What They Don’t Know Blog Tour – Guest Post with Nicole Maggi
Hi, everyone! I am super excited to be a part of the blog tour for What They Don’t Know by Nicole Maggi. The book was released just last week and I can’t wait for you guys to read it. Many thanks to my friend Sara at What A Nerd Girl Says for including me on this awesome tour. Today I am featuring a guest post by Nicole about music and what role it played, directly or indirectly, on the writing of this book. Read on to find out more about the book and to hear Nicole’s thoughts on this topic.
About the Book
Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice―a choice she must face alone.
Lise stands up―and speaks out―for what she believes in. And when she notices Mellie acting strangely, she gets caught up in trying to save her…all while trying to protect her own secret. One that might be the key to helping Mellie.
Told through Mellie and Lise’s journal entries, this powerful, emotional novel chronicles Mellie’s struggle to decide what is right for her and the unbreakable bond formed by the two girls on their journey.
You Can Find The Book At:
GoodReads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository / iBooks / Kobo / Indiebound / GooglePlay
About the Author
Nicole was born in the suburban farm country of upstate New York, and began writing at a very early age. Of course, her early works consisted mainly of poems about rainbows and unicorns, although one of them was good enough to win honorable mention in a national poetry contest! (Perhaps one of the judges was a ten-year-old girl.) Throughout high school, her creative writing was always nurtured and encouraged.
Nicole attended Emerson College as an acting major, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Post-college, she worked as an actress in New York City for over a decade, focusing mainly on Shakespeare and the classics.
Nicole is the author of the Twin Willows trilogy, The Forgetting and now, What They Don’t Know.
You Can Find Her At:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / GoodReads
Guest Post with Nicole Maggi
At the start of every book, I always create a playlist for my characters. This could also be considered a form of procrastination, but I choose to think of it as work vital to the story. ;-) My playlist for Mellie & Lise had 36 songs on it, which totaled about 2 1/2 hours, which is generally how long I can sit and write without taking a break. I won’t list all of the songs here, but I’ll mention a few. Basically, the songs divided between songs about friendship (specifically, being there for a friend during a rough time), songs about finding yourself after a traumatic experience, and songs about female empowerment.
Songs About Friendship
“Rainbow”
Robert Plant
Lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar
The lyrics of this song (“I will be your rainbow when your storm is gone”) could be about a romantic relationship but the first time I heard it I immediately connected to it and how it could also be about a deep, soulful friendship. This was the first song I put on this playlist. I think this song was actually an inspiration for the type of friendship I wanted Mellie and Lise to have.
“Let Your Tears Fall”
Kelly Clarkson
PIECE BY PIECE
I’m an unashamed Kelly Clarkson fan. I voted for her on the very first season of American Idol, when she blew me away with her rendition of “Stuff Like That There” (YouTube it). This song encapsulates Lise’s feelings for Mellie, how she just wants to be there for her and help her pick up the pieces when she shatters.
Songs About Finding Yourself
“Before I Sleep”
Joy Williams
VENUS
This song is so haunting. It just pulled at me. I imagined this is what Mellie feels like when she’s hiding in her closet writing in her journal. In the book, her closet is one of the only places she feels safe after her rape.
“Razor”
Foo Fighters
IN YOUR HONOR
I’ve loved this song for a long, long time. On the surface, it’s so simple, and its beauty lies in that deceptive simplicity. Underneath, it’s about deep, horrible, things and for that it represents how Mellie needs to hide so much of what’s really going on inside her to everyone around her.
Songs About Female Empowerment
“Castle”
Halsey
BADLANDS
I love everything about this song. I’d listen to it on repeat when I was writing, especially if I was writing in Lise’s point of view. Those lyrics:
“I’m heading straight for the castle
They got the kingdom locked up
And there’s an old man
sitting on the throne there
Saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut.”
It speaks to everything—EVERYTHING—about what it’s like to be a woman in the world today. How we break one glass ceiling only to find there’s a hidden one above it made out of shatterproof glass. There is always going to be an old man sitting on the throne that’s blocking us because he’s threatened by us. But there’s another line in the song, “There’s no use crying about it,” and I take that to heart too. Don’t cry. Get to work. Pull out your sword and vanquish the man on the throne.
“Oh Mama”
Joy Williams
VENUS
This is a really cool song about everything we carry as woman, and about how powerful that makes us. “I am a universe wrapped in skin.” And we are. We are all universes wrapped in skin. We are powerful. We are women.
Huge thanks to Nicole for the guest post. I loved hearing about all of the amazing music that inspired What They Don’t Know. I hope you guys will check out Nicole’s book. Also, check out the other stops on the blog tour! There are lots of great interviews, guest posts, and a giveaway.
WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
OCT 2nd – What A Nerd Girl Says – Guest Post
OCT 3rd – Bookschief Managed – Interview
OCT 4th – Movies Shows n Books – Guest Post
OCT 5th – Luna Reviews – Guest Post
OCT 6th – Gryffindor Books – Interview
OCT 7th – Knightingale Reviews – Interview
OCT 8th – Starkiller Reads – Interview
OCT 9th – Nite Lite Book Reviews – Guest Post
OCT 10th – The Readers Antidote – Guest Post
Happy reading!
