Purple Moon ~ Tessa Emily Hall
Hey, everyone. I'm so excited to host my very first guest post on A Write Spirit today! About a year ago, I was browsing through writing blogs and stumbled upon Tessa Emily Hall's blog, Christ is Write. It's kind of weird because it just registered with me (like a week ago) that we both have "Write" in our blog names... Oops. Anyway, I was so inspired by Tessa's writing and I was amazed that she was about my age. After reading her blog for a few weeks, I emailed her with a question and found that she was an extremely encouraging person. From that moment on, I excitedly awaited for the release of "Purple Moon." A few months ago, she asked if I wanted to be a beta reader for the book. Y'all, I was SO excited. I didn't have to wait, anymore... Victory for the impatient one! :) I readily agreed and the book was wonderful. Then, a few weeks ago, she asked if I would be willing to take part in her blog tour. Again, I was psyched. I hope you enjoy this post because I KNOW you'll enjoy "Purple Moon" if you buy a copy. Ahem. You really should do that. ;)
Here are a several more songs on the
“Purple Moon” playlist that don’t really need an explanation:
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| Tessa Emily Hall |
Tessa Emily Hall is a 19-year-old author of Purple Moon, her YA Christian fiction
novel to be published September 2013 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.
She is also the editor over the faith department for Temperance Magazine, a
column writer for Whole Magazine, a contributing writer for More To Be, as well
as the PR for God of Moses Entertainment. Other than writing, Tessa enjoys
acting, music, Starbucks, and her Teacup Shih Tzu—who is named Brewer after a
character in her book, as well as her love for coffee.
Website: www.tessaemilyhall.com
Blog: www.christiswrite.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tessaemily
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tessa.h16
Blog: www.christiswrite.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tessaemily
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tessa.h16
Selena's life isn't
turning out to be the fairy tale she imagined as a kid. That hope seemed to vanish long ago when her dad kicked her
and her mom out of the house. This summer might finally hold the chance of a
new beginning for Selena ... but having to live with her snobby cousin in Lake
Lure, NC while waiting for her mom to get out of rehab wasn't how Selena was
planning on spending her summer. She soon begins to wonder why she committed to
give up her "bad habits" for this.
Things don't seem too bad, though. Especially when Selena gains the attention of the cute neighbor next door. But when her best friend back home in Brooklyn desperately needs her, a secret that's been hidden from Selena for years is revealed, and when she becomes a target for one of her cousin's nasty pranks, she finds herself having to face the scars from her past and the memories that come along with them. Will she follow her mom's example in running away, or trust that God still has a fairy tale life written just for her?
Things don't seem too bad, though. Especially when Selena gains the attention of the cute neighbor next door. But when her best friend back home in Brooklyn desperately needs her, a secret that's been hidden from Selena for years is revealed, and when she becomes a target for one of her cousin's nasty pranks, she finds herself having to face the scars from her past and the memories that come along with them. Will she follow her mom's example in running away, or trust that God still has a fairy tale life written just for her?
“Purple Moon” Playlist:
You’ll almost never
see me writing without headphones in my ears. Not only does listening to music
block out the distractions around me, but it can also help to evoke emotion in
the scene that I am writing, just like the soundtrack to a movie does as well.
Listening to a song’s lyrics can even inspire a scene or story. In fact,
“Purple Moon” was greatly inspired by the songs “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue
North, as well as “Everything” by Lifehouse. Here are a few other songs that helped inspire the story, as well as
the lyrics that stand out to me the most:
• “By Your Side”
~Tenth Avenue North: “Please don’t fight
these hands that are holding you, my hands are holding you.” There’s a skit
to this song I found on Youtube
that relates to the story as well.
• “Everything”
~Lifehouse: “You’re all I want… You’re
all I need… You’re everything…” The skit
to this song that went viral on Youtube
several years ago helped me come up with the emotional/spiritual impact of
“Purple Moon”.
• “Enchanted” ~Taylor
Swift: “Your eyes whispered, ‘Have we
met?’ Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me...the
playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes
in secrecy…The lingering question kept me up, 2 AM, who do you love? I wonder
‘til I’m wide awake…This is me praying that this was the very first page, not
where the story line ends…” I could imagine this song being the soundtrack
of a certain scene near the end of “Purple Moon”…but I’m not going to give away
any spoilers, so I guess you’ll just have to read to found out. =)
• “In My Arms” ~Plumb:
“Fairytales and storybooks of kings and
queens and your contagious smile…and as I watch you start to grow up, all I can
do is hold you tight, knowing clouds will rain down, flood will, but you will
be safe in my arms…” This song could’ve been personally written for Selena.
