believe love exist, not forever. She see’s love as being full of lies and secrets. Men cheat and break hearts. She is full of doubt about love, life and everything in between. I came up with Riley by tapping into what I felt like at that age. I then added in what I could imagine it might feel like to have been through everything she had been through. It’s not her fault she is so scared. She wants to change, wants so badly to have things different. She just doesn’t know how to let go of her past and move forward.

BWS: What are you working on at the minute?

Andrea: I am working on the sequel in this series, Embrace the Moment. It is a continuation to their story. I’m also working on a NA Romantic Suspense Novel that I began before Escape the Doubt. Stories are funny like that. One spoke louder than the other. I also have an Adult Contemporary Romance Novel in the works, Abandoned Identity. Many stories are swirling in my mind and multiple WIP’s sit on my laptop but they’re only so many hours in the day. LOL ;)

BWS: Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?

Andrea: Yes, for example with my sequel. I’m content with the ending in Escape the Doubt. There is just so much more to tell to their story. However, I don’t want to ugly up their beautiful just to create conflict. So I’m trying to stay true to the story they want me to tell. As far as overcoming it... MUSIC. It is an addiction and almost necessary for me to write to. It creates inspiration. 

BWS: Where is your favorite place to write? 

Andrea: You might find this funny, but lying in my bathtub when I’m relaxed.

A Bowl For the Soul

BLOG TOUR: ESCAPE THE DOUBT 

Good day, bookworms! Today I'll be reviewing Escape the Doubt by Andrea Michelle as part of her blog tour. I receive an ARC from Enticing Journey in exchange for an honest review. It's a young adult romance story but it is also much more than that so here we go!

Synopsis:

After the unexpected death of her Dad and the haunting manner in which he died, Riley Shaw built invisible walls around her heart. Barriers she created to protect her from splintering into broken pieces that couldn’t be repaired. She was unable to move forward from her past, letting the guilt of her parent’s mistakes dictate her own choices. 



Dean Warren was safe. Being with him was innocent and peaceful because she didn’t truly love him. His words held her captive in a false sense of security. His eyes were deceptive, and his promises of never pushing her beyond what she was willing to give were broken, leaving Riley Shaw in a state of regret and doubt. 



Joshua Parker had the power to take what was left of Riley’s splintered pieces, and ruin her completely or make her whole again. He was her best friend, her next-door neighbor - everything she wanted and settled on never having. Loving him was as easy as breathing air. The fear of losing him forever was more real to her than the feelings she couldn’t escape. 



When faced with the very thing she feared the most and in the arms she thought were safe, Riley finds herself questioning every decision she has made over the past two years. When she finally escapes the doubt in her head and accepts the truth in her heart is it too late? 



Is taking a chance with your heart worth the escape or was it better to have never loved at all? Can forgiveness really set you free? 



*Warning: This is a mature young adult novel. Recommended for readers 17+ due to underage drinking, sexual content and adult language. 



*This is book one in a series however can be read as a standalone.

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking love story about two teens struggling for their love towards each other while coping with their other life dilemmas at the same time. Everyone has gone through that particular phase where we fell in love for the first time and our times during high school. That is what exactly what I get from reading Escape the Doubt. We can relate well with the story and characters because it happened to most of us at some point in our life.

A Bowl For the Soul

BACK IN TIME: THE MINE

Hi everyone! Let us start with a question regarding time-travelling. What would you do if you travel back in time? Not back to a few years but back to a few decades or more than half century; which means you, or maybe, your parents are not even born yet. When I was a kid I used to think: that'll be cool! Of course being the 8 year-old kid that I was, it's quite a naïve thought. Perhaps, that is one of the reason why I was ecstatic when John Heldt approached our blog with a review request. I've always love a good time-travelling story especially considering all the funny things that could happen to the main character when he or she landed in an entirely different era. Add that with a romantic twist and wonderful historical descriptions, voilá! The perfect book for my reading time. The Mine consist of all the elements said above. It's the first book in John Heldt's Northway Passage series, which consist of 3 more books: The Journey, The Show, and The Fire.

 

The Mine started with the main character, Joel Smith, having discovered an abandoned mine in May 2000. While exploring it, he re-emerged from the mine to an entirely different time. He was still in the same place, but landed in May 1941. He was penniless (modern money did not qualify in pre-war era and credit card was not even invented yet!), have no place to go home to, and perplexed at what he is going to do next. 

Thankfully, after days of walking around and catching a wagon to Seattle (his hometown back in the 21st century), he made good friends with Tom Carter and (here's the catch) his independent, straightforward grandmother, Ginny. Seriously, the young version of Joel's grandmother is one of my favourite character in The Mine; a strong-willed woman during the pre-war era was difficult to be found. Then Joel was introduced to Grace Vanderberg. Sweet and smart, Grace felt immediate attraction to Joel and vice versa. Unfortunately there's a catch, Grace was engaged and this proves to be one of the conflict that arises for Joel. Eventually after spending time in each other's company, Joel's cocky (and a bit arrogant) attitude is softened up by Grace's compassionate nature. Their romance evolves for months as in 1940's, holding-hands and afternoon walks are required for a budding relationship back then. It turns out for both Joel and Grace that their mutual attraction becomes something much more serious and they are falling in love with each other. Think of the Notebook and this tender, beautiful love is just like that. I just can't help but sigh contentedly as I read this wonderfully written romance.