YA Author Interview: Natasha Deen (author of The Guardian)

Guys, I am really excited to welcome Natasha Deen to the blog to discuss her latest book The Guardian. I'm really excited because I have enjoyed her books, True Grime and Angel Maker, and am thus quite excited to have her stopping by to talk about The Guardian (y'all must read the why's on this book).

About the Author:

When I was little, there was only one thing I wanted to be when I grew up: a superhero. Sadly, this goal was made moot when I realized that being a klutz was not in fact, a super power, and my super-weakness for anything bright and shiny meant that a magpie with self-control could easily defeat me in a battle of wills. Hence, the turn to writing as an occupation. I don’t get to live on a secret space station orbiting the earth (and thank God, because I get motion sick on a merry-go-round), but I still get to wear leotards, a cape and say things like, “STAND ASIDE! THIS IS A JOB FOR WRITING-GIRL!”

You can haunt Natasha Deen at-
Goodreads | Website | Twitter | 

Interview

1. In seven words tell us about The Guardian.

Help him or be haunted by him.

2. Tell us about Maggie's abilities regarding the dead? If you could describe Maggie in just three words, what would they be?

She can see the newly (and confused) dead—the ones who’ve died but don’t realize it, and then she helps them let go of this life and cross to the next. Maggie in three words: kick-butt, funny, smart.

3. can you share with us a two sentence teaser from your favorite chapter of The Guardian?

Lol, for the record, every chapter is my favourite, but here are two great lines: 

When your dad owns one of the few funeral parlours in your town, you get used to seeing dead bodies, but when the dearly departed is in the trunk of your car, curled up where the spare tire should be,
it’s a little different. Especially when the corpse belongs to the late but unlamented Serge Popov, the biggest bully and dumbest jock ever to set foot in Dead Falls, Alberta.

4. Natasha, what drew you to writing about a character who could help the dead transition on to the next phase?

Curiosity. There’s so much we don’t yet know about our world and so little we know of the things we think we know. Anyone whose ever read a physics or science book and learns about quantum mechanics, Schrödinger’s cat, alternate time lines and universes, pi, the golden ratio knows what I mean…it’s all so exciting and wonderful, and it got me wondering about what the other side might look like. Also, making Serge dead and bonded to her was the best way to give Maggie a hard time, and as a writer, my life is all about tossing my characters in the deep end and seeing what might happen. ;-)

5. If you could have tea with any author, dead or living, who would it be? What would be the first question you asked them?

Actually, I think I’d want tea with the guys who invented writing. And one of my first questions would be, “Dudes, “ph” makes the “f” sound and “k” is sometimes silent. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” 

6. Last book that you couldn't put down? Why couldn't you walk away from it?

I just finished re-reading Robert McKee’s “Story,” which is hands-down (no pun intended) one of the best books for writers. Great info, simply told.

7. The world has fallen to a robot invasion and only one heroine/hero can possibly save the day, who do you choose?

Hero or heroine: Maggie. She’d get it sorted.

Supporting character: Nell. Those robots would be too scared to do anything!

8.  From any, young adult, book that you've read, which character would you befriend in a heartbeat? Why?

Last fall, I read the Seven series, and I’m just about to start the Seven Sequels. I’d be buddies with any one of those guys. They’re resourceful, fun, smart, and funny.

Natasha, thanks so much for stopping by! Such fun answers! I think I enjoyed most the one about why you wanted to write about this particular ability of Maggie's!

Readers you can find out more about Maggie & Serge HERE, and about Natasha by visiting her on FB and Twitter! 

Guardian by Natasha Deen, September 1, 2014. Published by Great Plains Publishing. 

For seventeen-year-old Maggie Johnson, transitioning the dead isn't hard. What's tough is surviving the insults and pranks of Serge Popov, high school thug and the dumbest jock to ever set foot in Dead Falls, Alberta. When she finds him dead and later discovers his spirit trapped in her room, she figures it's a case of divine justice. Let the jerk rot for eternity, bound to an earthly prison. But someone - or something - has a different agenda. If Maggie doesn't help Serge cross over, she'll die at the hands of the otherworldly entity that's taken an interest in the dead bully. As she digs into the circumstances of Serge's murder, she'll uncover the secrets hidden by the world of the living and the wonders revealed by cities of the dead - if her investigation doesn't kill her first.

You can add Guardian to your Goodreads shelves.