Bethany Neal

My Last Kiss

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy? 

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss.

Bethany Neal's suspenseful debut novel is about the power of first love and the haunting lies that threaten to tear it apart.

How would you describe your writing process for each of your novels?

I trust my instincts a lot while I'm writing. I usually start with a character voice and a rough premise. For instance, in My Last Kiss the main character, Cassidy, is a ghost and she can't remember how she died...or who's responsible. That's the premise that will hook the reader, but really it's Cassidy's voice that carries the story and told me what to write next while I was working on it. Cassidy's story was especially fun/heartbreaking to tell because I was learning the truth about her death right along side her. I didn't know the end until it happened, er, I mean I wrote it! 

If you could have written any novel throughout history which would you choose?

Ooo, great question! Probably The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. Or possible The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I am so jealous of that gorgeous book. 

Have you/would you ever write a novel with another author? If yes which author?

Totally. I'd love to have a partner to hand the work off to when I hit a mental block, or at the very least someone to commiserate with during the rigorous writing process. I'm not sure who I'd like to collaborate with though. Maybe R.L. Stine. I grew up on his Fear Street series and it would be a creeptastic honor to write along side him. 

Have you ever got any ideas for novels from TV shows?

I can't tell you how many times I've been watching TV, especially MTV's new scripted shows like Awkward, Faking It, and Finding Carter, and start yelling, "Why didn't I think of that?!!" I have "borrowed" small bits of ideas and scenes here and there from some of my old favs, but nothing recent. 

What are your favourite book events to attend?

My favorite events are YA panel discussions with multiple authors just because I love chatting about bookish things with bookish people. Plus, I think the audience has more fun at those. 

Where did you get inspiration for your novel My Last Kiss?

I got the idea for My Last Kiss while driving in my car. I was listening to a Metric song called 'Help, I'm Alive' and became fascinated with the concept of being alive as a problem and something that needed to be fix. 

If you could write a novel from another genre which genre would you choose to write a novel about?

I think it would be quite naughty fun to write what I call a chesty, which is a romance novel (because they almost always feature a picture of a man's bare chest on the cover). I'd be too embarrassed to promote it though, I think. 

Do you have any superstitious things you do each time you write a new novel (e.g. use the same pen, go to the same cafe, etc)?

I do pick a pen/pencil for each book based on the main character's nail polish colour. I do it more to get into her head than as a superstition though. I also consult my Yoda 8-ball when I have plot questions. 

Which authors novels do you enjoy reading the most?

I love all of A.S. King's YA novels and Megan Abbott, too. 

What are your future plans in terms of novels?

I have one very creepy YA novel that I wish I could tell you more about that's out with editors right now and another more realistic YA novel that is halfway completed. I'm crazy excited about both of them and I hope you'll get to read them soon!