1. Can you tell us one of your favorite lines from Anastasia Forever?
My Sourcebooks editor, Leah Hultenschmidt share the same favorite Tess line which comes near the end of the book. “I think Anne just told destiny to suck it.” Makes me laugh every time I read it.
2. What can you share with us about Sweet Dead Life?
Oh how I love this book! I love it so hard! I think the blurb on Amazon gives you the gist:
Fourteen-year-old Janena Samuels is having a very bad 8th grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold what's left of the family together by working two jobs--difficult, as he's stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Janena is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead. Janena wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Weirder, he makes her feel better. Before long, Janena figures out that Casey didn't survive the accident at all. He's an"A-word." (She can't bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they both discover that Janena isn't just dying: she's being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother's mysterious depression and father's disappearance.
Also, when Casey returns as Janena’s guardian angel, he comes back with all his bad habits firmly intact. Which I also love.
3. Can you describe your writing process? What steps do you take before writing?
I make a huge mug of green tea with honey or Agave. I sit down. I open a new document. I type.
Beyond that, I also do some basic outlining and character brainstorming. And often there’s a number of hours of research involved – like for the book I’m working on right now, I ‘ve extensively researched film noir, both reading it and watching the movies.
4. Do you have plans for any other series or stand-alone books?
Well, as I’m typing this, we have just announced that there will be a follow up book to next year’s THE SWEET DEAD LIFE, It will be out in spring of 2014 and will be the rest of Casey and Janena’s story. I am thrilled! Beyond that, you’ll just have to wait and see.
Anastasia Forever by Joy Preble
Publisher: Sourcebooks (August 1st, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Series: Dreaming Anastasia, #3
Stories within stories. Secrets within secrets. In accepting powers from the legendary witch Baba Yaga, Anne must tackle a complex set of missions: Discover the secret of their enemy's newfound immortality; decide whether she can kill him to free her family from a vicious curse; come to terms with the magic that now resides inside her; and finally find true love with Ethan. The riveting conclusion to the trilogy that began with Dreaming Anastasia.
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