- Review: Summer in Salem
- Series: Electi #1
- Author: Brina Courtney
- No of Pages: Kindle Edition
- Release Date: September 2012 by Laurelis Press
Teagen’s summer has been turned upside down by a body, a pentagram necklace, and an old flame.
Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews’ boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it’s time to get on with her life. A new home, new job and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer…
…until a young girl’s body shows up one night in town, wearing a necklace exactly like Teagan’s.
Now a guy looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It’s a matter of life… and her death.
Thank you so much for doing this interview for My Seryniti, Brina!! I’m super excited to read Summer in Salem! I must say I may be a bit biased because anything with romance AND paranormal is right up my alley!
Thank you for having me! There is only a touch of romance in this book, but there will be a lot more in the series! *winks*
How did this start for you? Image, Idea, Dream?
Image I guess. Which may have been a first for me with this book. I liked the idea of witches, but I wanted a different scenario from other paranormal books.
Did you have any growing pains with this novel?
A lot! This book took me the longest to write. My editor scrapped the whole middle of the book only three months ago causing me to rewrite most of it!
How would you most like readers to respond?
I want them to like it! And fall in love with the characters as much as I have. (I think that’s what you mean.)
Do you have a message you try to convey when writing a story?
With my contemporaries I have messages. “You can do it,” and “You’re not alone.”
What are you reading right now?
About to start Exalted by my awesome friend Ella James
Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?
No, I like that when you write a story you can be completely original, it’s my favorite part of the journey.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
There’s other things besides writing? Really? I have to say I LOL’D at this one!! 😉
Well then I guess… Teaching, coaching, watching ridiculous TV, spending time with my puppies and husband.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
I think somewhere in the back of my mind it was there, but I didn’t seriously consider it until last year.
How did you break into the industry?
I asked for help. It was the only thing I could do and other authors helped me start my business. They were so welcoming and honest, I was very lucky.
What is your writing style? Do you create outlines for your writing or do you just sit and type away?
I do create outlines, but I write the last chapter first. I know weird but true.
Do you listen to music while writing?
Sometimes, I have a playlist for Their Promise. I think the music really matches the emotions in that story.
What is your next project? What have you been working on recently?
My next project (and what I’ll be focusing on for the next three months) is Settle, the third book in the Cryptid Tales series which is what I’m best known for. I love those characters, they’re everything to me. I just hope I can do the readers justice.
I love that you did your own cover for Summer in Salem. Is there a significance that someone that hasn’t read it may want to know about?
I wanted something unique and that represented the feeling of growth in the book. Also each book is a season in Teagan’s life.
Now for the silly questions! Hang on to your hat! 🙂
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Chocolate, and Harry Potter marathons.
What is your favorite word?
Cray cray (currently, I find new words and phrases all the time)
What is your least favorite word?
Do you talk to your characters?
In a scary soap opera way, yes. I also create voices for each of them. It’s totally bizarre. Hey, stop looking at me like that! I am not cray cray I promise!
What sound do you love?
I don’t really listen well, so how about smells? I love the smell of a freshly cleaned pillowcase.
What’s your favorite time of year?
Spring… it feels so nice after our chilly Winter.
I was reading the about you on your site and noticed you talked about your name, which I think is lovely by the way! Didn’t they think you could be nicknamed Bri? Or should I not ask that question? 😉
Haha, thanks! I LOVE my name now as an adult. And my future children will have odd names as well. Bri doesn’t work because it’s i sounds like an e where mine is a short i.
What’s your favorite chocolate dessert?
Chocolate? Who has chocolate?
What kind of puppies do you have!?
Mia is my rescue, and is a lemon beagle. She is our southern belle because she came to us all the way from Alabama and we literally saved her life. I love her.
Riley is my hub’s rescue and he’s a small breed mix. He has a serious Napoleon complex and thinks he’s a Rottweiler. He’s my protector.
Thank you so much for taking the time to indulge my curiosity! I can not wait to get my hands on the Cryptid Tales!!
This book is as fun as that author interview! Brina Courtney brings something to the table that is just different. Teagan is an interesting gal but at a place in her life where she’s just unsure of what to do and after losing her boyfriend she really is at a lose. Helping her grandmother seems like the most appropriate thing to do, as well as letting her get out from underneath her parents!
I just love Teagan. She’s so fun and quirky but a lot of the characters in this book are fun. I had the sense of acceptance from most of them for Teagan. Lark was another amazing character! I want to meet that gal, she just seems like she would be your best friend for life. And then of course there are a couple that I just wasn’t sure if I could trust. Actually I thought that about Lark to begin with but she grew on me!
The plot is really easy to read, definitely fun and there are a few times that I was really caught off guard and I know the characters were also! I can’t wait to see where Teagan goes next! And most importantly the writing is fabulous, I’m definitely a Brina Courtney fan!
Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs. — Goodreads