Parajunkee's View would like to welcome Bree Despain, author of The Dark Divine, to the blog. She has graciously answered a few of my questions and passed on some lovely nail polish to give away today. Three lucky readers will receive a special The Dark Divine nail polish. All you have to do is leave a comment. Details below.
A little bit about Bree: Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. The Dark Divine is Bree's debut novel.
PJV: First, thank you, Ms. Despain for participating in this PJV Q&A. My readers would love to know more about you and your novel, The Dark Divine. Can you tell us a little bit about it in your own words?
BD: Unfortunately, I kind of suck at telling my story in a few words—it took me almost 85,000 words to tell it the first time around! Hmm, but I’ll see what I can do about being precise…THE DARK DIVINE is a modern exploration of the Prodigal Son with a paranormal twist. The story is about a girl named Grace whose family never talks about the night her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood, and his best friend Daniel disappeared—that is until Daniel returns 3 years later and enrolls in Grace and Daniel’s school. Torn between her loyalty to her brother and her attraction Daniel, Grace must discover the truth behind the boys’ dark secret, and find the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate price to do it—her soul.
PJV: The cover of The Dark Divine, definitely makes a wonderful first impression. How much creative input did you have on the design?
BD: Well, when my editor asked me if I had any “thoughts” on what I’d like to see for the cover, I sent him a 2 page letter in return! But ultimately, what I wanted was a cover that was beautiful, striking, yet eerie—and that’s exactly what I ended up with. I couldn’t be happier!
PJV: You’ve introduced some new paranormal elements in The Dark Divine, how did you come up with your ideas?
BD: I did a lot of reading, movie watching, and research about the paranormal creature featured in TDD. While reading, I came across an obscure account of a man in the 1600s who was accused of being this kind of mythical creature and was put on trial. Instead of adamantly denying that he was this particular creature, he claimed proudly to be one and gave such a clever defense in the trial that the judge threw out the case and the man spared himself from being executed. I took this two sentence account of this man’s defense and expanded and built upon it in order to create the mythology in my book.
PJV: I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but why Young Adult?
BD: YA is just where my voice belongs. I’ve tried my hand at writing other genres, but the first time I wrote a YA story, I knew that was what I wanted to write from then on. I love writing about the teenage years because they are such a passionate, high emotion time in our lives. They are also full of firsts: learning to drive, leaving home for the first time, first kisses, first love, and first real disappointments. Teens are starting to figure out who they really are, and that makes for some interesting characters to write about.
Plus, I constantly have to remind myself that I’m not 17 anymore.
Thank you Ms. Despain for visiting Parajunkee's View...and I can't wait for TDD2 aka The Lost Saint.
You can read my review of The Dark Divine, here.
Stop by the next stop on The Dark Divine's Blog Tour...
Booking Through 365
Now for the Nail Polish Giveaway...
Those are my toes...in Dark Divine Purple. Yum! Your toes can be this color also. Comment on this post, let Ms. Despain know if you liked her book, or if you plan on reading it... anything at all...three people will win the nail polish. Winners will be announced tomorrow on this blog.
27 comments:
LOVE it! Great minds think alike 'cause I'm planning to photography my toezies too :)
Great interview! Love the color of the nail polish (:
The interview just makes me more excited to read this book.....:D
I love the book and excited the the lost saint--love the purple nail polish.
Hehe, love the photo!
I really enjoyed reading the interview too, it has made me even MORE desperate to read The Dark Divine. Oh, and I love the colour of the nail polish! :)
I dont read YA myself but my daughter does and she loved this book, she says "its so much better than Fallen." Thanks PJV! you will make her day with this, I will send her this link so she can read it.
This interview makes me want to read the book, so I've added it to my TBR pile. I love the color of the nail polish! :D
I really enjoyed The Dark Divine and I can't wait for The Lost Saint.
Fantastic post. I look forward to this read!
Love the look of your page now!!!!! I want to read this book so bad...
bkwhisperer@bluemarble.net
Great interview - love the cover and am looking forward to reading the book. Love the nail polish (WANT!!). Oh, and I am constantly reminding myself I'm not 17 either (especially since my oldest child will be 17 this summer - ouch!)
jaja! only for girls xDD the book is so awesome!
Love the color too I wanna read this one so bad!!
please enter me ..
jessilyn22@live.com
I love this book cover! it is simply gorgeous!
I absolutely LOOOOVED The Dark Divine. Daniel = YUM! I seriously can't wait for The Lost Saint. I'm so impatient, lol.
That shade of purple is beautiful. They should make paint that color. We should all paint our rooms TDD purple! :D
-Lena
longhorn08fan(at)gmail(dot)com
I just recently got in to reading YA because the subject matter is thought provoking and what I wish had been around when I was young. From the cover to an intriguing storyline, this book has been on my radar for quite some time.
joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com
I really do want to read this book. I think I'd rather have the book than the polish, but then... that's me. Nerd to the end! :D I still think it is great that you did the interview and was able to give away the polish! Congrats!
Hi there, I'm definitely going to be reading this one. And I LOVE the nail polish color!!!
This looks like a great book! And the nail polish color is awesome!! Would love to win some! Thanks for the giveaway!!
email bangersis(at)msn(dot)com
Great interview and love the book cover and nail polish color! Please enter me!
Amy/tnsongbird865@aol.com
The book sounds AMAZING! I'll definitely put it near the top of my to-read list.
I've already added this book to my to-read list. =)
aikychien at yahoo dot com
OK, I definitely LOVE the nail polish color! And TDD sounds awesome!
Koey
the.bookaholics (at) hotmail (dot) com
TDD is an amazing store and I can't wait for the next one! Bree is also awesome and I had fun on a chat with her. I love this color on the cover and think it would look great on my nails!
candace_redinger(at)yahoo(dot)com
(hopefully this doesn't post twice, my browser crashed the first time.)
LOVED THE BOOK :)
Ari
teensactuallyread@gmail.com
Great questions into the interview!
whoa! " I love writing about the teenage years because they are such a passionate, high emotion time in our lives. They are also full of firsts: learning to drive, leaving home for the first time, first kisses, first love, and first real disappointments. Teens are starting to figure out who they really are (...)"
yeah, it's true, but not always we understand who we are...
Anyway, I wanna read this book, of course!
Is it this contest international? [ i hope yes :) ]
Ops...i forgot my email!
g.carrra@email.it
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