Author Interview: Perfectly Broken's Maegan Abel

Author Interview:

1) What motivated you to start writing? As cliché as it sounds, a bad break up. No, I was at a point in my life where it was either follow my dreams and fight to make them come true or continue down a path that was getting darker every day.

2) Who or what is your biggest inspiration for writing? My great-grandmother was a writer and when I was young, she gave me a journal and told me to write the story of my life, the way I wanted it to be. I was seven or so and I can’t remember the exact words she used but it was something to the extent that we all have moments in our lives that we wish would go differently. She told me that writing my own story would give me closure in those moments of my life when I might struggle to find it otherwise. And she was right.

3) What is your writing environment? (Where do you write, what do you do to prepare right before you start writing) Hmmmm… Well, mostly I write in my room because I’m pretty much a homebody. I’m so shy it’s a disease. (No, seriously. It’s true.) I need it quiet to focus so if I have music on, it’s soft and in the background. Although music is a very important part of my work, that mainly stems from the songs that I hear when I’m not writing that will bring a certain scene to my head.

4) What is the hardest part of a book for you? Any particular scene(s)? I think I’d have to say the opening. The opening chapters of Perfectly Broken were original Chapter four, I believe. Things got rearranged as I went along and figured out the flow of the story. With the sequel, Unforgivably Broken, I actually wrote the opening chapters four times before I found something I could live with. Now, once the first draft is done, I have to go back and fill those in because they are pretty much just the bones right now until I got into my flow yet again.

5) If you only could write in one genre, what would it be? And if you couldn’t write in that genre what genre would you pick next? Romance. Lol. And Romance. Honestly, I’ve written some paranormal and some dystopian fantasy but Contemporary Romance is where I feel like I’ve found my home.

6) If you could spend a day with one author, who would it be and why? This is an impossible question to answer. I think, as of right now, I’d have to say Cassandra Clare. Part of that comes from the fact that I just finished reading City of Heavenly Fire last night and I would love to sit down with the kind of talented person who could so elegantly tie up two series at the end in a way that leaves readers feeling complete.

7) What do you like to see in book reviews? What makes a review better than other ones to you? Interesting question. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one asked. I love and appreciate all reviews, I do. I’m an author and we feed off of them. But honestly, one thing that always stands out to me is using quotes from my work to drive home their point. Whether a reviewer is talking about my writing style or my characters themselves, when they quote my work, I always smile.

8) If you could give one tip to new writers, what would it be? Hire. A. PROFESSIONAL. Editor. I don’t care if your buddy or blog partner or Mom is good with grammar and going to look over the manuscript for you. Hey, that’s great. The more eyes on it before you push publish the better. But an editor will always know things that they don’t. I guarantee it. I can always tell a book that has been professionally edited. Honestly, my editor did more than just fix my many grammatical errors, she pointed out parts where I could add in scenes to get my backstory deeper than I ever thought about. My book wouldn’t have been nearly what it was without her. They are worth the cost.

9) How do you make hard decisions with your books? Like the title of the book or some of the characters actions? Funny story about my book title, actually. Originally, Perfectly Broken and Unforgivably Broken were titled Deception and Disgrace. One night when I was almost halfway done with the manuscript, I dreamed a conversation between two of my characters. I didn’t understand what it meant but I typed it out. It turned into the scene in Chapter Eighteen where Kas and Zane are in the kitchen and Zane tells her that he and Lili are both too broken. In my dream, she said “Sometimes, when you take the broken pieces and combined them, you get something even more beautiful.” When I typed it out, the title Perfectly Broken was obvious. As far as characters actions, I don’t decide that, they do. As a matter of fact, Zane is so stubborn that I wrote one chapter three times because he kept insisting things go a certain way that I didn’t want them to go. Turns out, when I let him have his way and kept writing to get it out, he was right after all. I’m trying to learn to trust them now. Lol.

10) If you could only use 4 words to describe yourself, what would they be? Somewhat introverted technology junkie

 Synopsis

Zane Tishler moved in with his brother after his nightmare divorce to find that his brother had taken in a "stray", a punk chick with a bad attitude. Liliosa Cortez found a place to start over in a city built for hiding. But when her roommate's brother moved in she pegged him for a pretty boy with enough baggage to fill a semi and major hostility toward women. But now, after two years, Lili and Zane have become best friends and the perfect "wingmen." They've developed a system for tagging and bagging tourists. No strings attached. They are partners in crime who have managed to have the time of their lives in the City of Sin.
Life would be perfect if they could keep it this way, but a new player in the game makes both Lili and Zane face feelings they had not been prepared to notice. What happens when dangerous shadows from a forgotten past find their way into the neon spotlights? What happens when the fuse is lit on all those emotions they have deeply buried?
Can they survive the explosion or will the backlash tear them and everyone they love apart?
When two pasts become one present in the searing Nevada heat...
When two realities collide under the lights of Vegas...
When two lives are threatened due to secrets and lies...
What do you do when you find out your perfect world is Perfectly Broken?

