Interview with Faith McKay
Q: At the beginning of the novel, a Will Smith song is mentioned. Using my awesome
detective skills, I took a guess at it being Wild Wild West. How would you describe the setting?
A: In the center of Lacuna Valley is a tourist town with a western theme called Liberty. There are wooden sidewalks and cheesy silhouette cutouts of cowboys. The tourist cheesiness of it is set in the middle of Lacuna Valley, which actually has real cowboys. Lacuna Valley is isolated. There's not a lot of wind and the stillness creates a surreal beauty and eerie quiet. It's lovely but terrible at the same time.
Q: Sam moves around a lot which always makes her the new kid. Did you move around a lot as a kid?
A: Yes, I moved around a lot as a kid, and I found that while there were a lot of similarities, each time I moved the experience was a little bit different. I went to schools where the culture was to bring a new kid in and excitedly meet them, and ones where they preferred to pretend you weren't there. Prophecy Girl doesn't focus on the social aspects of her school life too much, but for the most part people are interested in there being someone new, but not too interested in her.
Q: We learn that Sam plays the clarinet. Do you play any instruments?
A: I played the clarinet in band and I also play piano. I love music and wish I played more instruments.
Q: One of Sam's favorite bands is "Darryl's Grocery Bag". Is this an actual band?
What is favorite genre and other bands she likes?A: YES! This is an actual band, though I would guess that because of the strange name, a lot of people would think that I made it up. Sam likes big band music like Glenn Miller, which is mentioned later in the book, and she enjoys punk music. She secretly has a love of Pop Punk, like Blink-182, but doesn't like to admit these things because she's sort of a hipster/music snob and likes to pretend she only listens to music that no one has ever heard of. Except The Beatles. She doesn't care who knows that she loves The Beatles, she sort of thinks of it as a musical requirement that you love The Beatles.
Q: What was your favorite subject in school?
A: I was really frustrated in school. I wanted to learn more, but found school to be boring and repetitive a lot of the time, and that frustration spread across all subjects equally. When I started college things were faster paced, and I fell in love with Anthropology, History, and English. My worst subject in high school and college was always Spanish. I've never had a harder time learning something.
A: I cannot stand watching people chew on their nails. Ha!
Q: If you weren't a writer, what kind of career would you like to have?
A: You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and a lot of time trying to do other things. I like a lot of things in theory but when it comes down to doing something day in and day out, writing is really the only thing I consistently enjoy.
A: I like to take pictures, actually! The way light plays off snow is breathtaking, even in the night.
Q: Age-old paranormal question: do you prefer vampires or werewolves?
A: I never had a great answer for this, I tend to ramble on. It's easier to try and compare particular vampires versus werewolves, because I love some mythologies and think others are kind of cheap. For instance, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the vampires had great, simple, detailed mythology. The werewolves, while a smaller part, were not so awesome. I'm a big fan of lots of other werewolf stories, however, like the Mercy Thompson series.
Q: Favorite food to eat? Food that you would never eat?
A: My favorite food is popcorn (I really enjoy flavored popcorns), although really it's not an enjoyable experience eating it (I always get things stuck in my teeth!). I really hate onions. A lot.
Q: Favorite Quote?
A: I collect favorite quotes, actually! I have a folder on my desktop that I keep files of them on different subjects. I think my favorite is probably from Helen Keller. She said, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." Whenever I start to feel like the odds are against me and life is hard, I think about Helen Keller and get up and do something. :)
Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: A writer :) My responsible grown up alternatives were: Orca trainer (I really liked Free Willy), Marine Biologist, teacher, therapist, anthropologist. I wanted to live on islands with monkeys.
Description (taken from Faith McKay's website):
Ever since Samantha Winthrop’s mother moved them to Lacuna Valley, supposedly in search of better weather, the list of strange questions she has no answers for has been growing out of control.
Does her little sister, Violet, have the ability to make things happen just by “praying” for them? Are Sam’s dreams really predicting the future? Is she destined to marry the boy she just met, and what is the mysterious orb that he’s guarding? Why does she get the impression that there are dangerous creatures watching from the woods?
While Sam should be focusing on answering those questions, there is one other that makes them seem almost irrelevant: Is her mother planning on killing her and Violet?
E-book Giveaway
Faith McKay is offering 5 lucky readers a free copy of Prophecy Girl. This copy will be available in the winner's format of choice.- This giveaway is open internationally.
- Giveaway ends on Saturday, April 6.
- You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
- You can enter by doing one of the following:
- Free entry. Just click to enter.
- Follow @faithmckay on Twitter. Click follow and leave Twitter name.
- Like Faith McKay's Facebook Page. Click like and then enter.
- Add Prophecy Girl to Goodreads List. Leave Goodreads name.
- Tweet about giveaway. Leave link.
- Leave a comment. Answer the following question:What's your favorite pastime to do in the Spring?
I love taking walks in the spring air with my husband and kids! Thanks for the giveaway! :)
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