Dead is So Last Year
Book 3 in the Dead Series
by Marlene Perez
Daisy's Back!
Something very strange starts happening in Nightshade the summer that the eldest Giordano sister, Rose, gets a job working at Dr. Franken's research laboratory. People are starting to see double. Doppelgängers of Nightshade residents are popping up all over town. Daisy, Rose and Poppy think it's a coincidence, until the rumors start that their father, who disappeared several years ago, has been spotted in town. Meanwhile, Daisy's beau, Ryan is spending all of his time training for football, and like the other guys on the team, he's grown enormous almost overnight. Samantha Devereux's boyfriend's neck has doubled in size since school ended. Could the football players be resorting to extreme measures to win? Between summer jobs, sugar rushes, and beach parties, the Giordano girls get to the bottom of these mysteries and more.
Quick Review: What would happen if cotton candy could sprout fangs and eat you? Then you'd get how cute and deadly this series is. Taking all the best elements of what make the horror genre fantastic, Perez pours them into Nightshade. Mysteries abound in this fast paced series where the supernatural is just a part of life. This is an absolute must read for all my fellow urban fantasy fanatics.
My only complaint is that Daisy doesn't spend nearly enough time with Ryan as I'd like her to, he sure is a cutie!
IB Teen talks with Marlene Perez
IBT: If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who would you choose?
MP: Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.
IBT: How did you survive being a teen?
MP: With the knowledge that high school is only four years of my life and the company of a great best friend.
IBT: Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing, knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?
MP: I don't think so. I think it's important to try to shut out those outside voices when you're writing. The most important thing is the story. Of course, I would never put anything in one of my novels that I knew would hurt someone I loved.
IBT: What do you think are the biggest issues that teens need to be thinking about today? Do you think teens today are looking for quality in the books they read, or just to live vicariously through superficial characters?
MP: I think teens look for quality in the books they read, however, I don't think that adults necessarily always pay enough attention to what teens are looking for. We try, but... And I think that teens want to live vicariously through quality books, too. Because they, like all readers, are looking for truths about their own lives reflected in the pages of fiction.
IBT: How have the books you’ve read inspired the books you’ve written, if at all? Can you name some that stand out?
MP: The books I've read have inspired me for sure. Some of the books that have inspired me include A WRINKLE IN TIME, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, THE OUTSIDERS, oh, gosh, too many to list. FOREVER by Judy Blume inspired me to try to be truthful. THE VAMPIRE LESTAT books inspired my love of the paranormal.
IBT: What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?
MP: I get inspiration from so many places, but I once eavesdropped on two guys who were talking about their girlfriends. That conversation inspired an idea for a novel I haven't finished yet.
IBT: Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?
MP: This is a hard question because I usually really like my main characters. I end up wanting to protect my characters, but I can't, or else I'd end up with a really boring book.
IBT: What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?
MP: Oh, I'm a complete chicken, so no sky diving for me. But I'd love to learn to do something crafty, like knitting or whatever. But I'm left-handed so that's a challenge to anybody trying to teach me.
IBT: What do you do when you are faced with writer’s block? What helps you get over it? MP: I've never experienced REAL writer's block, but I've heard it can be frustrating. I have experienced extended procrastination. What helps me get over it is telling myself to get something, anything down on paper, that it doesn't have to be perfect.
IBT: Paris is the one city I cannot die without first visiting. Do you have a place you've yet to visit but cannot live without?
MP: I'd like to visit Sicily, where my grandfather was from.
My only complaint is that Daisy doesn't spend nearly enough time with Ryan as I'd like her to, he sure is a cutie!
IB Teen talks with Marlene Perez
IBT: If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who would you choose?
MP: Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.
IBT: How did you survive being a teen?
MP: With the knowledge that high school is only four years of my life and the company of a great best friend.
IBT: Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing, knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?
MP: I don't think so. I think it's important to try to shut out those outside voices when you're writing. The most important thing is the story. Of course, I would never put anything in one of my novels that I knew would hurt someone I loved.
IBT: What do you think are the biggest issues that teens need to be thinking about today? Do you think teens today are looking for quality in the books they read, or just to live vicariously through superficial characters?
MP: I think teens look for quality in the books they read, however, I don't think that adults necessarily always pay enough attention to what teens are looking for. We try, but... And I think that teens want to live vicariously through quality books, too. Because they, like all readers, are looking for truths about their own lives reflected in the pages of fiction.
IBT: How have the books you’ve read inspired the books you’ve written, if at all? Can you name some that stand out?
MP: The books I've read have inspired me for sure. Some of the books that have inspired me include A WRINKLE IN TIME, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, THE OUTSIDERS, oh, gosh, too many to list. FOREVER by Judy Blume inspired me to try to be truthful. THE VAMPIRE LESTAT books inspired my love of the paranormal.
IBT: What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?
MP: I get inspiration from so many places, but I once eavesdropped on two guys who were talking about their girlfriends. That conversation inspired an idea for a novel I haven't finished yet.
IBT: Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?
MP: This is a hard question because I usually really like my main characters. I end up wanting to protect my characters, but I can't, or else I'd end up with a really boring book.
IBT: What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?
MP: Oh, I'm a complete chicken, so no sky diving for me. But I'd love to learn to do something crafty, like knitting or whatever. But I'm left-handed so that's a challenge to anybody trying to teach me.
IBT: What do you do when you are faced with writer’s block? What helps you get over it? MP: I've never experienced REAL writer's block, but I've heard it can be frustrating. I have experienced extended procrastination. What helps me get over it is telling myself to get something, anything down on paper, that it doesn't have to be perfect.
IBT: Paris is the one city I cannot die without first visiting. Do you have a place you've yet to visit but cannot live without?
MP: I'd like to visit Sicily, where my grandfather was from.
