I’m Really a Wimp

Hi everyone! A special thanks to my host, Chris Longmuir, for having me as a guest today! Chris has assured me that she’s never had a guest before, so I’ll try to be a well-mannered first guest.

This is me - Stephanie Keyes

 

Okay, so let’s get on with the post. I have a deep, dark confession to make. I do. How’s that for kicking off our relationship? Anyway, here it goes. I’m a wimp. No, seriously, I am a complete wimp. After I read Chris Longmuir’s Ghost Train, I had to sleep with the lights on. You can only imagine how ticked off my husband was!

 

That being the case, the question that I get all of the time is this: How do you write such scary stuff if you’re such a wimp? Now you’re getting curious, huh? I’d hoped you would.

 

Let me give you an example. In my YA Fantasy, The Star Child, there is an Upside-Down Ocean that is filled with the souls of the unforgiven that hovers over a black hole, waiting to suck you in and make you one of them.

I’ve also got Soul Snatchers, who depress you so much that you kill yourself, after which they claim your soul. They lie in wait for any unsuspecting travelers in Faerie.

 

Oh and don’t forget the evil Celtic god that keeps appearing in mirrors and scaring the pants off of everyone. Not literally, of course.

 

Maybe there are just a few somewhat scary things in The Star Child after all. But to answer the question, here is how I can write that “stuff”.

Because it isn’t real.

 

In Chris’ brilliant books, where serial killers stalk the streets and gangs rule the land, those things can truly happen, whereas mine are a product of my imagination or pulled from mythology.

 

How can I write it? Simple. I just close my eyes and imagine the scariest possible situation. What would terrify me and how could I step that up a notch, keeping in mind that I write in the YA genre. That’s where I pull in the creepy stuff.

 

But it’s okay, because none of it is real. Right? Mmmh, can I still reach the light switch?

 

Thank you, Chris, for having me as a guest today! I am still reading Dead Wood, with the light on, and love it.

 

If you’d like to learn more about my book, The Star Child, check out the information below!

 

About the Book

The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. 
Only one can stop the night.

 

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning
tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.

Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

Paperback

E-Book

 

About the Author

Stephanie Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems as well as a Master's in Education. A seasoned, facilitator, Mrs. Keyes worked in Training and Development for an international telecommunications corporation for twelve years; spending the first eight years of her career as a Software Trainer and Technical Writer and the last four working in Human Resources and Employee Development.

In May of 2012, Mrs. Keyes left the corporate world to focus on her family and her writing full-time. She also operates a freelance graphic and instructional design business, Sycamore Road Design.

Inkspell Publishing will release her first novel, The Star Child, on September 21, 2012. She is now currently at work on the second book in The Star Child Trilogy, The Fallen Stars.

Keyes lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, and Riley the dog.

Contact Stephanie
Website: www.stephaniekeyes.com
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Keyes/150860604966160
Twitter: www.twitter.com/StephanieKeyes