Celebration by Mounia Bagha
Synopsis
When life gets tough, just love it a bit harder.
Twenty-four year old Abigail Mitchell is living the dream: she still lives at home with her parents, trying to make money from a job she absolutely loathes and hopelessly falling for Mr. Wrong. Thankfully, she can count on her loving friends and the best brother in the world Ethan to save her from her misery. But when Abby’s world falls apart one day of May, she knows she’ll have to pull herself together on her own if she ever wants to find happiness.
Heart-warming and sometimes heart-breaking, Abby’s story shows how the ripple effects of an identity crisis can damage for the greater good the construction of a strong character.
Author Q&A
1. What inspired you to be an author?
I have been writing for as long as I remember – stories, diaries, songs but it wasn’t until about five years ago that I’ve only started considering it as a potential career which is also when I began writing “CELEBRATION”. Of course, life (and bills, and work, and the road to publishing) came in between so it took me quite a while to adjust to the discipline of actually being a writer until I finally completed my first book and published it in December 2015.
I usually get inspired by stories I hear, the people around me, the news, and of course my own experiences so I would say that yes, in many ways, “CELEBRATION” was inspired by real life events. There’s a bit of me and the people I know in the characters and the core issues I addressed in the novel such as heartbreaks, work, death and relationships are all things that pretty much anyone has experienced.
I usually starts with lots of notes that lead to doing some research and then it’s just me trying to organize it all and visualizing the larger picture. I also tend to compile a lot of images which really helps with the visual descriptions. I only get to the development of the plot and the depths of the characters once I really get started with the writing of the story itself. And I try to make all that happen by drinking an insane amount of tea and putting a work schedule in place with a daily word count – usually about 1000.
I can pretty much write anywhere. I tend to easily lock up in my own world when concentrating so noise doesn’t bother me much. Actually, I often make soundtracks that sort of fit the story and that I like to listen to while writing. All I need really – and that’s the hardest part – is to focus.
‘God help the child’ by Toni Morrison. A bit dark so far but the writing is just amazing.
I’ve got loads but to name a few: ‘Pride & Prejudice’ by Jane Austen, ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls was a great read, and so was ‘After You’d Gone’ by Maggie O’Farrell.
Yes I do 🙂 I am currently working on a series of picture books for children aged 5 to 8.
I live on an island so I guess going to the beach is probably the thing I enjoy doing most. I’m also very much into music and desperately trying to learn how to play the piano although without much success so far. But of course, nothing compares to a good book and a cup of tea.
Well, I have read Austen, George R. R. Martin and Orwell and though they all told terrific stories, I would say that our current time period suits me just fine 🙂
10. Fun facts?
Although I was born and raised in France, I have only written my stories in English so far!
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