Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? I’m a geek to the core. I have fandoms. I have made a few costumes that I’ve worn to conferences. I have always loved Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. I still believe that unicorns could possibly exist. Fantasy and Science Fiction are my jam. I watch, read, write, and breathe these genres.

How long have you been writing? I started writing in grade school—a story about a lost sock that was actually an adventure story about a sock looking for his family. Since then, I really loved writing. But I started writing with the goal of getting published eight years ago.

What kind(s) of writing do you do? I write mostly fiction. I have written some articles, but by love and focus in writing is young adult fantasy and sci-fi. Mostly novels, because then I get to spend more time with my characters. But I have done a number of short stories and even flash fiction pieces.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?  To be honest, it was digging into my own emotional experiences that coincided with some of my characters’ experiences to get some raw, honest scenes. Yeah, the whole thing about writers pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into their work, it’s real. J

What did you enjoy most about writing this book? The characters. I LOVE Allie and Cody. I love their story. It was so much fun to write.

Are there underrepresented groups or ideas featured if your book?  If so, discuss them. Yeah. Cody, my main hero, is someone with a disability. It doesn’t define him, but it’s part of who he is. I got to talk to and learn from some amazing people while researching Cody’s specific disability, and one thing I took away from their openness and honesty that I wanted to make sure came through was that there’s no reason why he can’t. Yeah. Some things are harder. Some things are different. But a hero with a disability? Why not?

Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were influential in your work?  What impact have they had on your writing? Maggie Stiefvater for one. I love her characters. There’s something lyrical in the way she writes. The feels. OMGsh the feels. Reading her stuff made me want to create amazing characters and emotions people could remember after closing the books. As a kid the Chronicles of Narnia by C.C. Lewis made me want to be a writer. I loved the imagination. The way he could whisk me into another world and open my eyes to things I’d never imagined existed. I wanted to be able to draw readers in like a partially opened wardrobe beckons adventurers.

What do you like to read in your free time? YA and adult fantasy and sci-fi. And I also love a good mystery as well as some horror and thrillers. I read more than one book at a time so I can pick and choose depending on my mood. I also read non-fiction if it has to do with personality psychology or animal behavior.

What projects are you working on at the present? Oooh. So many. I have two books coming out in the beginning of 2018 (book two in my Children of the Blood Moon YA fantasy series and the first book in a new YA urban fantasy trilogy). I just started plotting the start to a new magical realism series with some Greek mythology elements. I am putting finishing touches on my YA sci-fi. And I have a fairy tale retelling I’m delving into edits for. So a lot. lol

Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in the shower)? If it’s strange to write out things on paper to involve one creative area of my brain, make lists of scenes and characters, etc., to involve another, and then put those lists and notes into two other programs (aside from the physical notebook) so that I can organize it different ways, then yes. I do.

What book do you wish you could have written? The Scorpio Races. I love mythological beasts and connections to animals.

If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters? I’d pick Anna Sophia Robb for Allie and Zach Roerig for Cody.

If you had a superpower, what would it be? Reading people’s minds and emotional states.

Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before? So many! I want to go to Greece and Rome and the UK and Egypt.

If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be? The red panda. Little, hides from view, cuddly-looking, but actually has really sharp teeth.

If you could have any accents from anywhere in the world, what would you choose? Irish or Scottish. Probably because I write out and think words like dinna and couldna but am always afraid of how they’ll sound if I were to actually say them.

 

S.D. Grimm’s first love in writing is young adult fantasy and science fiction, which is to be expected from someone who looks up to heroes like Captain America and Wonder Woman, has been sorted into Gryffindor, and identifies as rebel scum. Her patronus is a red Voltron lion, her spirit animal is Toothless, and her favorite meal is second breakfast.She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency, her office is anywhere she can curl up with her laptop and at least one large-sized dog, and you can learn more about her upcoming novels at www.sdgrimm.com

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When Allie’s best friend dares their group to play a game in a cemetery—something she calls “witching”—Allie never expects what it might mean for her. When she plays, she doesn’t just find bodies, she summons their souls. But one soul wants more than Allie is willing to give.

And the boy next door could be the key to saving her.

Cody Burkhart. Straight from Montana, cowboy hat wearing, and smoking hot, he’s just the thing to help Allie become “normal” again after the death of her mother. And as her newly appointed Guardian, he’s also just the thing to help Allie ward off the vengeful spirit who’s after her soul. Except Cody has his own demons to slay that keep him closed off. But as the full moon approaches, so does their only chance to break the curse, and Cody will have to make the biggest sacrifice of all.