OFF THE BEATEN PATH #HBT14

This year, in anticipation of Halloween and in celebration of FERAL, my first psychological thriller, being on the shelves, I'm participating in the Halloween Blog Trail.  I'm on the "Off the Beaten Path" Team. 

At the end of the post, you'll  find the link to the next stop on the blog crawl; at the end of the crawl, you'll be able to participate in a quiz to win books (including a signed copy of FERAL):

About FERAL:

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

~

If your MC went trick or treating, what would they dress up as and why?

Her old self.  What I mean: Claire’s been the victim of a horrible gang beating.  She endured that beating because she stood up for her friend, who was being wrongfully accused of something she didn’t do.  (Claire ratted out a gang member; the gang retaliated.)  Claire isn’t the same physically, and though she’s tried to convince herself she’s moved on, she hasn’t.  Not by a long shot.  She’s struggling with the resentment she feels for her friend.  She struggles with the way she looks…

Some Halloween costumes are gruesome and ugly; others are kind of wish-fulfillment (I’m thinking of the doctor or princess costumes).  If Claire could be anything for a day, I think it’d be her old, pre-beating self.  The Claire who wasn’t scarred, physically or emotionally.  

If your villain went trick or treating, what would they dress up as?

My villain is wearing quite the mask, actually.  (The villain I’m referring to is Serena’s killer.)  He’s got more than just one secret—those secrets keep the reader guessing as the book progresses…In many ways, I think he’s already dressed up, wearing a costume…

What scares the pants out of you?

Heights.  I’ve got really awful vision—20/700.  I’ve worn glasses or contacts since I was about nine, but I’ve often said I don’t think I ever had 20/20 vision—I just think I finally got to the point that the blackboard was officially too fuzzy to make out my daily handwriting assignment.  

I’ve always thought my hatred of heights stems from my rotten eyesight…I can be standing on the ground near a tall building and still get dizzy!

If you were stranded on a deserted island or haunted house, what number are you to die and how?

Okay, now, let’s be clear: I can’t be in a number to die if I’m on a truly “deserted” island.  Somebody else is there.  So this is either one of those idyllic situations where I just happen to be stranded with some Hollywood heartthrob or even one of my favorite “book boyfriends” come to life.  OR: I’m stranded with some island monster…But with 20/700 vision, I could take my glasses off, and the island monster could be Clooney’s double, for all I’d know.

…But really, I’m a sixth-generation Missourian who likes to believe she inherited the “tough stuff” gene.  Of course I’d like to believe I’d be the last man standing.  (But I’ve completely given away my weak spot…snatching my glasses would leave me open to attack!)

Would you rather be covered in slime or covered in blood?

I’m a child of the ‘80s, and I’m pretty sure we all dreamed about being slimed on YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON TELEVISION.

What magical / supernatural creature do you secretly want to be?

Wouldn’t invisibility be the best power ever?  I’ve always said that I’m grateful I’m an author during an era when I get to be a fly on the wall, listening in on the discussions regarding my work.  It’s not the easiest thing in the world to read your own blog reviews, but it’s so incredibly enlightening.  I honestly can’t imagine not doing it.  I feel like listening to my readers is part of the gig—and it’s best to listen in when I am invisible, because that way, everyone’s being completely, brutally honest.  Can you imagine what a powerful tool that would be, to be able to listen in on everyone in your personal life as well?

What is your favorite sentence / paragraph from your novel?

“What damage could a dream do anyone who wasn’t a character in a Nightmare on Elm Street  installment?”

The next stop on the crawl is Brit McGinnis (I'm heading over there myself...)