GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY: Melissa Wray

What sparked the idea to write Destiny Road?

Recently Melissa Wray was asked this question by Uncommon YA. Here is her very personal response.

We moved to North Queensland when I was 14. After a year or so Mum could see that something about Townsville and I did not mix. Strangely enough it was her suggestion to ring my dad and ask if I could move back south.

So I did. Then I packed my bags and moved 3,000km away to live with him. This decision is what sparked the idea for Destiny Road.

Now I never set out to write this story, let alone have it published. It just kind of happened. It came about because one night I was lying in bed and couldn’t sleep. There was an unspoken conversation going on in my mind. It was a conversation that I regret not having and has played on my mind over the years. This particular night it got the better of me so I got up and began to write. It wasn’t until after I read through those mad ramblings a couple of weeks later that I thought hmmm … I could create a story from this. So I began writing. I passed my 10,000 word milestone. Then 20 then 30 then before I knew it 50,000 words had been typed.

You see I think about that one phone call I made all those years ago sometimes. I have often thought about how that decision, that one pivotal moment that is talked about in Destiny Road, really did change the course of my life. I’m sure as you're reading this you can look back over your life, and pinpoint one moment that has shaped it in a big way. I truly believe that Dad saying yes when I asked was a determining factor in how things have turned out for me.

One afternoon I was sitting with him. He got to talking about his philosophy on life and death. Dad had been fighting a battle against cancer for a while at this point and I was kneeling next to him as he sat on his reclining chair. He was holding my hand as he shared these ideas on life and death. He said to me "It’s cool. Whatever happens, it’s cool." My dad used cool a lot when he spoke. He was pretty cool. He was also a big believer in God. So that afternoon he said "It’s cool if I die because I get to meet my maker." ‘Then he said "But it’s cool if I live because I get to be with the ones I love." This was his philosophy. Either way was cool with him.

I remember kneeling there, holding his hand and wishing I could say thankyou to him. Thanks for saying yes all those years ago. Thanks for that pivotal moment in my life. I wanted him to know how much that meant. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t get those words out.

That night he passed away.

I never did get to tell him and have regretted that for the past 10 years. So you see once the spark to write Destiny Road was lit, it had to finished. It was my tribute, my thankyou and I am beyond thrilled it was published.

Now I’m not going to bore you with my views on life and death but I can’t help but wonder something, because anyone who knew my dad, Rod Morris, and anyone who knew his sense of humour ... well I can’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a helping hand when Morris Publishing (no relation) chose to publish Destiny Road. I like to think so.

It's hard to believe two years has passed since the launch of Destiny Road. To celebrate there is a chance to win 2 x $20 Gift Cards, ENTER NOW!

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To connect with Melissa;

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Read the 1st chapter of Destiny Road FREE.

Ely's Recommendations #1

So a few months back, I made a post recommending books to a friend of mine and I really enjoyed that. So I thought I'd start a new little series in which I recommend about some of my favourite books. In each part, I'm going to name five books/series and then talk about them a bit. This is mostly YA, but I'll include other genres now and again.

1. The Wounded Guardian by Duncan Lay | Goodreads
I have yet to write a proper review of this book, but there was no way I could not put it on this list so a review will probably be up next week. To put it simply, I adored this book. I don't usually read epic fantasy novels, but this one just completely blew my mind. I think part of the reason I love this book so much was that I was lucky enough to meet Duncan Lay last month. I can't even describe how amazing he was at pitching his books to my friend and I. I'll talk about my thoughts more in my actual review. But, if you only pick up one book from this list, make it this one.

2. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner  | Goodreads
This one has a bit more hype surrounding it than most of the books on this list but I just couldn't not talk about it. I haven't written a proper review for this one either (yet), but I'm actually planning on re-reading it next month- the fact that I only read it in January should speak volumes as to my feelings towards this book. I honestly stayed up until 2am reading this and then was unable to sleep the rest of the night because I was shaking from this book.  I really can't even describe how much I love this book or how many feels I felt. You just have to read it to understand it.

3. Kill the Music by Nansi Kunze | Goodreads
Do you think I've talked about this book enough? Nope, nope, nope. I don't think there are enough words in the whole world to describe my love for this book and for Nansi. This book is so much fun to read, there's a bit of mystery, bit of music and a whole lot of drama and romance. Plus, Marius is totally the love of my life. But even more than that, Nansi is honestly the most wonderful person ever. I've been lucky enough to meet her twice (totally by accident both times), and I can't even put into words how amazing she is. My new goal in life is to get everyone to read all three of Nansi's books. Also, you can see my review here.

