Hey!

Okay, I'm sure most of you already know the awesomeness of Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson anyone?) but if you haven't read her adult series yet, you probably don't know that her first YA novel, Death and the Girl Next Door, is out this year.

Well, I'm so, so excited to have Darynda on the blog today! Make sure you read the interview because there's a giveaway following that =)

Thanks a bunch Darynda, for answering my interview questions!


Death and the Girl Next Door (Darklight, #1) by Darynda Jones.
Audience/Genre : Young Adult/ Paranormal.
Publication : October 2nd 2012 by St. Martin's Press.

From the author of The New York Times bestselling series that began with First Grave on the Right — a thrilling Young Adult novel garnering high praise and early buzz from major authors.

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace. Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home. For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be. Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it, standing outside her house in the dark, night after night. Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school. Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity. What does Jared know about her parents? Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei? And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?

Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

Interview with Darynda Jones.

I have to ask this first - how do you come up with your book titles? They’re all so catchy!

Thank you! For a long time I just called Dead People. LOL. I had no title. I wanted something fun and yet a little dark and I wanted something that let the reader know which book in the series it was. So I decided on using ordinal numbers, i.e. first, second, etc. That’s when First Grave on the Right hit me. It was funny and yet spoke of death at the same time. With Charley being the grim reaper, I thought it was perfect.

My YA series went through several different titles. It was first called Riley’s Switch, which is the name of the fiction town the series is set in. Then it was called Grimsight, but my editor didn’t really like it. Death and the Girl Next Door was actually the brainchild of a friend of mine’s. I absolutely loved it, presented it to my editor, and she loved it too.

How did the idea for Death and The Girl Next Door come about? Was there a specific inspiration?

I actually wrote that manuscript years ago, long before First Grave. I have written young adult forever and wanted to get back to it. I wanted to venture into the paranormal world and the story hit me one day. I just thought, how cool would it be if Death went to high school?

If you had to pick three words that best describe Death and The Girl Next Door, what would they be?

Fun, action-packed, sexy.

Tell us a bit about Lorelei, is she as sassy as Charley?

She definitely has her sassy moments, but she’s not quite as sarcastic as Charley. Then again, she has two best friends, Brooklyn and Glitch, who help her out with that.

Have any of your characters been inspired/based on someone you know in real life?

I do actually use people I know in real life as physical inspiration quite often. It makes it easier to envision my characters. But for most of the characters in DATGND, I just used my imagination. Still, there is a set of twins, Ashlee and Sydnee, who are based on two of my nieces.

How does your writing process work? Do you usually have almost everything organized and planned out before you start writing the novel or do you go where your mind takes you as you write?

I have about 85% of the books planned out beforehand. I throw in extra stuff as I go, but I MUST know where the story is headed before I start writing it. I always know exactly how it’s going to end and often write my endings first.

How many books are you planning in The Darklight series?

The Darklight series will be a trilogy: Death and the Girl Next Door; Death, Doom and Detention; and Death and Other Distracations.

Lastly, what’s your favorite book of all time?

No! That’s too hard. Okay, I am going to have to say it’s a tie between Lover Awakened by JR Ward and The Duke and I by Julia Quinn.

Thank you so much for having me!!!!

Giveaway Terms and Conditions :

• Giveaway is International as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
  
• Winner has 36 hours to respond or a new one will be picked.
  
• Giveaway ends on August 22nd, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones won the 2009 Golden Heart® in the paranormal category for her manuscript FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. After the Golden Heart final, she pimped herself as best she could, landed an amazing agent and has sold 8 books to St. Martin's Press. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of more than 25 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Buy The Book :

Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Find The Author :

Goodreads | Website | Twitter