Author Interview: Mara Purnhagen (Past Midnight)

Everyone please welcome, Mara Purnhagen, author of Tagged. Her latest book Past Midnight is the start of a promising series. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to interview you twice on my blog. :) Now, the book is already out in stores, so show Mara your support by purchasing it. I am looking forward to reviewing it soon!

______________________________________________

Mara Purnhagen cannot live without a tall caramel latte, her iPod or a stack of books on her nightstand. She has lived in Aurora, Illinois; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio, and Duncan, South Carolina. She currently lives outside Cleveland, Ohio, with her family, two cats and a well-meaning ghost who likes to open the kitchen windows. Tagged is her first young-adult novel.

For more info on Mara, visit her site(s):
-Website
-Live Journal
-Facebook
-Good Reads

Books by Mara:
Tagged
Past Midnight (Book #1)
Raising the Dead (Past Midnight, Book #1.5) - January 2011
A Hundred Candles (Past Midnight, Book #2) - March 2011
Beyond The Grave (Past Midnight, Book #3) - September 2011
______________________________________________

Past Midnight (Book #1) by Mara Purnhagen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Release Date: Available Now
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 224

Summary: Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….
______________________________________________

Author Interview:

1) Thank you Mara for being kind enough to guest post on my blog. Your latest YA book, Past Midnight, sounds great! What inspired you to write it?

MP: Thanks for having me, Eleni! I’ve always liked ghost stories. I wanted to write something a little different, though, something with a scientific twist. Paranormal with a side of reason, maybe? So my main character is totally normal—she can’t feel ghosts or see them or speak to them—which is good, because no one in her family believes in them. Until something strange happens inside a Charleston café…

2) From reading the summary, I got the feeling that your protagonist, Charlotte is spunky. Was it easy writing her character and can you relate to any of her traits?

MP: Charlotte is secure in what she believes to be real, so she is not easily frightened. She’s also traveled and moved around a lot, so she’s never had a place that felt like a permanent home. I can definitely related to that—the longest I’ve lived anywhere was South Carolina (where the novel is set), but usually I stay in a place for about five years.

I don’t know that I would describe Charlotte as spunky, though. She’s learned not to let people walk on her, and that gives her a kind of strength. It’s a trait I admire in people.

3) I love the idea that her family is part of a ghost-hunting reality show. Do you ever watch reality shows? If you do, which one is your favorite and why? And if not, why not?

MP: I do watch reality shows, but I get bored with them pretty quickly, so my favorites tend to change every season. For a while, I looked forward to Ice Road Truckers every Sunday. Right now, I like American Pickers.

But reality TV is such an ephemeral thing. It seems like a dozen new shows pop up every week. There is definitely an overabundance of ghost hunting shows. I don’t watch them anymore, with the exception of Fact or Faked, in which a team tries to debunk ghost stories and legends. Love it!

4) I see that Past Midnight will be a series, what can we expect as readers from the next installments?

MP: The next book, One Hundred Candles, is darker, but it also has more romance. Elements and characters mentioned in the first book will take on more significance in the second book. I know where I’m going with the series, and by the end, all of the characters will be transformed into something different—some for the better, some for the worse—and not everyone will survive.

5) Can you describe the different story vibes between your previous novel, Tagged and Past Midnight?

MP: Tagged is much lighter in tone, I think, and is a stand-alone novel. Like Tagged, Past Midnight is a mystery, but there are more twists and more characters.

6) Lastly, do you have anything you want to say to your current and future readers?

MP: I truly hope you enjoy my books! I have two more novels and two novellas—all part of the Past Midnight series—coming out in 2011.