The lyrics remind me of when Selena lives in Kentucky as a child, and the times
when her dad would tell her fairy tale stories every night.
• “Need You Now”
~Plumb: “How many times have you heard me
cry out ‘God, I need you?’ How many times have you given me strength to just
keep breathing?” This one really relates to Selena’s story, especially
since the artist, Plumb, mentioned how she wrote this song because of the
anxiety attacks she used suffer with as a teenager. Selena has suffered from
anxiety as well, and reaches a point in her life when…well, I don’t want to
give away any spoilers. =)
• “More Beautiful
You” ~Jonny Diaz: “There could never be a
more beautiful you…don’t buy the lies, disguises, and hoops, they make you jump
through…” I feel like this song could’ve been written by Austin and for
Selena. Just like most girls, Selena feels like she isn’t beautiful, only
because she’s not fake or doesn’t look like the girls in magazines. However,
Austin tells her what God would’ve told her—that she is beautiful, and that materialistic
junk doesn’t define beauty.
• “Beautiful
Disaster” ~Jon McLaughlin: “She’s giving
boys what they want, tries to act so nonchalant, afraid to see that she’s lost
her direction, perfect only in her imperfections…She would change everything
for happy ever after, caught in between of beautiful disaster.” The
struggle of the girl in the song is very similar to Selena’s—she’s confused,
lost, broken, and continues turning to guys to fill the void inside of her,
searching for a happily ever after.
• “Hold My Heart”
~Tenth Avenue North: “One tear in the
driving rain, one voice in a sea of pain, could the maker of the stars hear the
sound of my breaking heart…If You’re everything You say You are, would You come
close, and hold my heart…” I’ve always imagined that this song could play
in the background of the book trailer (even before it became the soundtrack to
October Baby’s movie trailer.) Selena could definitely relate to this song—to
feeling hopeless, a little confused, and desperate. It’s a struggle for Selena
to realize just how much God—the creator of the night sky that she loves so
much, as well as everything else around her—feels for her, can calm her anxious
heart, and loves her far more than she could ever comprehend.
• “Broken Girl”
~Matthew West: “Now words like
‘innocence’ don’t mean a thing, those pictures in your mind keep you locked up
inside your past…Let your tears touch to the ground, lay your shattered pieces
down…and be amazed by how Grace can take a broken girl, and put her back
together again.” There’s a certain scar that Selena has from a certain
moment in her past, and the images of that time constantly comes back,
constantly reminding Selena of the pain and the fact that she is “broken”.
• “How He Loves”
~David Crowder Band:
• Not For A Moment
(After All)” ~Meredith Andrews
• Here to New York”
~Ruth
• “Scars” ~Colton
Dixon
• “White Horse”
~Taylor Swift
• “The Healing Has
Begun” ~Matthew West
• “Today Was a
Fairytale” ~Taylor Swift
• “Firefly” ~Jimmy
Needham
• “Other Guys” ~Jonny
Diaz
• “Times” ~Tenth
Avenue North
• “Healing Begins”
~Tenth Avenue North
• “Drop The World”
~Warren Barfield
• “You Found Me” ~The
Fray
• “Change” ~Taylor
Swift
• “All The Broken
Pieces” ~Matthew West
• “Dare You To Move”
~Switchfoot
Fact or Fiction?:
Guess this fact or
fiction, and be sure to stop by the next blog tour stop to see if you guessed
correctly! (You’ll also receive one extra entry for the “Purple Moon” Prize
Pack if you send me your guess.)
“Purple
Moon” Blog Tour Stops:
Wednesday,
September 18th: Purple Moon Blog Tour Launch: The Story Behind
the Story: Christ is Write
Tuesday,
September 24th: Release Day! Selena’s Diary Entry + Creative
Photo Contest: Writing for Young
Adults
Thursday, October 24th: How
Much of My Personal Life Did I Put Into “Purple Moon”?: Read For Your Future
“Purple
Moon” Prize Pack!
Two people will receive the below
prizes--however, I will also be giving away one more prize pack (as well as two
signed copies of my book) at my virtual launch party on Sept. 24th. RSVP by clicking
here!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ashley!! I never realized that we had "write" in our blog titles either, haha =)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks again for letting me stop by your blog!
Tessa
I'm so glad to have you!
DeleteSo exciting! Looks like you've got a lot of great events lined up. I cannot write with music. No way. I edit with music, but for writing I need almost complete silence. Interesting how different people work, isn't it?
ReplyDelete