Magical puberty has got to be so much worse than the regular kind…
Thank you both for agreeing to be with us today! What 5 things should readers know about you?
Rhiannon: Let me see…I have three teenagers in my family, so I listened in on a lot of their conversations to make the voices in The Midnight Spell authentic. I live in Texas, so the setting of the story felt natural. I’ve been writing since I was ten years old, but I didn’t become a professional writer until 2008. The Midnight Spell is my first foray into YA, but I really loved it a lot. And finally, I would love to write more about these characters. They’re just awesome.
Kody: I am a huge advocate for equal rights for everyone in all facets of life; I am very outspoken about my sexuality and mental health issues; I suffer from Bipolar Disorder 2, PTSD and GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and seek to inform people of the issues surrounding such conditions; my name is pronounced ‘boy’ (like the gender); and I’m a crazy cat lady in the making who cries whenever he sees kittens (no joke.)
Tell us all about your main characters—who are they? What makes them tick? Most importantly, what one thing would they need to have with them if stranded on a desert isle? 😉
Rhiannon: Well, I wrote for Christy, so I will talk about her. Christy is an average girl in many ways. She always laments the fifteen pounds that she just can’t seem to lose and dresses very casually. She comes from a long line of powerful witches from a world that used to exist in the shadow of ours, but was destroyed. She’s just about to hit her witch puberty when the book starts, and longs to finally have powers. Christy has also had a very long crush on a boy named Ian, who she is painfully awkward around.
As for the desert isle, well, she’s a witch, so she’s got it covered.
Hmmm. That seems a bit like cheating… 😉
Kody: Adam’s your typical teenage kid. He has an annoying little sister, a mom whose obsession with shoes borderlines on insanity, who’s faithfully loyal to his friends, and despite the hardships of growing up gay in small-town Texas knows that there’s something better on the other side of high school. If he were stranded on a desert isle, he would bring Christy (who would, hopefully, be able to conjure other things.) If people aren’t allowed, then probably an umbrella.
Umbrellas do have many uses. Though admittedly the witch would be more useful.
If your book were being cast as a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?
Rhiannon: Wow. This is a tough one, since Christy is only in her mid-teens. A much younger, rounder version of Ellen Page would be a good pick.
Kody: Seth Green, from the time in which he played Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Excellent choices!
How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?
Rhiannon: I’ve been writing since I learned to write, but I started writing actual stories when I was around ten. I wrote my first novel by thirteen. I’ve been a storyteller since I learned to talk, so it was pretty much inevitable that I would end up a writer. I have always loved books with all my heart.
Kody: I’ve been writing since I was seven, professionally since fourteen. Kenneth Thomasmas (a writer of Native American fiction) was the first person who truly inspired me to write.
That’s fantastic!
What do you like best about being a writer? What is the most challenging part?
Rhiannon: The best part about being a writer is when I hear from readers who love my stories. It’s very rewarding to take a world and characters from my imagination and spin them into stories that other people love. The most challenging part of being a writer is just finishing the book! Starting is easy. Finishing is always hard.
Kody: I love being able to express myself. The most challenging part is making a steady (and comfortable) income from it.
Finishing is hard! But a bit necessary, in order to accomplish the steady income bit…
What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?
Rhiannon: I’m presently working on In Darkness We Must Abide, a story in serial form. The first two seasons are already out and I’m writing the third. It’s like a television show for your mind. Later this year, The Mesmerized will be released by Permuted Press and next year Dead Spots is published from Tor.
Kody: I’m working on an outline for my agent for a novel I can’t discuss right now. But, as to what’s coming out within the next year, that would be the fourth Brotherhood novel, Rebel.
Sounds great!
What authors and/or books have inspired you?
Rhiannon: Agatha Christie was a huge early influence, as was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I didn’t get into the horror genre until my teens, so those two female authors had a big impact on me when I first developed my love of reading. Later on, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the book that drew me into the horror genre and helped me find my niche. My all-time favorite book is Jane Eyre.
Kody: I did a big blog post on this detailing some of my big inspirations, but in no particular order: Stephen King, Poppy Z. Brite, Jennifer Haigh, Tristan Egolf, Tamora Pierce.
Awesome—Christie, Wilder, and King were all a big part of my childhood too! And having us read Jane Eyre was one of the few things my junior year English teacher did right all year.
What are you currently reading? What are your thoughts about it so far?
Rhiannon: I just wrapped up reading J.L. Bryan’s The Unseen and I really liked it. It reminded me of the horror movies from the 1970’s. It was a lot of fun.
Kody: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I love the realistic portrayal of PTSD, especially in a young person such as Katniss. It’s refreshing to see that, especially as someone who suffers from the condition.
If you had to “sell” this book in a single Tweet, what would you say?
Rhiannon: Wow, that’s tough! “Christy is a witch. Adam is gay. Together they face the perils of the supernatural and high school.”
Nice!
Kody: High school could be the death of you. LITERALLY.
So, so true—though in case the Mini Moes are reading this—just kidding! (Not really, though. High school is definitely hazardous to your health!)
Thank you both so much!
AUTHOR BIOS:
Rhiannon:
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. In 2014, her newest horror novel, The Mesmerized, will be released by Permuted Press. Dead Spots will be published in 2015 by Tor. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
You can find her online at:
Website: rhiannonfrater.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/astheworlddies
Twitter: twitter.com/rhiannonfrater
Blog: rhianonfrater.blogspot.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rhiannonfrater/
Email: rhiannonfrater at gmail.com
Kody:
Born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Kody Boye began his writing career with the publication of his story [A] Prom Queen’s Revenge at the age of fourteen. Published nearly three-dozen times before going independent at eighteen, Boye has authored numerous works—including the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the epic fantasy series The Brotherhood Saga. He is represented by Hannah Brown Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media Agency.
You can visit him online at kodyboye.com
The Midnight Spell by Kody Boye and Rhiannon Frater
Published by: Permuted Press
Publication date: February 28th 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas. The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.
On both counts the bullies are right.
Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts aflutter, including Adam’s. Meanwhile, Christy’s mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.
When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.
Purchase:
—B&N
I love the tweet questions every time! It gets so creative and usually even more compelling than a full blurb! Which I’m way too lazy to read in most cases haha. Great interview, guys! 🙂