4. The Wrong Boy by Suzy Zail | Goodreads
I found out about this book through a book club I was attending at my school in which we read through books that were nominated for awards. As soon as I found out that this book was about the Holocaust, I borrowed it and that was where my love began. Anyone who's been following this blog for a while is likely to know that I adore anything WWII related, this was absolutely no exception. I think my favourite thing about this one, is that it's different- it's set in Auschwitz, but the main character is provided with a unique opportunity, to play piano for the commander. Needless to say, there were many tears throughout this book.

5. Destiny Road by Melissa Wray | Goodreads
This book was actually sent to us for review by Melissa, but I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to include it here. Destiny Road is very different to the other books on this list, it's a contemporary but rather than centering on romance, it focuses on family. I really love stories that are about families and friends as much as I like books about romance. The issues in this book are all based off Melissa's own experiences, which makes it even more realistic and enjoyable. Plus, it's set in Australia and what kind of Aussie doesn't like a book set here? You can see my review here.


So that was my first recommendations post. Somehow, all of these authors turned out to be Australian authors (I believe Meagan Spooner sees herself as an honourary Aussie), which awesome! I hope some of you consider these books because they are honestly amazing and deserve more hype (and ratings on Goodreads). I hope you all enjoyed this post, I'm considering doing one of these every month but we shall see.

Thank you!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Melissa Wray

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melissa has always loved reading and grew up about 600m from the local library. She spent a lot of time at that library reading the likes of Judy Blume, Enid Blyton, John Marsden, Ann M. Martin and Francine Pascal.
She lives in Leopold which is the middle of Geelong and the beach. It is a pretty great place to be. She has been lucky enough to live and travel overseas and see some amazing places. Some highlights include Carnivale in Venice, Italy. La Tomatina in Bunol, Spain. A tomato throwing festival not for the fainthearted. Also Mt.Sinai, Egypt where she began climbing a mountain at 2am to reach the top in time for the most spectacular sunrise.
As a primary school teacher she is passionate about encouraging her students to enjoy reading and writing.
As a mum she loves creating stories aloud with her kids and reading to them. Melissa is an emerging author who looks forward to sharing her stories and spending many more hours creating new ones.

1. You got published via a writing competition. What was your publishing experience like?

When I first entered the competition I only had to send the first 4 chapters. Once my entry got shortlisted I had to send the entire manuscript (which I madly finished editing the final chapters!). Morris Publishing Australia are a fabulous publishing house who are developing their author list. You can go to this link to read the 1^st chapter of Destiny Road for free.

Elaine Ouston is the editor who allowed me to be completely involved from the start. She very patiently answered my numerous questions along the way. Elaine also allowed one of my best friends to do the photography work for the front cover. This made it even more special. So my first time publishing experience has been very positive.

2. Did you continue to edit your Novel after you won, or was it done and dusted?

It took me 18 months to write the manuscript. At this point I sent it to a manuscript assessor for feedback. I also gave it to a trusted friend to read. The assessor pointed out the structural edits and other things to consider whilst my friend bluntly pointed out the boring bits! Between the two I added another 15,000 words and another element to the story. Elaine then spent time going over it, making edits and questioning a couple of things. Then I read through it again making even more changes before returning it to Elaine who went over it once more with my changes. I haven’t actually read it in the novel format yet as I am afraid I might want to change something!

3. When did you know you wanted to become an author? Was there a certain book/author/series that you think influenced you?

I always enjoyed writing. I lived and travelled overseas for almost 2 years and kept a detailed diary of every place I went. It wasn’t until I had my first baby that I decided to take a creative writing course. It was by correspondence and took me 18 months. Since then I have kept writing (when I have time) and trying to develop my skills. I have entered and won/received mentions for other pieces of writing. I always thought it would be cool to have my own published book but I don’t think I thought it would seriously happen. When I started writing it was for middle grade readers (7-10 year olds). But my sister-in-law told me about these two great series, one called Twilight and other was The Hunger Games! I read them reluctantly at first then of course, could not put them down. From then on I was hooked on young adult books and rarely read anything else now. I suppose that is what made me first think of writing on the YA genre.

4.  Do you have any special requirements that help you write? A special place? A HB pencil with a flimsy attachable eraser on top?

Sometimes I love to have music blaring with a special soundtrack of my favourite songs. Other days I enjoy the peace and quiet of having an empty house. Often my writing is done at night after my two children are asleep so I might just pop some headphones on to get in my own little world of writing. I just invested in an Ipad to do some writing whilst out and about. Otherwise I carry a notebook with me and write on that, only to have to type it up when I get home. Although I do enjoy scribbling across the page except my ideas come out faster than the writing. When I read it back it doesn’t always make sense!

