Author Interview and GIVEAWAY: Darynda Jones of Death, Doom, and Detention

Death, Doom and Detention (Darklight #2) by Darynda Jones
Date Published: March 5, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.

Goodbye normal.

Hello dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late?(courtesy of Goodreads)

Meet Darynda

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, two Hold Medallions, a RITA ®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and she has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications including starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin’s Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found at www.daryndajones.com.

Author Interview

Please welcome Darynda Jones to Alison Can Read! I'm so excited to be a part of Darynda's blog tour. Thanks Darynda for such thoughtful answers to my questions!

1. Tell us a little about the Darklight series.

Well, it’s about a girl whose life is irrevocably changed when the Angel of Death starts high school in her small town. What she doesn’t know is that he was sent for her. But instead of taking her when the time comes, he chooses to save her. That’s when things go south and our heroine Lorelei finds out that she is the last in a long line of prophets and that she is destined to save the world. So, you know, no pressure.

In the second book, Death, Doom, and Detention, Lorelei discovers more about her powers and what she is capable of, but she also finds out there are supernatural elements that don’t want her to succeed in fulfilling her destiny. And those elements will stop at nothing to make sure she fails. She realizes her friends and family are in grave danger because of her and she has to learn to face what she is and make a decision to stay and fight or leave and keep her family safe.

2. Which character was the most difficult to write?

If I had to choose, I’d say Lorelei. It took me longer to get to know her than the others. Brooklyn and Glitch were a breeze. Jared and Cameron were just fun. But Lorelei gave me a few sleepless nights.

3. I'm curious, do you have a favorite between Glitch and Brooklyn? I'm a Glitch fan.

I love them both! Glitch actually started out a very different character and became the comic relief as I got deeper into the book. Brooklyn was always the trusty sidekick, ever ready with a smart-mouthed quip. My kinda girl!

4. Is it difficult to write a book about angels and demons but also have it retain a secular feel?

Wow, that’s a great question, mostly because I did struggle with that a bit. I was worried when I made the Order of Sanctity part of their church it would lose that secular feel altogether. I had to keep it as mainstream as possible. I think because of that, it almost feels like a cult in some ways, but I didn’t realize that until later. You know, when it was too late to change anything. :) Other than the church, however, I didn’t have a difficult time at all despite the whole angels-and-demons thing.

5. If I'm taking a trip to New Mexico, where should I go? (side note - I love the Natural History museum in Albuquerque)

Oh, yes, that museum is fantastic! There are so many gorgeous things to see here. The Plaza in Santa Fe is gorgeous as is Old Town in Albuquerque. They also have a great zoo and BioPark. And if you are up for a day trip, you could see the gorgeous Jemez Mountain Trail or the historic Salt Mission Trail. They are stunning and polar opposites in terms of vegetation and landscape.

6. Pretend you're writing a series set somewhere other than New Mexico and, oh darn, you're forced to travel there for a long research trip. Where would you want to go?

Hahaha! Every writer’s dream! I want to see everything. I want to go to every state there is and just do research. Every country. If I were forced to only choose one place? Well, because I am working on a series I want to set there, I am going to say North Carolina. LOL

7. How is writing a YA series different than writing an Adult series?

I get asked that a lot. Most writers will tell you it’s the voice. YA will naturally have a younger, fresher voice. For me, that is not a concern. I kind of write with a young voice anyway, so I really don’t even think about that. I guess the main difference between the two (for me) is I have no sex in my YA. I’m not saying there is no steam! There are some rather hot scenes, just nothing too explicit on the page. Let’s face it. Teens have sex. I’m not a prude. Far from it! But I still think sex is something best left out of YA’s. There are tons of adult books with all kinds of heat levels if that is the reader’s wish. I think readers, for the most part, go into a YA with the expectation of no explicit sex. Upending that expectation is jarring. But I do like hot! Hot guys. Hot scenes. Hot kisses. I am so there.

8. What are some of your favorite YA books? Either new or older.

Oh there are so many. Some of my favs in no particular order are The Hunger Games, the Twilight series (yep, love it!), Divergent, and Pushing the Limits.

9. What is one piece of writing advice that you found really useful beyond the typical read a lot and write a lot?

I think the one thing that spurred me on to complete my first manuscript was from an interview I read. In it, the author said, “Look, if you write one page a day, at the end of a year you will have a complete manuscript.” For some reason, that fact flipped a switch in my head. It made something that seems almost insurmountable seem possible.

GIVEAWAY!

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