The Best Reader: Carrie Harris

1. Can you tell us one of your favorite lines from Bad Hair Day?

I’ll give you a couple of lines, because I think it’s funnier that way and I’ve never been able to follow directions well.: )

“A guy prepped a body in a closed autopsy suite to my right; I could see him through the oversized viewing window. He wore one of those super cool protective suits that make you look like a blueberry flavored astronaut.
I wondered if they’d let me wear it. If so, I was definitely staying.”

2. Give us 3 words you would use to describe Kate.

Mega science geek. And I have to admit that it took every bit of self control I have not to hyphenate. Because it counts as one word if it’s hyphenated, right?

3. Since people have been talking about the recent “zombie” attacks, are you starting to think that maybe zombies could be real?!

There are actually some real life “zombies” that helped to inspire BAD TASTE IN BOYS. I’m not just talking about the bath salts. There are also zombie ants and zombie mice, and you can read about them in National Geographic! But human brains are pretty complex, so I do think we’re not quite to the point where an honest-to-god human zombie is possible. Although is it a bad thing if I say I’m kind of thinking that would be awesome? In theory, anyway.

4. Do you have any special Halloween traditions?

Oh yeah! It’s my son’s birthday on Halloween, so we really go all out at my house. We do up the house (this year, I think it’s going to be a neon spider den, because the best kinds of spiders are NEON), and we do birthday gifts and cake and then go out for trick-or-treating because we haven’t had quite enough sugar yet. And ALL of us dress up. Last year, I was a sparkly vampire. I wrapped myself in twinkle lights. We don’t have special Halloween traditions as much as we have ALL OF THEM.

Thanks so much for having me to visit and letting me ramble on about monsters! YOU ROCK.

Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris
Publisher: Delacorte Press (November 19th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 240 pages
Series: Kate Grable, #2
S enior year is positively hair-raising.

Kate Grable is geeked out to shadow the county medical examiner as part of her school’s pre-med program. Except when he’s arrested for murder, she’s left with the bodies. And when Kate’s brother Jonah stumbles upon a dead gamer girl, she realizes that the zombie epidemic she cured last fall was only the beginning of the weirdness taking over her town. Someone’s murdering kids—something really hairy. And strong. Possibly with claws.

Is it werewolf awesomeness like Jonah and his dorktastic friends think? Kate’s supposed to be a butt-kicking zombie killing genius… but if she can’t figure out who’s behind the freakish attacks, the victims—or what’s left of them—are going to keep piling up.

It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.

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HOW THE TOUR WORKS Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page: http://judithgraves.com/events/the-crossroads-tour/crossroads-2012/ and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.
Answers are to be emailed to judithgraves @ ymail dot com by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.
The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE and 13 free EBOOKS!

TODAY KICKS OFF THE CROSSROADS TOUR!

This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win!
Today I am featuring P.J. Hoover, Lucienne Diver, Carrie Harris, and Patrice Lyle. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter giveaway, too!

1. Solstice is your first YA novel. What is the biggest thing you learned by writing YA and what was the hardest part of the journey?

The list of things I learned while writing YA could fill an entire blog post, but I’ll stick with this one. Make your characters relatable. The characters in your story should be people that your reader can relate to. It’s as simple as that. The more the reader can relate to the characters, the more they will be able to see bits and pieces of themselves in those same characters. And the more they see of themselves in those characters, the more real the story will feel.
Hardest part of the journey? Developing patience because everything takes so long. When I finally develop it, I’ll let you know.

2. For those who don’t know, can you tell us a little about the world we jump into in Solstice?

Sure! Solstice is a mash-up of dystopia and mythology, two of my favorite genres. It’s set in Austin, TX in the future when global warming is destroying the earth. For the main character, Piper, this is her world until, on her 18th birthday, she opens a mysterious present and all of a sudden this parallel world of mythology starts to explode around her. Her best friend almost dies. Piper has to travel to the Underworld to save her. And there are lots of Greek gods.

1. Of all the characters you have written, which one has been the most challenging for you to

write?

Challenging, hmm. The main character in the super secret project I’ve just sent off to my agent. It’s dark, angsty and suspenseful, not paranormal at all… a departure for me. The main character is going through some really serious stuff. If you’ve read my Vamped and Latter-Day Olympians series, you’ll know that I write very tongue-in-cheek. There’s a lot of suspense, but it’s tempered with humor. But this novel called for a serious approach, and getting that voice down, writing a character who doesn’t take things in stride but is buffeted by the deep darkness of what’s going on around her, was very challenging.

2. You have contributed to a few anthologies. Do you find those easier, or harder, to write than a full length novel?

Infinitely harder! All of my short stories want to be novels, so to condense a storyline into a smaller space and still make it rich and satisfying… that’s a talent all its own. My Vamped series actually started as a short story called “Unlife Style,” but it didn’t stay that way. The first short story I ever had published, “The Problem with Piskies,” didn’t become a novel series, but it did get a sequel, “Imaginary Fiend” in the Strip-Mauled anthology published by Baen Books.

1. In Demon Derby, Casey is into Roller Derby. Have you ever tried that?

I WISH! I do own roller skates, and I have secret (or not so much now that I told you publicly) aspirations to skate at some point. But a few years ago, I was taking a wilderness rescue course and learning to save people who fall off cliffs, and I fell off the cliff. Rolled, mostly, but the end result is the same. I just finished a second round of physical therapy on my knee and hip, and I’m slowly but surely trying to build up my endurance. I have a few friends who skate, and they’re good at motivating me. If by “motivating,” you mean constantly giving me friendly crap about it. Which I find really funny. I think the best friends are the ones who can give you a hard time and make it hilarious. Is it just me?

2. What are 5 words you would use to describe Michael?
Inhuman, awkward, lovable, determined, and HOT.

1. Can you give us a little teaser from your upcoming book?

The Case of the Invisible Witch is the first book in the Poison Ivy Charm School Series, about a young teen witch who runs a private investigation business. It’s like a paranormal Nancy Drew!

Tulip Bonnaire has only 72 hours to figure out her latest case, or her classmate, Missy, will never be seen again. Literally. When Missy shows up in Tulip’s dorm room around midnight, she’s invisible. As in not even x-ray vision could spot her. The mean triplets who call themselves The Belles have cast an invisibility spell on poor Missy. But if Tulip can’t break the spell in 72 hours, Missy will remain invisible forever.It’s a case Tulip can’t resist — between her mom’s annoying new boyfriend and her own secret crush at school, Tulip understands how much it stinks to feel invisible. Luckily for Tulip, her two best friends and her cute, techy guy friend help dig up clues on a case that turns out to be her freakiest one ever.

2. Tell us 5 words you’d use to describe your main characters in the book?

Tulip Bonaire, the main character in The Case of the Invisible Witch, can be described as:
1) Witch PI – Tulip has to be an awesome Witch PI to keep earning her $20 retainer fee, or her discounted retainer of a cup of hot chocolate with tons of whipped cream.
2) Loyal – Tulip is loyal to her best witch friends, Soili and Alexandria, as well as her best warlock friend, Dexter. She throws pizza and root beer float parties after every case they solve.
3) Bug-lover – Tulip loves Monk the Third, her pet praying mantis. She always keeps fruit flies on hand for him.
4) Inquisitive – Tulip loves a good mystery, and the freakier the better!
5) Polite – Tulip goes to a school for polite witches and warlocks, and has to abide by “Queen Withania’s Rules of Refinement.” Tulip thinks the rules are stodgy and lame, but she does her best to follow them.