TBR Tuesday: Interview with Meghan Scott Molin and Giveaway for THE FRAME UP
I’m excited to introduced you to Amazon’s No. 1 Bestseller in Superhero Science Fiction, THE FRAME UP, and the woman who wrote it, Meghan Scott Molin. Read to the end for details on how to win a free copy!
From Amazon:
MG Martin lives and breathes geek culture. She even works as a writer for the comic book company she idolized as a kid. But despite her love of hooded vigilantes, MG prefers her comics stay on the page.
But when someone in LA starts recreating crime scenes from her favorite comic book, MG is the LAPD’s best—and only—lead. She recognizes the golden arrow left at the scene as the calling card of her favorite comic book hero. The thing is…superheroes aren’t real. Are they?
When too-handsome-for-his-own-good Detective Kildaire asks for her comic book expertise, MG is more than up for the adventure. Unfortunately, MG has a teeny little tendency to not follow rules. And her off-the-books sleuthing may land her in a world of trouble.
Because for every superhero, there is a supervillain. And the villain of her story may be closer than she thinks…
Why I love this book:
Full disclosure: I’m not a comic book geek-girl. I’m a geek-girl, don’t get me wrong, but not the comic book variety. Still, enough of my friends are that I picked up this book on the premise alone. I full-on loved it, and completely related to the protagonist, Michael-Grace (called MG), a woman who defines herself and refuses to fit into other people's boxes, though she fears dating someone (again) who will try to "normal-fy" her.
MG is endearingly awkward, and although there isn’t a ton of backstory, we have enough to know that her confidence is earned—she’s had to fight through some stuff to get where she is today. Her attitude, "I was going to be full-tilt me, come hell or high water," reminded me of my younger self, fresh out of a bad marriage and intent to be the best version of myself I could be, whcih of course required a new peircing and ketch-bottle-red streaks in my hair. MG has all of the insecurities so many of us have, but she expresses them in a self-deprecating yet funny way.
“They look polished. I look like Tinkerbell went through a car wash. Fan-frickin-tastic."
MG's best friend, Lawrence, is a drag queen I wish I knew IRL, and she has a Corgi named Trodgor, which I had to google, since, as I said before, I'm not the same kind of geek-girl MG is. (But the search was worth it, and I learned something new I can use to impress people later, or irrtiate them with my ramblings, whichever is appropriate.)
Set in L.A., a town that "fuels itself on broken dreams and hypocrisy," M.G. falls for a non-geek cop, and the romance is nicely taut without beeing sickly sweet. She likes him, but she has a life. (Wow, wish I read this as a teenager.) Although it's no longer my prefered genre, I did enjoy the love story much more than I anticipated.
In sum, Meghan Scott Molin has given us a tight--dare I say zany--caper peopled with the kind of characters I'd love to hang out with IRL. If you enjoyed Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum series, you'll love THE FRAME UP.
5 Enthusiastic Stars
I enjoyed this book so much that I chased Meghan Scott Molin down (on the internet, not in real life. I'm far too lazy for that level of stalking) and asked her to participate in an interview.
INTERVIEW WITH MEGHAN SCOTT MOLIN:
LL: Have you ever met someone you idolized? What was it like?
MSM: Actually, I worked for a movie actress for a few years! My husband and I managed their ranch! I think the thing that I came away with was that we’re all just people. We all have our interests, our talents, our strengths and weaknesses… it was refreshing to see the human beyond the ‘persona’, and to just get to know another fantastic human/family.
LL: Are any characters in your book based off people in real life, or conversely, anyone you know who THINKS a character is based off them and is wrong?
MSM: Well, The Frame-Up started as a crazy dream I had about one of my BFFs…she’s got purple hair and designs drag costumes, so MG is rooted there. BUT, MG is decidedly her own person, not a full re-creation of my friend! MG is sort of an amalgamation of geek girls I know, with a liberal dash of interviews with woman comic writers thrown in! There’s also a (sorta) villain in the first book who is definitely named after someone who did a friend of mine wrong. …. The perks of being a writer, I guess, haha.
LL. Share something that's always guaranteed to make you laugh.
MSM: My husband! He’s a riot. My dog, and definitely my three year old. Beyond that… we love The Good Place!
LL. What is your advice for aspiring writers?
MSM: This is a great question. First off: keep writing. Even if you’re querying and getting rejections, even if you’re failing at acquisition meetings (which I did 3 times!), even if you’re halfway through your first book. KEEP GOING. If it’s not this project, it’s the next one. Learn everything you can from a project (so edit it, accept critical feedback, etc), but put it down the production line. Query it. If it fails, set it aside, and query the next one! There are so many things to worry about as you go…writing is (likely) the only thing fully in your control. Keep putting words on the page.
LL. What unusual pet do you wish you could have?
MSM: A fox. 10000% except… I follow some people on IG who have them, and … they are LOUD. And this coming from someone who gladly owned donkeys (also loud). They also apparently smell, and are super destructive. So. I’ll just donate to rescuing fur foxes instead and stick to watching cute videos =)
LL Would you rather be a papaya or a kumquat, and why?
MSM: Kumquat (yum) because papayas are gross, haha.
LL. Do you have a favorite comic book or character?
MSM: This is a toughie. I like different characters for different reasons. Truthfully, I like vintage Captain America. I love the Guardians of the Galaxy movies best, and as far as non-mainstream characters I’m really enjoying Leah Moore’s Conspiracy of Ravens that I just picked up!
Get your copy of THE FRAME UP on Amazon, the local bookseller of your choice, or recommend it to your library. RETWEET this interview or SHARE on Facebook for a chance to win a free copy! (US Only, contest ends 12/24/18.)