Guest Post - Michelle Madow - Remembrance

GUEST POST

MICHELLE MADOW

REMEMBRANCE

I think the story of how Remembrance came to be is so sweet.  Keep reading and see if you agree with me.  Thank you to Michelle for sharing her story.

Thank you so much for inviting me to guest post on Reading Vacation! One of the first questions people often ask me about my debut novel Remembrance is, "How did you get the idea for the story?" My answer is simple:

Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video. 

Yes, my entire novel began with this one music video. I love all of Taylor Swift's music, and "Love Story" is without a doubt my favorite music video of all time. The first time I watched it, I was in entranced. A girl sees a guy, their eyes connect, and suddenly she's having a flashback of the two of them in clothes from the Regency Era, dancing together at a ball. It was magical.

I couldn't stop thinking about the video, and how there had to be a larger story there. I showed the video to my friends and told them my ideas, and they were hooked. Soon enough the characters felt real, and I knew I had to write down their story. The story takes place in current day, but also includes flashbacks and discussions of past lives that the characters shared in England in 1815.

If that year sounds familiar to you, it might be because it's the same year that Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was published. And now we come to the second inspiration for my novel. I'm a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, and there are many references to Austen's classic novel throughout Remembrance. I don't want to give away anything about my book, but there are definitely some small parallels to Pride and Prejudice that you'll see when you read it!

So there you have it -- Remembrance was inspired by both the "Love Story" music video and Pride and Prejudice. It was such a fun book to write, and if you choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it!


Short bio: Michelle is currently studying creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, and is hard at work writing more novels for young adults. She loves making new friends who love books as much as she does, so check out her website,  www.michellemadow.com, to add her on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and her many other social networking sites!