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 blogs http://annecmichaud.wordpress.com

She Facebooks: http://www.facebook.com/annecmichaud

She tweets @annecmichaud

Buy it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CCQ1Q6W

Girls & Monsters Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17335353-girls-monsters

Rafflecopter giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway