Writer Wednesday: Author Interview with Emma Berquist on Missing, Presumed Dead (+INTL Giveaway!)

I’ve been busy with graduation & family in town, but I’d be super remiss if I didn’t shout out this incredible book!

The first thing I did when I had free time was write this post, and for good reason! Even if I don’t have my review up, Missing, Presumed Dead is amazing.

I finished it a couple days ago and WOW. It deserves more hype, because it has angry bi girls & ghosts & murdery mystery and is so gritty and raw at its core, I’m just a ball of love over this book. It’s both a character & action book at once, and I just love what Berquist did with this (and wish I had my review up sooner! but ahh!)

It mixes murder & love & self-discovery seamlessly, and Lexi is such an honest and brutal main character, I think so many people will relate to this story, and I totally suggest you pick it up.

So yes. I love this book, and I’m so excited to have the incredible Emma Berquist talking about it on the blog today!

Plus, we have an INTL giveaway of a copy, so stay tuned till the end . . . (and get a chance to read it!) So onwards!

Hi Emma! I’m so excited to have you on my blog today to talk about your sophomore novel, Missing, Presumed Dead. Will you tell us a little bit about Missing, Presumed Dead by using quotes from the book?

Thank you for having me! I picked two passages that I think capture the tone of the book and give you a small introduction to Jane and Lexi.

    That’s what people always get wrong about ghosts; they aren’t cold. They don’t make your breath cloud, or give you goose bumps. They’re heat and weight and the taste of metal coating your tongue.

Missing, Presumed Dead

    “You’re going to help me, aren’t you?” Jane asks.
    I failed her that night, when I turned my back and let her die. I won’t fail her again.
    “Yes,” I say. “I am.”
Silence stretches between us, taut and brittle. The neon lights from the mini-mart sign flicker and buzz, bathing us in a red glow like the inside of a heart.

Missing, Presumed Dead

I was super intrigued by the premise: Lexi being able to sense how and when a person would die. I can only imagine some of the complications involved for Lexi, like how hard it would be to become friends with someone. What would you say is the thing Lexi is most horrified by when she senses a person’s death?

The knowledge itself is hard enough, since Lexi can “see” people’s deaths (and naturally I made some of them quite gruesome), but what really tears her up is that she can’t do anything to prevent it. She feels safer with the dead, and ends up isolating herself from the living, to spare herself pain and to spare them the truth.

Jane sounds like such an interesting contrast to Lexi–especially given Jane’s change after death. Without spoilers, can you tell us what about Jane specifically has led to her making such an impact on Lexi, compared to other people Lexi has touched?

Jane is relentless. She’s also dead, so she has all the time in the world and nothing left to lose. Lexi is used to pushing people away, to protect herself and others, but she doesn’t quite know how to handle someone who pushes back.

I really enjoyed your debut, Devils Unto Dust, last year (another reason why I’m !!! over Missing, Presumed Dead). Are there any themes Missing, Presumed Dead shares with Devils Unto Dust, and if so, what are they?

I think both of these books, at their core, are about survival. Sometimes survival is getting through a desert plagued with monsters, and sometimes it’s just getting through the bad days. Willie and Lexi are very different characters with almost opposite outlooks—Willie never gives up, and Lexi already has—but they both have to find a way to live with the cards they’ve been dealt.

Before we go, a fun one (or, as fun as death can get): if you were a ghost like Jane, what type of ghost would you be? One that perpetually haunts bad government systems? A friendly ghost? A vengeful one?

I think I would be a very helpful ghost! I would keep my friends company, give people the answers to tests, warn people about speed traps, and generally make a useful nuisance of myself. I would also definitely attempt to pull a ghost of Christmas future on Jeff Bezos. (Give away your money, man!)

I would honestly expect nothing less of Emma. (the Jeff Bezos part, and everything else haha)

Missing, Presumed Dead is another gritty addition to the Emma collection, and I can’t wait to stop by the bookstore and pet a copy in person. (That neon . . .)

It’s really so great and I hope you pick this and read Lexi’s incredible story! And get to meet Jane! Plus, let Emma know on her social channels if you enjoyed reading this post!

Also, please note! This book deals with depression and there are some scenes with hospitalization. There’s a little bit of sex and a whole lot of swearing.

More About the Book

Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist
Hardcover, 384 Pages
Published May 21st, 2019 by Greenwillow Books

With a touch, Lexi can sense how and when someone will die. Some say it’s a gift. But to Lexi it’s a curse—one that keeps her friendless and alone. All that changes when Lexi foresees the violent death of a young woman, Jane, outside a club. But Jane doesn’t go to the afterlife quietly. Her ghost remains behind, determined to hunt down her murderer, and she needs Lexi’s help. In life, Jane was everything Lexi is not—outgoing, happy, popular. But in death, all Jane wants is revenge. Lexi will do anything to help Jane, to make up for the fact that she didn’t—couldn’t—save Jane’s life, and to keep this beautiful ghost of a girl by her side for as long as possible.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

More About the Author

Emma Berquist grew up in Austin, TX and currently lives in New Zealand. She likes horror movies and dogs and dislikes brushing her hair and writing bios.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

INTL Giveaway!

I’m totally jealous of all of you reading this right now, because I WANNA WIN THIS.

But anyways, click the Rafflecopter button below where one lucky winner will receive a hardcover of Missing, Presumed Dead (open internationally!).

A very, very lucky winner. Don’t be suprised if I turn into a ghost and haunt you until you give the book to me. Just an FYI.

This giveaway is open till next Wednesday! Good luck! (And you could always guarantee a copy by buying one with the purchase links under “More About this Book”!)

Are you excited for Missing, Presumed Dead? F/F murder mystery! Ahh!