A Conversation with Beth Merlin, Author of S’MORE TO LOSE (The Campfire Series #2–with a giveaway!)

Thanks so much for agreeing to be with us today, Beth! What 5 things should readers know about you?

1. I didn’t learn to drive until a few years ago. Growing up in New York, I didn’t need to drive and then I went to college in Washington DC, where I didn’t need a car either. In my thirties, I decided it was time to take lessons and overcome my fear. I still don’t love driving, but I am happy I learned!
2. Camp is one of my favorite places in the world. Some of my closest friends to this day are the ones I met at camp.
3. I met my husband the very first day of college and we’ve been married 12 years.
4. I love New York City. I love the noise, the culture, the people, the food, and the crowds. New York City is my hometown and seems to find a place in every story I write.
5. I’m the mommy to a beautiful, spunky, curious, funny, sweet three-year-old. She is the light of my life and nothing is more fun than seeing the word through her eyes!

Kudos on learning to drive! At least you learned before it’s time to teach your daughter—that is TRULY terrifying…

Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

The Campfire Series came about after I jokingly told my husband I’d love to blow off the responsibilities of adult life and go back to my summer sleepaway camp and work as a counselor. While that wasn’t a realistic option for me, it became the idea that led to Book 1 of the Campfire Series, One S’more Summer. One S’more Summer’s ending is a bit open ended, and in the weeks that followed its completion, I found myself going back to those characters, wanting to know what happened to them. I started writing S’more to Lose not knowing I was writing a series, but as soon as I started, the ideas came pouring out. S’more to Lose has a little bit of everything that interests me–love, fashion, musical theater, and British history.

LOL, I love it! What a great inspiration 🙂

How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?

I know it’s a cliché for a writer to say this, but I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I’ve kept a journal since I read The Diary of Anne Frank in third grade and when I was in middle school, I used to write short plays for my friends to perform. When I got older, I took as many Creative Writing classes as my schedule would allow and then began writing more seriously about ten years ago.

It was my mom who actually inspired me to start writing. When I was growing up, she was a reporter for our local paper and some of my earliest memories are of hearing her typing away on our Panasonic word processor at 4 and 5 in the morning.

Inspired by mom—that’s great!

What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

I am currently working on Book 3 of the Campfire Series, Love You S’more. It comes out in the summer of 2018.

Fantastic—by the way, I love these titles!

What are you currently reading, and what are your thoughts about it so far?

I just stared Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses Grant. I read his biography of Alexander Hamilton after seeing the show and fell in love with his ability to make history read like the very best fiction. So far so good.

Oooh, I was thinking of reading both of those—good to hear!

If you had to “sell” your book in a single Tweet, what would you say?

I have 140 characters, right? Whew! I would probably say, “S’more to Lose is everything I love about chick lit. It has romance, pop culture, fashion, great characters, and is set mostly in London. It’s a fast, fun, & fantastical read!”

Perfect! (Technically, it’s 280 now, but that feels like cheating to me…)

Author Bio:

Beth Merlin has a BA from The George Washington University where she minored in Creative Writing and a JD from New York Law School. She’s a native New Yorker who loves anything Broadway, rom-coms, her daughter Hadley, and a good maxi dress. She was introduced to her husband through a friend she met at sleepaway camp and considers the eight summers she spent there to be some of the most formative of her life. One S’more Summer is Beth’s debut novel.

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