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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Girls and Monsters by Anne Michaud Blog Tour Giveaway

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.
Girls & Monsters is a collection of 5 dark horror novellas for young adult.

--How did you get the idea for the story?
I had a bunch of homeless stories, so instead of letting them die in my computer, I rewrote them into longer pieces. Very soon I found two things in common: the characters were all girls and they all faced monsters, so that's how I found my title, too.
--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?
Well, I'd have a date with Matt, the Goth boy from A Blue Story – he's cute and knows how to treat a girl right, which are two must-haves as dates go. And to have dinner with Limnade, the killer mermaid from Death Song, means I'd BE her dinner, so no thanks, I'll pass.
--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?
I'm finishing Girls & Aliens and will be working on Girls & Ghosts this summer – no release date, no teaser, only this: girls rule!!
--What book(s) is your book’s “cousin”? (Similar kind of read, set-up or style)
Oh, I wish my stories were special as Kelly Link's, creepy like Joe Hill's, with a tiny bit of whimsy like Neil Gaiman's.
--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?
I read between 5 to 8 books a month, but some authors deserve more time to savor their stories: anything by Neil Gaiman, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Suzanne Collins, Michael Grant, Jane Austen, and so many others.

--If a fairy godmother told you could be put into the world of your favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman: ghosts, tombstones, and mischief. What more could you need?

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?
If there's no music playing, I find it difficult to write. My playlist is quite extensive, but for Girls & Monsters, I listened to The Cure, Sigur Ros, Skinny Puppy, Sisters of Mercy, Vast, Danny Elfman and Nine Inch Nails – how's that for diversity?!

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
To go back in time and change a few things – I know, I know, butterfly effect, but I'd still risk it:)

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?
Reading, obviously, watching movies, crafting, playing with Poe, my rescue Japanese spaniel, and my cats.
--What is one thing you would tell your 15 year old self?
Do NOT go out with that guy, he's a mental case.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?
Actually, there is: whether you're lost or found, never forget that you are strong enough to stand up to every kind of monster.

Lightning round: this or that?
Vanilla or chocolate? Caramel. Ah!
Edward or Jacob? Peeta.
Hockey or soccer? Hockey, I'm Canadian, eh?
Ebook or paper? Can't choose, love them both.
Salty or sweet? Salty
Beach or mountains? Mountains
Phone call or email? Email
Early bird or night owl? Early bird
Dog or cat? Both!!
Messy or neat? Neat
Ninjas or pirates? Pirates

Excerpt: Death Song Excerpt
Something catches in the back of my throat. I
hide my face in my hands to quiet the sobs. But then,
something ain’t right. Air moves around me and I
stop. I look between my fingers, but the blur of my
tears thickens everything: the bathtub, the towels,
and someone on the floor.
A woman’s in here with me, door still closed and
locked. An exhale, like after a deep swim, and a smell,
like the swamp close to my empty home. A chill runs
down my back, I wipe my eyes, rub and scratch them
to see more clearly. And I do.
Two gray hands scratch the floor tiles, nails green
with algae, putrid flesh sagging on her legs, arms
and torso, hair so long and wet and heavy, it drags
her down. Diluted, impossible to focus on, like little
waves rippling over her body from head to foot, seaweed
in the water. Scales and fins, mermaidlike, little
knives, those are. And they scrape the floor, like a
fork on a plate. It’s her—Limnade.
She opens her mouth of scissor-teeth and the rotten
smell of fish wraps around my throat like two
hands trying to choke me.
“You can’t be…” I don’t finish my breathless
thought and jump backward, knocking over the dish
of decorative soaps. Blurry waves, vision impaired,
out of focus, unreal. She crawls toward me, eyes unblinking,
lethal, hands inches from me: my legs refuse
to move, as my body feels like stone. Frozen,
hypnotized, a statue. Then I hear something coming
from within her…
A melody, reminding me of something lost, tickles
my ears. It drags on until the sweetness turns sickly,
vibrating into a full-on super-scream, hyenalike,
enough to pop my ears and make them bleed. Her
large mouth deforms her face into one gap of black,
the cry so high and strident, I scream from the pain.
Limnade stares at me, everything but her fades
away—Jo’s nice bathroom, Jo’s new life, Jo himself—
none of it matters anymore. Her fingers brush my
forehead, they’re cold and sticky like clams. And I let
the darkness take me away.

Bio
She who likes dark things never grew up. She never stopped listening to gothic, industrial and alternative bands like when she was fifteen. She always loved to read horror and dystopia and fantasy, where doom and gloom drip from the pages.

She, who was supposed to make films, decided to write short stories, novelettes and novels instead. She, who’s had her films listed on festival programs, has been printed in a dozen anthologies and magazines since.

She who likes dark things prefers night to day, rain to sun, and reading to anything else.



She tweets @annecmichaud







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9 comments:

  1. Ohh cool, dark turn events in novellas I can take

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  2. What scares me? Hm... none of the stated. Maybe I'd be a little freaked out when those black eyed kids showed up at my door though. But I also can't stand blood at all, so seeing a gruesome bloody scene would probably scare me.

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  3. Love this! Excellent questions and answers. Yes Carmel and Peeta :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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  4. I love people who can work with music playing in the background. I'm extremely jealous of anyone with that ability. My brain is incapable of multitasking. I can't even have music on while I review and comment.
    And LOL @ Peeta. That's what I'd say too. :)

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  5. Thanks for the fun post and giveaway! I can read scary stuff, I just can't watch it... so no scary movies for me :)

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  6. Oh it sounds scary!
    erm.. I can't say I'm scared of something, maybe death.
    Thank you for the int giveaway :)

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  7. What scares me the most is what hides in the closet. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  8. What scares me most is definitely what's outside my door! Especially because I live alone with my two boys. You just never know who is outside your door. Thanks for this amazing giveaway!

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  9. Don't make me think about whats outside my door...I'm paranoid and have a great imagination when it comes to scaring myself...Thanks for the international giveaway!

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Sorry, but I am award and tag free zone, I do not have the time to return. Comments are reward enough :)