Interview with Myra McEntire, Author of Hourglass

1.  In Hourglass, Emerson is plagued by what she believes to be ghostly apparitions so I have to ask -were you a big fan of ghost stories growing up? Were there any favorites from slumber parties or camping you loved in particular? 

I did. I especially liked the one about the girl who wore a ribbon around her neck, and told her love he could never remove it. Except he did. And her head fell off. Oops!

2. Is there any one particular part in Hourglass that was your favorite to write? Can you share with us a special quote, juicy bit of dialogue or a scene?

I enjoyed writing the scene in Murphy’s Law between Lily, Emerson, and the rolling pin. And the juicy dialogue from that one is “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” (You know the one!)

3. Did you put personality traits of yourself, or the people in your life into the characters of your book? 

Emerson inherited my broken edit button and my love of Converse. Poor girl. :D

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I went to school in London for a bit. I’d love to go back and see how everything has changed.

5. What are some young adult novels you think every teen and adult should read?

Definitely the Harry Potter books – so life changing for me. The minute I finished Deathly Hallows was the minute I knew I had to write a book.

Myra McEntire knows the words to every R&B hit of the last decade, but since she lives in Nashville, the country music capital of America, her lyrical talents go sadly unappreciated. She’s chosen, instead, to channel her “mad word skills” into creating stories infused with her love of music. Hourglass is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.myramcentire.com.

HOURGLASS BY MYRA MCENTIRE 
Reading level: Young Adult  
Hardcover: 400 pages  
Publisher: EgmontUSA (June 14, 2011)

One hour to rewrite the past . . . 

For  seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there:  swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio  that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents'  death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal.  She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.So when her  well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive  organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last  cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may  change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy,  barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word  she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room  whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help  to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.