Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Day 5

Don’t Look Behind the Bookshelf

What are you doing here? Did you not see the letters in huge red script?! It told you not to look behind here--and you did. Now you have no choice but to pry your eyes open and be exposed to yet another day of Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf. (You can see yesterday's interview here.) Today's author has a book that's perfect for Halloween, because the characters portray people that they aren't; however, it isn't being released for about a year. Nevertheless, the book looks fantastic and phenomenal and I just had to feature it and its author (I talk to her on Twitter, and she's totally awesome). Put on your costumes and get ready to party with...

Mary Gray

Trick or treat?

Treat! Chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, mint, or toffee, please.

Truth or dare?

Truth. I always wanted the truth about the boys growing up.

Best Halloween creature?

Vampires in The Vampire Diaries, zombies in The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

What’s the worst and best candy to get on Halloween?

Anything berry—yuck! The best are always the candy bars.

What’s your most memorable Halloween costume?

My husband sewed Star Wars costumes for my whole family a few years back. He was Obi Wan, my son was the Emperor, my daughter an Ewok, and I was Padme. We totally rocked! Another time we were all pirates and since I was eight months pregnant, the baby in my belly was a map. This year we’re all going to be Harry Potter characters: Lucius Malfoy, Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Hedwig (Harry’s owl!) and Tonks (Professor Lupin’s punk style wife). I’ll be Tonks, complete with the pink or purple hair.

Best movie to watch for Halloween? Best book to read?

The Sixth Sense or The Village. I always liked the more subtle horror. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (especially the chapter with Roland) and The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

What scares you?

Any of those creepy masks! (You know, the rubber ones that cover your whole face.) I hate not knowing who’s behind them.

If you could be any Halloween creature what would you be?

I think I’d be Helena Bonham Carter playing Bellatrix Lastrange. I totally have a girl crush on her. She’s hot.

If you could go back in time and rewrite the legend of a monster/creature, which would you choose?

Jack the Ripper and The Headless Horseman have always fascinated me. Both seem so grotesque, and yet for some reason they’ve never really frightened me. For that same reason, I was really excited about the book Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves which was pretty fun, and wrote a short story about the Headless Horseman which sucked.

How do you celebrate Halloween?

Trick or treating with the kids, a party at church. Last year, we bought this huge spider and hung it above our front door, though the stupid Texas wind kept knocking it down. I had a five foot real looking toy cobra I bought for making the trailer for my book, but I’m terrified of snakes, so I gave it to my producer. He’s going to put it to use at his Halloween party.

[Beauty and the Bookshelf adds: There's a snake for the book trailer? *Ponders* Should we be scared?]

It’s Friday the 13^th, you’re home alone, and it’s dark. Simultaneously, the phone rings and you hear somebody upstairs. What do you do?

Freak out with my heart pounding in my chest. Run in my room and hide, because I’m a baby like that.

If you were in a horror movie with a classic killer what would you do to survive?

Hide in a Chuck-E-Cheese costume.

If some of your characters were going to dress up for Halloween, what would they dress up as?

WELL. My characters do dress up in my book, but I can’t give away who is who, but I can say they are forced to do so, and they hate it.

What are five facts about yourself?

1. I moved thirteen times before going to college.

2. I married my own personal superhero.

3. I love baking and playing basketball, but spend most of my time in other worlds.

4. I write when my three small children aren’t swiping at my laptop.

5. The cover of my book JUST CAME OUT. Add it “to read” on Goodreads!!!

Using the letters of ASYLUM, please describe The Dollhouse Asylum.

A – Analogies to famous, tragic love stories.

S – Stage: everything happens on a stage & Seven: everything revolves around the number seven.

Y – Yummy men. Two of them, to be exact.

L – Love/hate relationship

U – Unexpected death

M – Manipulative villain

The Dollhouse Asylum doesn’t come out for a while. What’s next, and what are you doing in the meantime?

Well, I just finished with my major edits. We’ve moved on to line editing, now. But apart from that book, I’m trying to figure out what’s next! I’m playing around with a possible novella, but still unsure if I can pull it off. I’ve toyed with a couple other ideas with my editor, but mostly I need to figure out where my head’s at.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

That Rachel is AWESOME. Best interview questions I’ve seen yet.

[Beauty and the Bookshelf adds: Aww, thank you!]

Mary Gray has a fascination with all things creepy. That’s why all her favorite stories usually involve panic attacks and hyperventilating. In real life, she prefers to type away on her computer, ogle over her favorite TV shows, and savor fiction. When she’s not immersed in other worlds, she and her husband get their exercise by chasing after their three children. The Dollhouse Asylum is her first novel.

To learn more about Mary Gray, visit her website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads! And for more about her debut novel The Dollhouse Asylum, just scroll down!

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Publishing Date: October 22, 2013

A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when seventeen-year-old Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.

But if they play it wrong, they'll die.

I don't know about you, but I have been wanting to get my hands on this book since I first heard about it, and the wait will be long and hard, but worth it. Plus, this is perfect for Halloween because the characters are portraying other characters--just like people do on Halloween when they dress up in costume. Not to mention that it's a whole bunch of famous, tragic literary characters together in one book--how cool is that?

Be sure to return to Beauty and the Bookshelf tomorrow (and through the 31st) for more of Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf--if you dare.