Blog Tour: Unbreak My Heart Interview with Melissa Walker
May •
15 •
2012
Hello and Welcome! Today I have an interview with the lovely Melissa C. Walker!
“Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.”
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Have you ever been through a heart break like Clementine’s?
Yes. The friend breakup is a really painful thing, and I think it gets overlooked when people always focus on romantic dramas, so it was cathartic to write this one.
Why do you write for children rather than for adults?
Because of the passion factor–people who read YA really are INTO it. They laugh, they cry, they yell, they care. I love that.
What is the single most powerful challenge when it comes to writing novels with lots of emotion?
It’s hard not to get cheesy. I had a ton of footnotes in my first draft to my editor: “Is this too cheesy?” “OMG I’m so cheese!” etc. She set me straight and helped me know when it worked and when it was crazy sappy.
How much research went into the story?
Just life stuff. I sailed with my parents a lot growing up, and they did the exact trek that Clem’s family makes, so I looked back at my father’s log (emails) to get the geography right.
What books do you plan on reading this summer?
So many, I hope! In the immediate future I’m looking forward to Jessi Kirby’s IN HONOR and Morgan Matson’s SECOND CHANCE SUMMER.
I love Jessi Kirby’s In Honor. I will definitely check out Second Chance Summer.
Happy Reading!
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I’ve been through a friend “breakup” so to speak, and it was just as painful, if not more so, than any of my romantic breakups. Really looking forward to reading this one, thanks for the interview Savy and Melissa!
Jenny, Me too. Losing her was hard on me. But I learned from my mistakes and moved on with life.
Ah, I loved this book. Melissa is such a talented author. Loved the interview!
Yes, friend breaks can be bad and yet sometimes the best thing as well. Interesting take and I love the title!
Lovely interview. I’ve seen this around so I’ll have to check it out!