5. Are you working on a second book now? If so, what can you tell us about it?

I am halfway through an idea called Summer Change. It is about a teenage girl who spends the Summer with her cousins. Whilst there she begins to investigate the secret her parents are hiding. But then I got sidetracked by another idea called Late Bloomer. So I’ve spent some time on that and actually received an honourable mention in a writing competition for the Gold Coast Writers Festival late last year. Late Bloomer is about wanting to grow up and all the embarrassing moments this can cause. I am not admitting to any truth that might be found in this story! You can follow the link to read the entry.
http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/gold-coast-writers-festival.html

6. Is Destiny Road the first book you’ve written, if not, what made you think that the other books you wrote were not up to being published?

I have written lots of other stories but they are all for a younger reading age group. Destiny Road is my first attempt at a young adult novel. I think the other stories were good but I have found my voice is the YA genre. Destiny Road is my first published book and I am very proud of it. When I was 16 I went to live with my father for the first time. Unlike Jessica from Destiny Road I had known him all my life, but my parents divorced when I was very young.  I was never able to say thank you to my dad for saying yes when I asked could I live with him. He passed away several years ago and it has always bothered me that I could not get those words out before he died. Now with Destiny Road I feel like I have said them, so hopefully he knows.


Available for purchase:
http://www.morrispublishingaustralia.com/destiny-road.html
https://www.amazon.com/author/melissawray
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/215624
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/destiny-road-melissa-wray/1112616427?ean=9780985914721

Thank you to the wonderful Melissa for letting us host her on the blog today. As an added bonus she has let us hold an international giveaway for her debut novel 'Destiny Road'. Enter below to win a pdf version of the book for all international entries, or a signed physical copy for Australian entries. Don't forget to check out Ely's review, here.

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REVIEW: Destiny Road by Melissa Wray

Title: Destiny Road

Author: Melissa Wray

Publication Date: August 5^th 2012

Publisher: Morris Publishing Australia

Format: E-Book

Pages: 212

Rating: 4/5
Blurb: Destiny Road is about a sixteen year old girl Jessica, who is building up to making a most important decision. One that will affect the rest of her life. It is a story of decision, growth and acceptance.

Jessica is sixteen when she meets Bill for the first time. Six months later she is moved away by her mother, to begin a new life, away from what she knows. Away from the man she is just realising she might have wanted in her life all along, her biological father. So begins Jessica’s journey of living with the choices made by herself and those around her.

Review: The great thing about Destiny Road is that is filled with all the realistic teenage things- starting at a new school, family drama, friend drama, learning to drive and etc. I found it especially relatable due to the Australian setting, though I believe people who aren’t Australian would still be able to connect. The fact that this is based on Melissa’s own experiences, definitely added to the overall feel of the novel and meant that everything was relatable in some way.

 

My absolute favourite thing was the relationships that were in the novel. I loved reading about the building father/daughter relationship of Bill and Jessica, but I also liked how Jessica got along with Janet (her dad’s wife)- I find that usually step-mothers are portrayed as horrible people and whatnot so it was refreshing to see the two of them getting along. I also enjoyed the relationship between Jessica and her mother, Ally, once again it was really nice to see a teenage girl who actually got along with her parents. 

I really liked both sets of Jessica’s friends- her old ones, Claire and Dempsey and her new ones, Mandy and Sam. In their own ways, they reminded me of the friends I made in primary school and then the ones I have now in high school- of course, it made it much easier to enjoy the book with people to relate them too.  I really enjoyed how Jessica and Mandy’s friendship evolved in particular- I wasn’t really a big fan of Mandy at the start but I quickly realised that there was more to her than she was letting on. 

Some of the little details that Melissa wrote about actually got me thinking- one example was a really good discussion about pivotal points and all. It’s not something you usually think about in high school, or in life in general really but the language Melissa used had me thinking about it in relation to my own life. This is only one of the examples of one of these things- others were funny, others more serious but each of them had relevance. This made it so much more connectable and enjoyable for me- sometimes it even felt like Jessica was feeling the exact same way as I did in similar situations. 

I’d like to thank the lovely Melissa Wray for sending us a copy of her book to review. If you’d like to learn more about Melissa, you can check back on Saturday the 16^th for an author interview right here, including an international giveaway!

UPDATE: Bloggity Blog

As some of you may have notice we've recently been redecorating over here at A Book So Fathomless. As well as the new background, new size and new banner, we've also been working on formatting our reviews (an our other posts, of course) better. Therefore things might be a little crazy here for a week or so but we hopefully it will be for the best.

We've got a few exciting things coming up this month. On the sixteenth, local Australian author Melissa Wray will be visiting us for a interview and we will also be reviewing her new YA book 'Destiny Road'. Then on the twenty-third, the wonderful Eva Pohler will be visiting us for an interview and then we will be reviewing the second book in her trilogy- 'The Gatekeeper's Challenge'. If you haven't already, you should definitely check out our review of the first book, here. And of course, we've got a lot of Valentine's Day related posts coming up this month.

Hope to see you all then.

x Chami and Ely