-Did you run up against any roadblocks as you wrote Dust to Dust? Anything you wished you set up differently in Ashes to Ashes?
No roadblocks really, but there’s a new character who appears in Dust to Dust and I really enjoyed him, so when he came along, I wished he had been part of the duology from the beginning, just because he was such fun!
-What did you enjoy most about writing book two?
The contemporary setting of book two, as opposed to the otherworldly feel of book one, is much more my comfort zone. Having the characters in school, driving around, at home and in Charleston was easier for me than having them in the Prism, which was a world somewhere between Earth and Heaven. So I enjoyed that ease.
-What would you like readers to take away from this book?
Dust to Dust deals a lot with holding onto pain, and how important it is to be able to let go and enjoy the present moment rather than grappling with past slights or sadnesses. I always hope that readers who've grown to like the characters feel that everyone’s in the right place at the end. I never tie things up perfectly, but I do try to have everyone in a place where we’re okay saying goodbye to them by the last pages.
About the book: When Callie McPhee miraculously recovers from a tragic accident that should have taken her life, she thought her connection to the ghost world would be severed forever. And that she would never see Thatcher—the ghost she fell in love with in the hereafter—again. But when she receives unexpected signs from Thatcher, she's led down a dark road toward the angry souls who once tried to steal her soul's energy for another chance at life. Now Callie must prevent the real world and the spirit world from colliding, and that could mean saying good-bye to people she'd never imagined she'd lose.
More about Melissa Walker here
Dust to Dust, Katherine Tegen Books. out May 5th! Get the book here
