Interview with Susan Dennard & More!

Hi, everyone! Recently I've had the amazing opportunity to interview the incredibly awesome Susan Dennard, and have her talk about her debut novel, Something Strange and Deadly (which is released July 24th! Click on the "Preorder" link below to preorder it from the Book Depository, or the links at the bottom of the post to preorder it from various websites!)

Something Strange & Deadly

Susan Dennard 

Series: Something Strange & Deadly, #1

Release Date: July 24th, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen


 

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…


Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—


The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.


And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.


Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Click here for my review of Something Strange and Deadly!

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Interview with Susan Dennard

Q: What is the inspiration behind Something Strange & Deadly?

I'm a little embarrassed to admit since it's so cliche, but the idea for SS&D came from a dream. Yep, that's right. I had a dream about a girl whose brother went missing and the only people who could help her were a ragtime team of outcasts. So, I took that premise and fleshed it out. I settled on Victorian times for a setting because who doesn't like the latter half of the 19th century? And I also thought it would add a nice dose of conflict (all the social restrictions--not to mention the clothes). Then I settled on Philadelphia because of the World's Fair (a.k.a. Centennial Exhibition). I thought that would be a stellar backdrop. Finally, I picked walking dead because there is absolutely nothing that creeps me out more than zombies and ghosts. Oy, I'm getting chills just thinking about them...


Q: Something Strange and Deadly has a lot of interesting and amazing characters. Which one would you say you relate the most to and why? 


Oooh, that's a tough question. I wish I could say Eleanor, but she's way braver--and also far more impulsive than I am. I am about as un-impulsive as a person can be.


So, as strange as it might sound, I think I relate the most to Daniel. Not his shady past bit, but the whole I-act-gruff-because-I-suck-with-people thing. ;) I was incredibly shy growing up, and people always mistook my eye-contact-avoidance as rudeness. But the truth was I was just really uncomfortable around other people! But books--oh, books always understood me and I never had to prove myself. My love for reading isn't so different from Daniel and his machines. His inventions never judge.

Also--though we don't see it as much in book 1 as we will in books 2 and 3--so much of Daniel's moodiness stems from his own self-doubts and fears. As someone who has had her fair share of emotional snappiness (especially when I was in high school), I definitely relate to the aspect of Daniel's personality. So much of our cruelty and anger comes from fear of rejection.


Q: What's your favorite scene in Something Strange and Deadly?

My favorite scene is hands down Chapter 19--the one where they have to flee the explosive dynamite factory. It was one of the most fun scenes to write because of the excitement and potential for disaster, but also the character tension (erm...romantic tension, even ;)) is high. I listened to the track "Septimus" from the STARDUST movie score over and over again as I imagined Eleanor and Daniel running for their lives.

Actually, if readers stay tuned, once I reveal the book's official website, they'll be able to read Chapter 19 as a teaser for the book!


Q: What inspired you to become a writer? 


I was (and still am) a major daydreamer, and I would (and still do) spend every spare second imagining wild scenarios and even wilder characters. It wasn't until I was a preteen that I actually started writing. At that time, my only reader was my sister--and she was a *very* forgiving reader. I look back on those stories and literally CRINGE. The same goes for my Fictionpress days in high school and college. The stories I put online were really quite terrible (though readers were always so nice!), but I was in total denial. Honestly, I thought everything I wrote was pure gold. The word "revise" was not in my vocabulary. ;)

When I went to college, my plan was to become a writer, actually...but I got severely sidetracked by marine biology. Fast forward to the end of grad school--my then-fiance-now-husband was going to have to live far away from me for 5+ years if I continued in academia. I decided that I'd rather be with him than science, and we moved to Germany. Then I turned my attention back to writing--except this time, I was fully aware of my shortcomings.

I spent a solid year just studying the craft of storytelling while also learning by experience. I wrote one novel, knew when I finished it was terrible, stuck it in a drawer, and set to work on what is now SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY. Even SS&D was quite bad, but I spent the next year writing/revising it and continuing to hone my craft. I knew I wanted to tell THIS story, so I was willing to work at it for as long as it took! And now--three years since I started Writing For Real--the book is about to release! WOOHOO!!


Q: If you could have dinner with one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?


If I could have dinner with one famous person, I would definitely choose Isaac Asimov. He's one of my heroes (that's why my dog is named after him). He was one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction, and as if that isn't impressive enough, he also wrote over 400 books in his life. FOUR HUNDRED. I cannot even wrap my head around this number. PLUS, he was a professor of biochemistry.

I would ask him how he found the time to teach, research, and write...and how he kept his brain from short-circuiting with all that Lofty Knowledge. I'd ask him about the inspiration behind his stories (FOUNDATION is so, so, so good and so, so, so clever). I'd also ask him if he minds that my dog is named after him. :-/



Q: If Something Strange and Deadly were ever to become a movie, who would you pick as the perfect cast? 


This is such a tough question because finding a good Eleanor still haunts me... As for Daniel, he's definitely Max Irons (RED RIDING HOOD, THE HOST). I might or might not (okay, definitely do) have pictures of him all over my office. For inspiration. And research. That is all. ;)


Joseph would be Anthony Mackie (THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU). I swear, that actor is EXACTLY how I pictured Misyeu Boyer. Plus...he's incredibly easy on the eyes. What a smile! :)

When I imagined Clarence, I had Ben Barnes (PRINCE CASPIAN, DORIAN GRAY) in mind. He's just got the perfect combination of arrogance and beauty. I think Allie--Clarence's sister--would be perfectly cast with Emma Roberts (THE ART OF GETTING BY). She's pretty and can definitely play the snarky part.

The actress Jessica Lu (MTV's AWKWARD) is a great gal to play Jie. As soon as I saw that show (which is amazing, by the way) and she stepped onscreen, I was like, "THAT is Jie Chen."

And that leaves us with Eleanor...who--after much deliberation (seriously, SO MUCH deliberation)--I think would be well-played by Mia Wasikowska (JANE EYRE, ALICE IN WONDERLAND). She'd need to put on some weight for the role, but I think she has the right coloring and can really put some some spunk into Eleanor's character.

So there you have it! SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY.

Max Irons (Daniel)

Anthony Mackie (Joseph)

Ben Barnes (Clarence)

Emma Roberts (Allie)

Jessica Lu (Jie)

Mia Wasikowska (Eleanor)

Great answers and great cast! Thank you so much for stopping by and having an interview here at Finding Bliss in Books, Susan! 

Thank YOU, Blythe! It was fun. 

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Do you want to read Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard? (Yes, you do. It's awesome.) Click on the links below to preorder it! Something Strange and Deadly is released on July 24th, 2012. 

Book Depository

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Powell's Books
IndieBound

Also, check out Something Strange and Deadly's official website to check out all things Something Strange and Deadly related, including a month long scavenger hunt with new giveaways and secret content every week!

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Giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



*This giveaway is for a Kindle copy of Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard. This giveaway ends on July 23rd, and the winner will be notified on the same day. The winner will receive their copy of Something Strange and Deadly on July 24th, or a day later. If you do not own a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for free. Make sure you have an amazon account! IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING YOU GOT POINTS FOR, YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED *

  Susan's Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

I'm a writer, reader, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. I used to be a marine biologist, but now I write novels. And not novels about fish either, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues (I really likes swoon-worthy rogues).

I live in Germany with my French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about my crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on my blog or twitter.