Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Marta Acosta. Marta is the author of the Casa Dracula series (
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
,
Midnight Brunch
,
The Bride of Casa Dracula
,
Haunted Honeymoon
), Wolfish in Sheep's Clothing, and
Dark Companion
.
Keep reading for a chance to win a copy of Dark Companion by Marta Acosta.
EJ: When did you begin writing?
Marta:
I've been writing every since I learned how to scrawl the
alphabet. I was always writing stories, poems, essays, notes to friends,
whatnot. I always wrote things during the school day to entertain
myself and friends. Then I went on to college and studied creative
writing, but I was still writing for my friends and for fun.
EJ: What brought you to the paranormal genre?
Marta:
Paranormal poses the question, "What if...?, and I especially
like stories where a character's notion of reality is challenged. Right
now, there's such an amazing range of paranormal fiction, including
dystopians, horror, romances, action thrillers, mysteries, and comedies.
One of the things I like best about paranormal is that I can place a
character in a situation where she can't take the normal paths to
safety, i.e., going to the police, but must use her own resources to
save herself.
EJ: If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
Marta:
That's easy! I would like to transport myself from one place to
another. Flying is expensive, time consuming, and annoying. I'd love to
visit so many places!
EJ: Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.
Marta:
There are so many things to love about Dark Companion -- the
beautiful and creepy setting at Birch Grove Academy, the determined
foster girl and her funny new friend, Mary Violet, the quotes from
classic gothics, and, of course, echoes of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
and other classic gothics.
EJ: If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?
Marta:
Now that's a really hard question! I don't think of actors or
actresses when I envision my characters. I have ideas that are more
about personalities or even the sound of their voices, than about
appearances. But frequently I see girls at the mall or wherever and I
think, "She looks like Jane!" I recently told the narrator for my
audiobooks that Ksenia Solo, who plays Kenzi in "The Lost Girl" urban
fantasy series, has the funny sexy snark of my character Milagro, but
she doesn't look like her. I love to hear readers' suggestions on good
casting for my stories, especially who they'd like to see play hilarious
Mary Violet.
Dark Companion by Marta Acosta.
When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove
Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks
the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living
quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.
Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She
thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning
to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding
secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive
to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.
The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for
a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends,
including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the
longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the
disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.
Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more
mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this
school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever?
Thank you Marta for joining us here today at From the Shadows!
To learn more about Marta Acosta and her books, please visit her
website.
**Dark Companion Giveaway**
We are giving away a copy of Dark Companion by Marta Acosta to one lucky winner.
To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address so we may contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only. Giveaway ends July 26, 2012 midnight EST.
