Genre: Young Adult, Horror
Synopsis:
In this eerie and suspenseful YA, a teen girl discovers what connects her to the hotel she calls home as horrifying visions lead her to the truth.
Nell Martin is moving again, this time to the Winslow Grand Hotel, built in 1878. As Nell is settling in, strange things begin to happen. Doors lock of their own accord, writing appears on bathroom walls--and most horrifying of all--visions of a dead boy permeate her waking life. Thinking it was her mind playing tricks on her, she soon finds the past and the present colliding as she learns horrific details of a murder that happened at the hotel in 1905 involving a girl named Lea.
Nell and a mysterious bellboy must relive that day in hopes of finally breaking a curse that imprisons them both. And Nell discovers what truly links her to the history of the Winslow Grand Hotel.
Can you briefly describe REMEMBER ME and the characters?
Definitely! Remember Me is a young adult novel that can best be described as the horror of The Shining meets the romance of Titanic, told from two different points of view, Lea Sargent in 1907, and Nell Martin in 2019, as both girls arrive at the Winslow Grand Hotel to spend the summer. Lea arrives engaged to a man she doesn’t love in the hopes of securing her family’s financial future. Nell arrives with her father, the new guest relations manager, and quickly finds there’s more to the hotel’s past—and her personal connection to it—than meets the eye. As the past bleeds into the present, Nell finds herself haunted by an evil spirit in the hotel, and the only way out is to right a past wrong.
Remember Me centers on three of my favorite things to write about—curses, star-crossed lovers, and vengeful ghosts—and I couldn’t love it more.
Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?
It’s extremely hard to choose, but if I had to, I would say Lea. She is duty-and-honor-bound to follow a specific path that has been laid out for her. Her parents and her brother are counting on her to follow through with a marriage to a man she doesn’t love, but it’s more than that. They’re also asking her to give up any other potential future she might have had, and she’s willing to do it for their sake, no matter the cost to her, until she meets someone who makes her realize her true worth. I think most people can relate to that: fighting the ideas that people have about who you are and who you should be so that you can find out that truth for yourself, and then find the strength to follow through once you do, even if it means going against other people’s ideas for you, or going against the labels and limitations they’ve put on you.
How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?
The idea came to me on a trip to San Diego with my mom in April 2015. At that time, I’d been out of college for 5 years, which also means I’d been pursuing traditional publication for 5 years, with 5 different books. I kept getting very close to landing that extremely elusive debut book deal, but it kept slipping through my fingers, and along the way, I lost my confidence. Not only was I seriously doubting whether or not I would ever be a published author (and trying to figure out what to do with my life now that I’d wasted the first five years of my twenties), but my husband and I had also been trying to get pregnant for over a year to no avail. Receiving rejection letters and negative pregnancy tests one on top of the other, combined with some other difficult circumstances and upheavals that had been simultaneously occurring in my husband’s and my families, sent me into a terrible depression. The two things I’d wanted to be for so long—an author and a mother—seemed like they were never going to happen, which is a very scary and debilitating thing to face when you’ve spent the past five years building your life around those two things.
And then my mom and I found ourselves at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, which ended up being the inspiration for the Winslow Grand Hotel. For the first time in a long time, I was in a place where I felt the stories of past lives vibrating from its very walls, and I wanted to tell those stories. Then, while standing on the beach, my toes in the sand and the waves crashing around me, I felt God very specifically tell me to hold on just a little longer, to keep the faith that I would see all of my dreams come true. And then He filled me with a peace and a certainty I’d never felt before.
Six weeks after visiting San Diego, I had my first book deal (The Wood, which released in 2017), and by the time Remember Me was ready to send out to editors, I was pregnant with my daughter (completely naturally after nearly two years of trying to conceive)! Now, Remember Me, my second book, is releasing five days before I’m due with our second child. To say that God answered my prayers is an understatement. I could not be more thankful for all of the ways that He has blessed me.
If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?
“Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift.
If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?
I mean, I think every YA author out there right now could see Noah Centineo as their book’s love interest, so it might be a bit cliché at this point but I’m going to say it anyway (Titanic-era Leonardo Dicaprio would also work). Unfortunately I can’t talk too much about my female leads without giving something away, so for now I’ll just let the readers decide who should play them.
Summer is here and we love to go out and enjoy the sun. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?
Since many of its scenes are set on the beach, I would definitely say that Remember Me is the perfect beach book (paired with your favorite beachy-drink), but the haunting atmosphere also makes this book perfect for a coffee shop date, especially as the air turns crisp and the leaves begin to change.
Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish REMEMBER ME?
As a general rule, I always recommend Victoria/V.E. Schwab, Maggie Stiefvater, Marissa Meyer, and Cassandra Clare to everyone I meet. The Diviners by Libba Bray also meets that perfect historical horror vibe. I would also definitely recommend Stephanie Perkins’ lighter books, particularly Anna and the French Kiss, if you are craving another romance, as well as her horror/thriller, There’s Someone Inside Your House, if you’re leaning more that way. Gretchen McNeil is another great YA author to go to for all of your horror needs. If you’re craving more of the historical aspects of Remember Me, I would definitely check out Anna Godbersen’s The Luxe series.
And, of course, you can never go wrong with Stephen King.
What’s next for you?
I have a few projects in the works, although unfortunately none that I can discuss openly at this time. I am also awaiting the birth of our second child, so I am very excited to see what our new normal looks like once our little guy is here!
Chelsea Bobulski was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised on Disney movies, classic musicals, and Buckeye pride. She’s always had a penchant for the fantastical, the stories that teach us there is more to this world than meets the eye. She has a soft spot for characters with broken pasts, strange talents, and a dash of destiny in their bones. After graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in history, she promptly married her high school sweetheart and settled down in Northwest Ohio with her notebooks and daydreams and copious amounts of chocolate. THE WOOD is her debut novel.
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Intriguing cover
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I had not heard about this book. I am adding this one to my to-read list.
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