"Ghostwriter" by @LissaBryan Blog Tour. Let's meet the main character!

Welcome to the "Ghostwriter" Blog Tour! 

Lissa Bryan's first novel, "Ghostwriter", has been reviewed on this blog. MyReadingLounge is very happy to say "Welcome!" to this amazing author for today's stop of the Blog Tour. 
There's a giveaway, too!

The book is now available: http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/69

Today we're meeting a special person: "Ghostwriter"'s main character, Sara Howell. Are you ready to find out what she'll disclose about her story...and about her author?

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-- Hi Sara. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers who may not be familiar with your story?

I'm Sara Howell. I'm 24 and a journalist. At least, I was until I was laid off because of budget cutbacks at the paper. Now I'm ghostwriting the autobiography of Senator Lucy Bridges.

-- Is your current assignment your dream job? If not, what else would you like to do?

I'll be honest: it's not the best job I've ever had. It's extremely difficult because Lucy didn't give me much information to work with, besides a stack of speeches on her political views. But a job is a job, and I should be grateful that I have one. Many people don't these days.

What I would love is to be an investigative reporter. When I was young, I used to dream of working at U.S. News and World Report, going around the world to interview leaders and track down the facts about events of the day. It now looks like that will never happen but I think I could be happy working as a ghostwriter ... If I could just finish this book! 

Sara working at her laptop

-- Where do you live?

I had an amazing stroke of luck recently. I met Ginny Fortner, a real estate agent, who offered to let me rent her family's house on a private island along the Outer Banks. It's the most beautiful place I've ever visited, and even better, I discovered that it used to be the home of my favorite author, Seth Fortner. It's kind of awe-inspiring to think I'm walking the same beaches he used to walk.

-- A private island? It sounds amazing. Which books are you taking with you over there?

Seth Fortner's books, of course. I'm very proud of my collection of those. Other than that, money has been sort of tight for me lately, so before I left for the island, I filled up my Kindle with free e-book classics like War and Peace and Great Expectations. I've never had the chance to read some of them, so I see it as an opportunity, not a deprivation. Others, like Wuthering Heights are favorites, so it will be like a visit with an old friend.

-- So, you love reading. Could you tell us more about this passion?

When I was a little girl, my mother once accused me of prefering fantasy to reality. Maybe she was right. In books, I can expect mysteries to be solved, lovers to have a happily-ever-after, and justice to be served, which real life sometimes sadly lacks. One of the happiest moments of my life was when I arrived at college and saw the size of the campus library and I knew I could read as many of those books as I wanted. Sadly, I didn't have much time for reading between my job and studying, but walking into a library always lifts my spirits and brings back that lovely memory.

-- An island, and your books. Are you going alone? Do you have a family? Who would you like to go with...and who would you like to leave behind?

My mom is my only family and I was never really the sociable type. Since I broke up with my boyfriend, Richard, I've discovered how much I like being single. Being alone with the wind and waves has made me happier than I ever could have imagined. As long as I have my books, I could never be lonely.

Sara walking on the beach. Who's the man with her?

-- What do you consider are your strengths?

I'm persistent. That's what got me through college when my mother refused to help me out financially. I think it's a good quality for a reporter to have, because I always want to get to the bottom of the mystery, to figure out why things happened as they did or people's motivations for their actions.

I'm also a person who tries to see the bright side, and I don't need much in the way of material things to be happy. Growing up, my mother worked hard to support us, but we never had much money, and I was on a very tight budget in college, so I'm used to it. But don't they always say that the best things in life are free? I'm beginning to believe it.

-- You mentioned that you broke up with your boyfriend. What role does love have in your life?

I'm starting to think that I'm never going to have a romance like I've read about in my books, but I think maybe I can be content with what I have. I'm not sure if I ever really wanted to have kids, or whether I was just trying to follow what society says a girl of my age should want. I've found that I'm happier in the solitude of the island than I was when I was with Richard.

-- Imagine you can go back in time. Where and when would you go?

I would love to be able to go back to the days when Seth Fortner lived here, even if it was just to catch a glimpse of him while he was working. It would be so interesting to learn what his writing process was like. Can you imagine what it would be like to read one of his first drafts and see how the novel evolved?

-- So, you'd like to meet your favorite writer. But you spent a lot of time with your own writer, Lissa Bryan. Tell us a something we don't know about her.

She listens to Nine Inch Nails and White Zombie while writing romance.

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Thank you, Sara, and thank you, Lissa Bryan! Don't miss a visit to Lissa's blog!
Thanks to TWCS Publishing House for providing the ARC and the opportunity to participate in the blog tour.

So, are you going to read this book? You can already order it; but, if you feel lucky, why don't you enter the giveaway? The winner will get an e-book copy of 'Ghostwriter'.

Leave a comment below and share the link to this stop of the blogtour on a social network of your choice (Twitter, Facebook...). Please do it before October 15, because on the next day, the winner will be chosen (randomly!). You can send me an email with your email address, where the copy of 'Ghostwriter' will be sent.