BUY IT ON AMAZON

Excerpt

"How was your night off?" Nikki asked as she brushed past me, leaning to grab a bottle from the spot on the higher shelf. I barely had to duck to get under her arm to take an order.

"Good," I yelled back as we passed each other again moments later. We were used to this, the chaos of working in one of the popular themed-bars on The Strip. I'd worked at plenty of the bars but working here, for Shannon, was the best job I'd had.

"Did you give Zane a lap dance for his birthday like I told you to?" Nikki nudged me with her elbow and I spun a bottle in my right hand before pouring the drink I was working on.

"Right. Because that would've ended well," I answered with a laugh and shook my head. "No, but I did actually dance with him. His ex-wife showed up and caused a huge scene. It was kind of a mess."

Nikki shook her head and glanced over at me before pulling out two beers and passing them back to the customer she was helping. "I don't know why you two don't just fuck and get it over with already." I threw a bar rag at her and she laughed again, glancing at the clock beside the register.

"Trust me, Nik, that is never going to happen," I said over my shoulder as I passed her.

"Well, if you're not going to fuck the hotness monster, I'm totally going for it next time I see him." Nikki winked as she stopped directly beside me to take an order.

"That'll never happen either!" I laughed at Nikki's shocked expression. "First of all, you seem to be forgetting that Zane doesn't do locals."

"Details." She waved a hand dismissively as she finished filling a glass, nearly sloshing whiskey all over the bar.

"Second, I made him promise not to fuck anyone I work with."

Nikki slammed the bottle into place. Ignoring the customers momentarily, she spread her arms in a gesture that clearly said ‘what the fuck’. "Why? Why would you twat block me like that?"

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. I heard Nikki mumble under her breath as I turned to take a few more orders.

"Sorry, but you're a double no for him. You'll have to find a new hotness monster." I passed her the vodka, noticing the bottle was almost empty. "By the way, he doesn't really count as a hotness monster if we know how to find him."

   "Whatever. He was my favorite hotness monster," she sighed in faux dismay.

PLAYLIST

Broken by Seether featuring Amy Lee

E.T. by Katy Perry

Just Friends by Jason Reeves

You Make Me Sick by P!nk

Over and Over by Three Days Grace

Breathe Me by Sia

Scars by Papa Roach

Titanium (Cover) by Madilyn Bailey

Feels Like Tonight by Daughtry

Good Enough by Evanescence

Don’t Let it End by Nickelback

Sober by P!nk

Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute

Runaway by P!nk

Disappear by Stephen Speaks

Hush, Hush by Avril Lavigne

I’d Come for You by Nickelback

Nobody’s Home by Avril Lavigne

All of Me by John Legend

My Heart by Paramore

COMING SUMMER 2014

Synopsis

Liliosa Cortez has spent years hiding from her past. Unfortunately, no one can hide forever. Now, she’s forced to admit her mistakes and make a decision. Does she let those around her in to help, or go at it alone? Conquer her demons head-on, or remain by Zane’s side while he fights his own?

Zane Tishler is a master at avoiding the difficult parts of his past. He learned early in life that charm will get you a long way in the world and deception is easier than hard truths. Sometimes, old habits die hard. When his past mistakes start making continuous reappearances, he is faced with some of the most crucial decisions he’s ever made.

It took a near-tragedy for Zane and Lili to admit their feelings for one another. If they could survive that explosion, wading through the debris left by the past should be a breeze, right?

When you have secrets, they can rip ragged holes in the ties that bind even the strongest relationships. When you know the secrets you keep make you a monster, one unworthy of love, you hold a power that can tear you apart from the inside... and take down those closest to you in the process.

What do you do when realize you’re Unforgivably Broken?

About the Author

Maegan despises writing about herself in the third person. She also hates touting her accomplishments like she thinks she’s really done anything special…

Now that we got that out of the way, I’ll tell you what you need to know. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I went back to school in my late twenties and studied Stage Production Technology. I now work full-time in the alterations shop of a major department store and part-time backstage in the various theatres around the area.

I’ve been an avid reader from a very young age and the top goal on my list of things to accomplish in my life was to write and publish a book. During the summer of 2013, while working backstage on The Lion King, I read eleven books in four weeks. I read my first New Adult book and was introduced to a genre I felt I could totally relate to. The idea for Perfectly Broken and the character of Lili was born backstage during that time.

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