Bree Despain Interview

Today I'm kicking off a week of all things The Dark Divine to celebrate its release! It's one of the first Tenner books to be released, and Liyana over at LiyanaLand is celebrating the release of Scones and Sensibility and Magic Under Glass, which are also released today. I'm sure you've heard about The Dark Divine already, as it has already gotten rave reviews from cool people such as The Story Siren, The Dreamer Reader, and Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf. But if you somehow haven't heard of this awesome book, here's a description, straight from Bree's site:


Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

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Sounds great, right? It is great. My review will be up either tomorrow or Thursday. But right now, here's an interview with the lovely author, Bree Despain:

1) I'm assuming you like the Parable of the Prodigal Son since The Dark Divine is based off of it. I'm not a huge fan since I've had to read it at least 5 times in two different classes for school. Why do you like it so much? And why did you choose that parable, instead of like the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Parable of the Sower, or The Good Samaritan? (And cue all the non Catholic/Christian school kids being all "wth is Khy talking about?)

I have always been intrigued by the Prodigal Son parable because that particular story has no ending. I really wanted to explore what happened after the prodigal son returned. Was he ever able to put his life back together? Was his good brother ever able to forgive him? Would the person who loves both of the brothers be able to reconcile her feelings and loyalties toward the two? These questions really fascinated me, and were the driving force behind the action of my story.

Not saying much, but the Parable of the Good Samaritan may (or may not) have a role in the sequel.

Author photo credited to Chauntelle Janzer of OpieFoto

2) Oooh, I'm intrigued already. Grace, your main character, is an artist. What about you? Do you draw or paint or anything like that, or do you stick to the ~art of writing~?

I love art, and it is something that is very important to my family. My uncle is a phenomenal oil painter, and my sister and brother are very talented artists. I started painting when I was a little girl, and enjoyed doing it up until high school when I finally came to terms with the fact that I was not very good at it. Luckily, I soon discovered that I was better at theatre than I was at drawing, and that hobby eventually led me to writing short plays. That’s when I discovered that my real passion was writing. I am still in awe (and a little bit jealous) of my artistically talented family members, but I kind of feel like words are my paintbrushes.

3) Just saying that I love that you spelled "theatre" the fancy way. What are you most looking forward to about your book being out?

Um, that the anticipation will FINALLY be over!! Also, I really believe that a story doesn't live until somebody reads it. I'm looking forward to my book coming to life in the hands of readers all over the country--but not in a freaky "it's alive! it's alive! Holy crap this book came to life a bit my hand off!" sort of way.

4) Were you always a big paranormal fan? Did you write any paranormal books/stories before The Dark Divine?

I started out writing realistic/humorous fiction, and the very first incarnation of TDD was as a contemporary fiction novel. But I often like to have the TV on for background noise while I'm working, and a few years ago I was writing when an episode of BUFFY came on TV. I'd never seen the show before, and after a few minutes I realized I was watching the show instead of writing. I became a huge fan of BUFFY within a few weeks, and I now own every single episode. I really liked the way they used paranormal creatures/events as metaphors for things teens deal with in that show, and I decided that I wanted to try my hand at paranormal fiction. I started reading paranormal books, and started writing a paranormal novel (not TDD), and I eventually realized that TDD needed to be a paranormal story.

To the right there is a lovely picture of Bree and me. (Yay rhyme!)

5) If you had to be a supernatural creature, which one would you most like to be?

Does a slayer count?

6) Of course it does. I saw on your site you like Friday Night Lights. LET'S TALK FNL. Saracen or Riggins or someone else? Do you want to punch Lyla too? Or Buddy, sometimes? And in one sentence, can you tell everyone why they should watch FNL if they are lame and haven't already?

Oh man, I can't tell you how much I love FNL. I am dying over the fact that I don't have Direct TV so I haven't seen a single episode of this current season. I can't wait until it's on network TV!! I like Saracen as a character, but I'm totally a Riggins girl. That boy just melts my heart. Oh, and that smile!! Okay, I better stop since my hubby will totally read this interview.

And yes on punching Lyla. She doesn't deserve to get to frolic with those cute boys. Buddy is a weird character because sometimes I hate him, and then other times I feel bad for him.

Okay, one sentence sales pitch for FNL: Hmm . . . Hot guys + great acting + great script writing + hot guys = awesomeness personified.

Or how about: I HATE football, yet I am still obsessed with this show and you will be too.

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Thanks so much, Bree! I guess I need to watch season two of Buffy then, since it is partly responsible for the awesome that is The Dark Divine.

And everyone: be sure to check out Bree's website, blog, and twitter, and be sure to get your copy of The Dark Divine, which is finally released today!

And stick around all this week for more The Dark Divine awesomeness. (: