Q and A with author C.A. Verstraete:

Today I welcome to my blog, a new author hitting the scene with a great YA zombie novel. I read it and it is amazing! I wanted to sit down with her and find out some of things she has learned and some of the things she is doing for her first novel. Make sure you leave her a comment.

Thank you for joining me today and I am going to jump right into it...

 Hi, B...thanks for hosting me as part of my Book Launch Blog Tour for Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, which just released!

What piece of advice would you give to new authors trying to get their novels published?

Verstraete: Be patient. (What is that?) Be persistent. And don't start sending it out too early. (Yes, I did. See reverse of first answer. ha!)

What is the thing the one thing that you have learned about publishing that you didn't know?

Verstraete: That there really, truly, is such a thing as a marketing/publicity person other than myself, though I've heard they're near as rare as unicorns. J

What made you write about Zombies? And do you think that Zombies are the new 'fad'?

Verstraete: I actually got into zombies with a short story I wrote a year ago (The Killer Valentine Ball) that I called "zombie light." I've always been a Night of the Living Dead fan, but The Walking Dead really hooked me.

Monsters seem to be the bearers of society's ills, and with all that's going on in our society, I think it's a theme that'll continue to be around for a while. People need a "boogeyman" and for now, zombies seem to be it.

Tell us what you like about being an author?

Verstraete: It's a good way to get the words out of my head or I'd be talking to myself. (Not a good thing. ha!) I just enjoy writing - at least when it's going well.

Why did you decide to go with Intrigue Publishing?

Verstraete: I liked the idea of a royalty-paying publisher and I liked Austin Camacho's long experience in publishing.

Your characters are Hispanic? Do you think it is harder to find a market for an ethnic novel than a novel with the characters being African American or White?

Verstraete: I actually don't think of my character, Becca, being any different than anyone else. She is part-Spanish, but that is only part of who she is. I think readers will find that Becca is multi-dimensional, with being a part-zombie and coping with "full" zombies more noticeable than her ethnicity. After all, not everyone has a "twirly" eye and a female, "Wolfman" gait...

This blog is about writing, shoes and books. What are your favorite shoes, your least favorite book, and why?

Verstraete:  Shoes? Well, who doesn't like shoes! I love platforms and wedges, and as someone barely reaching 5-feet-tall, I'm soo glad they're still in fashion. But I may still wear them anyway even if they weren't! And I absolutely adore miniature shoes (and purses!) They're dollhouse-sized, but look like the real thing. (For fun, check these out and tell me you're not in love!)

Books: One immediately comes to mind: Moby Dick. I hated reading (or trying to read) that book in school. Bo-ring! That doesn't mean I didn't like other classics, which I did. To this day, I still like to re-read Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Tell us about what is next for you.

Verstraete:  Next? More zombies, of course. I'm not done. Be sure to enter here to win a great prize

Website: www.cverstraete.com

Blog: GirlZombieAuthors, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

BUY:
Amazon:  *Canada - China - France - Germany - India - Italy - Japan -Spain - US - UK

* Books-A-Million   *Barnes & Noble   *IndieBound   * Powell's

Royalty should have it's perks, right?

Today I turn my blog over to royalty. I was approched by this young lady after she had endured a horrific ordeal. Her family was moving into a brand new castle and she had to leave the only castle she has known She has lots to say about it. Please leave a comment to show her your support. Either way, let her know that you read her post.

It all started in October when they decided that they needed a bigger castle. Now, the previous castle was just fine by me. I had the run of the place and I had the best hiding places ever. I had toys, although I found more fun in tormenting them, than actually playing with those stupid things that they unsuccessfully bought time and time again in an attempt to placate me. I didn't want for anything and I was the Princess in my castle. Of course my mother was the Queen and sometimes she would turn over her reign to me when she invited people over. Slowly, I started seeing things leave the castle and never come back. Then came the day when the castle was over-run by those fur-less beings. Two days later, it happened. The Queen cornered me in the room with the water in the bowl and the massive cold bed. I thought she wanted to keep me company as I prepared for my nap and then it started. She tried putting me, ME, in a box! What was happening! Why was she doing this. I fought a valant fight but alas, she won; she wore me down, but not before she bore some severe battle scars. (yes, she had to find some of the stuff and rub it on her arms.) I digress. She puts me in the box and then we are going outside! OUTSIDE! I am not an outsider, I need the comfort of that cool air that blows from the ceiling and I need the comfort of my space with those two big boxes that swish water but I can never see it. She puts me in the bigger box with black things that make it move (momma said to stay away from those things, they are dangerous)and then we start to move. I see my castle fading away and then it's gone. GONE I tell ya!. Where are we going...what is she going to do with me! Now, I've heard stories. Nothing prepared me for what happened next.

We arrive at a smaller castle, one with a fluffy in the common area; where I don't have any privacy, for you know....my own needs. Well if she expects me to get out of this box, she has another thing coming. That night, I finally come out and wander around for a bit but this place is not my kind of place, so I retreat, to the dark space under the fluffy. I refuse to eat until I am put back in the place fit for a princess and the queen better recognize this! I...I..I'm sorry but the inhumanity of it all....

Sorry folks, the princess is having a moment and after she composes herself, she will continue...check back tomorrow for the rest of the story.