Guys! I am so beyond excited for todays post because it’s an interview with an awesome person and an equally awesome author! It’s been a long time since I’ve had an interview on the blog and I’m so stoked that Bridget is the one to be bringing them back.

I read Bridget’s most recent release, A Thousand Miles, and fell absolutely in love. It has everything that I love – best friends who fall in love, road trips, weird food and even baseball. When I discovered how cool Bridget is during my constant praise of this book, I just knew I HAD to have her here on the blog.

And unsurprisingly, the interview just made me adore her more, especially once we bonded over our love for early 2000s pop punk and emo music, like Something Corporate. Anyone who shows love for SoCo is my kind of person!

So let’s do this guys!

ABOUT BRIDGET MORRISSEY

Bridget Morrissey lives in Los Angeles, California, but proudly hails from Oak Forest, Illinois. When she’s not writing, she can be found coaching competitive gymnastics or headlining concerts in her living room. Her latest adult romance, A Thousand Miles, is out now!

Find Her:

Website / Instagram / Twitter / GoodReads

ABOUT HER BOOK

After a decade of silence, Dee and Ben reunite for a road trip they once promised to take. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Dee Matthews is the cohost of the smash-hit podcast Did I Forget To Tell You?, where she interviews family, friends, and past lovers. Nothing is off limits, except for one man (known on the show only as Name Redacted) who happens to be her high school best friend Ben. During their senior year spring break, Dee and Ben took a road trip to visit Ben’s grandma. They buried a time capsule in her backyard, pledging to return in ten years to open it. Then their friendship fell apart in spectacular fashion. They haven’t spoken to each other since.

Ben Porter’s life since that moment has been unexciting but comfortable, until his grandma reveals a family secret that flips his whole world upside down. Her dying wish is for him to stop doing what is safest and go after what he really wants. He starts by showing up on Dee’s doorstep with every intention of fulfilling their long-ago promise. Despite her reservations, Dee can’t say no. This trip could be her chance to give her listeners the Name Redacted interview they’ve been begging for–and finally put her unresolved feelings for Ben to rest.

As the miles fly by, Dee and Ben’s friendship reignites. But the closer they get to reaching their destination, the more apparent it becomes that their attraction to each other cannot be ignored. Their last adventure ended in disaster, and they’re about to find out if any hope of a future together is in the rear view mirror.

Find the Book

GoodReads / BookShop (support your local indie!) / IndieBound / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Audible / Book Depository / Apple Books / Kobo / Google Play

THE INTERVIEW

NERD GIRL: What was the inspiration behind A Thousand Miles? Where did Dee and Ben’s story come from?

BM: I have been trying to do a road trip book for years. When it came time to write the second book in my adult romance deal, I decided to revisit the concept again. I just love the forced proximity of a car and the fact that the physical journey gets to mirror the emotional journey. As for the characters, Dee started as a side character in one of my unpublished YA versions of the road trip book. When I was putting together my adult pitch, I knew I wanted to make her a main character. She’s so tenacious and vibrant, she demanded her own POV. I created Ben to bounce off of her. He’s everything she’s not, and vice versa, but they also have this beautiful overlap of humor and interests.

NERD GIRL: A Thousand Miles is focused a lot on the journey, both the emotional journey for Dee and Ben and the physical journey of their road trip. Was their road trip inspired by a road trip of your own? Is there a particular place you’ve traveled to that is particularly memorable?

BM: The exact trip they take in the book, Illinois to Colorado, is one I went on every summer of my childhood. Since I wrote this book during earlier parts of the pandemic, it made the research aspect easier on me. I had done this trip so much that I could pull things up on Google maps to jog my memory, but I already knew the feel of the trip, which is oftentimes harder to capture. As for memorable places I’ve traveled, in the book they end up in a Colorado mountain town that very closely mirrors Georgetown, Colorado. I have a lot of family that lives there, and it’s such a beautiful, idyllic little town that I wanted to put a piece of it in the story.

NERD GIRL: What are your go-to road trip songs and snacks?

BM: It’s not particularly revelatory to say that I really love music, but I do! If I’m in the car with someone else for a long period of time, it’s so fun to go nostalgic. Then you can roll the windows down and sing your heart out. For me, that’s music from the late 90s and early 2000s. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs listening to B96, which was a hip-hop and RB radio station. So music like Usher, Destiny’s Child, TLC, K-Ci & JoJo, Brandy, Monica, Mya, Dru Hill—that’s going to be an instant crowd pleaser in my car! Takes me right back to childhood. Then the emo music of my teen years, of course. Something Corporate, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, Cartel, Taking Back Sunday, Death Cab for Cutie.

