Interview with Heather Davis - author of Never Cry Werewolf BWB Feature

Heather Davis is the author of the paranormal teen novels Never Cry Werewolf (HarperTeen hardcover, September 2009) and The Clearing (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2010).

Heather is co-founder of www.BooksBoysBuzz.com a popular teen fiction blog she shares with five other YA authors. She loves writing empowering, transformational stories where anything is possible.
Visit her at www.heatherdavisbooks.com
(Source: Amazon.com) 

 BWB: Tell us a bit about the book?

HD: Never Cry Werewolf is a teen paranormal romance geared toward younger readers.  It's a sweet, funny, light read.  It's purely for fun and entertainment -- and it has a good heart.


BWB: What drew you into the paranormal genre?

HD: My father was an English teacher and my mother is a flower child/new age hippie.  Paranormal was the obvious choice.


BWB: What do you like best about werewolves?

HD: I love the idea that everyone has two sides to themselves - a public and private side, I guess.
With werewolves, just like every human, there are ugly parts that never see the light of day, quite literally.

BWB: Did you base the main character Shelby Locke off of a real person/ actress, or is she completely fictional?

HD: No.  Shelby is a pure figment of my imagination, though I do know many teen girls that share her attributes --  including the teenage me.


BWB: Which character do you most relate to in Never Cry Werewolf?


HD: Shelby, for sure.  When things in your family change - for Shelby, her mother dying and a new, not-so-nice stepmother coming onto the scene - and your family doesn't discuss it with you, there is a sense of powerlessness that can overwhelm you.  That is certainly the case for Shelby.


BWB: Is there going to be a sequel to Never Cry Werewolf?


HD: I really hope so.  At lot of readers are writing me asking that question!  And for me, I have
a sequel in my head already.

BWB: Have you ever attended a brat camp as a teen?


HD: No, but I attended a lot of camps over the years.


BWB: What made you decide on writing a YA novel?


HD: I wrote 5 adult novels before I started writing YA.  I was partly inspired by a student
I had when I was substitute teaching at an elementary school.  Thinking back, my first short
story ever published (in Cricket Magazine) was for younger readers.  I guess it was meant
to be.

BWB: How did you become a writer?


HD: Many, many hours of practice, I guess.  I wrote plays and short stories all of my life, and
found novel-writing as an adult, but storytelling has always been part of who I am.  I was a
film major in college and intended to be a screenwriter/filmmaker.

BWB: How do you get your ideas for your books?

HD: They start as little blobs of ideas for characters or situations.  They glom onto other
blobs and grow into a story.  That probably doesn't mean anything to anyone -- but, it's like when I read an article in a newspaper or see something happen on the street and I start to think about it.  Soon, it's growing into a connected idea or series of events and situations.

BWB: Who is your favorite author?


HD: No fair!  That is too difficult a question to answer.  Currently in YA, I would have to say
Libba Bray or Scott Westerfeld.  I love writers whose stories carry the reader away.


BWB: Was the publishing process hard for you and what would you recommend for writers trying to publish?

HD: Yes.  I had been writing novels for six years before I found an agent and sold Never Cry Werewolf.  I would recommend that writers trying to publish find a critique group and get some solid feedback on their work -- really focusing on improving their craft before they worry about the selling part of writing.  That, and spending a lot of time "butt in chair" -- the only way to get better at anything is spending time doing it, right?

BWB:  Are you planning to write anything besides a possible sequel?

HD: Yes, my book for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, THE CLEARING, comes out in April 2010.  It {is} for slightly older YA readers and is a much more serious work.  People who are looking for something dark, brooding and emotional will really connect with it, I think.  It's a paranormal time-travel romance about a modern girl in love with a boy living in the endless summer of 1944.  After that, who knows?  I have several other projects underway!


All of us at Blog with Bite would like to thank Ms. Davis for taking the time to answer our questions.  We really appreciate it and wish you tons of luck with Never Cry Werewolf and The Clearing.

View discussion questions, and topics at the Blog with Bite blog site.

View my review of Never Cry Werewolf