When it comes to snacks, I love something random on a road trip. Something I’d never buy in my daily life. As kids, my sister Rose and I always got Combos and mustard Gardetto’s on our drives to Colorado. Those are road trip staples for me.

NERD GIRL: What is hardest to write – the first book or the second book? Why?

BM: I wrote my debut before I got an agent, and I wrote my second book while I was out on submission with my debut, so both of those weren’t as difficult for me because there wasn’t any pressure on either of them at the time. I wrote them for myself. My third book, Love Scenes, I also wrote for myself, then sent to my agent basically being like, “Do you think this is anything?” A Thousand Miles is my fourth book, and I just finished drafting my fifth, both of which I wrote while under contract, which was new for me. And those were the hardest two to write yet! The more books I finish, the more experienced I become, which means I’m more aware of my own bad habits, and I let myself get away with less. Not only does it take me longer to write, I agonize over the process way more than I used to when I was younger! And the knowledge that they will definitely be published changes my perception of the work as I draft it. The books still get done though, somehow some way! I am grateful for that!

NERD GIRL: What do you think is the secret to writing a really good romance book? What can a writer do to make their romance novel stand out?

BM: For me, it always comes down to how the love interests bounce off each other. That’s what makes a romance exciting! They have to have a great rapport, and they need to each possess something that the other needs. I’d say that’s the way to make the romance stand out, making sure that the main characters are always lifting each other up and making the other person better somehow.

NERD GIRL: You get the call that your first book is going to be published: how did you celebrate?

BM: I found out my debut novel was getting published when I walked out of a matinee showing of Bridget Jones’s Baby (Bridget synchronicity!). I was with my roommate, and we squealed and celebrated in the lobby of the movie theatre. A few days later, my friends threw me a surprise party where I read the first chapter of the book aloud. It was so sweet, and it’s one of my most cherished memories.

NERD GIRL: What are some of your favorite romance novels or movies? Did they have an impact on the books you’ve written?

BM: I have so many favorites, but I did just finish rewatching the original Roswell series, and I cannot express how formative that show was for me. I have watched it dozens of times in my life. It premiered when I was nine, and I watched it every single week. The DVDs got released when I was in high school, and I used to fall asleep to episodes every night. It’s a sci-fi drama, but the romance at the core, Max and Liz, truly lives within me always. Another WB show from the late 90s, Felicity, with the love triangle between Felicity, Ben, and Noel is another one. Again, so formative for me. I was watching these shows as a grade schooler and they were truly imprinting on me. They are like, a piece of my soul. I’m not even kidding. To say they’ve had an impact is severely understating it! There’s a sensitivity to them both. A gentle romanticism, and a lot of vulnerability. That’s my bread, butter, and dessert! That’s where I live!

NERD GIRL: Are you working on anything new at the moment? Can you tell us anything about it?

BM: My next novel, That Summer Feeling, will be out in May 2023! It’s about a recently divorced woman who attends an adults only sleepaway camp, where she thinks she’s been reunited with the man of her dreams, only to realize she’s falling for his sister instead. I am so excited about it. As a queer person, I have wanted to write a sapphic romance for awhile, and all of my previous ideas haven’t panned out for different reasons. To finally land on a concept that’s going forward is incredibly exciting for me.

NERD GIRL: What is some of the best writing advice you’ve received that you can pass along? What writing advice do you give to aspiring writers?

BM: One of my dear friends, the extremely talented writer Emily Wibberley (read The Roughest Draft right NOW!), sometimes does a series on her IG stories where she shares writing advice. And she talks about how every scene should have a turn in it, whether it’s an emotional turn or a plot turn. But there should be momentum in every scene so it’s not wasted. That really stuck with me and made me more intentional with my purpose for each scene.

My simplest piece of advice to other writers is that if a scene isn’t working for you, give yourself permission to move on to a more interesting one! You don’t have to be stuck because you’re trying to write linearly. Follow your bliss!

NERD GIRL: Who is your fictional crush?

BM: Is it weird to say I don’t have one? One of my favorite parts of reading a romance is invested in the characters’ relationship with each other. I would never want to steal anyone from them! I like being a spectator to their love.

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Thank you to Bridget for taking the time to stop by What A Nerd Girl Says and answer my questions. I hope you enjoyed this interview with the wonderful Bridget Morrissey and that you’ll make sure to check out A Thousand Miles and her other books as well!