Kiersten White: Paranormal Creatures and Steph's Celebrity Boyfriends

There are only three more books coming out this year that I'm dying to read, and PARANORMALCY, by Kiersten White is one of them. I have a little over a month to wait (unless I win an ARC somewhere). Don't get me wrong: there are others that look interesting, and I'll read them, but …

Isn't this a great cover? I've never used an official book description on my blog before because I like to explain why I loved a book when I recommend it. However, seeing as I haven't actually read this one, I borrowed the following description from GoodReads.

Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal. 

Normal is so overrated.

Tell me I'm not the only one who gets excited just reading the description. And to further tantalize you, I have a short quote from the book to help you get a feel for Evie, the main character.


"You aren't going to kill us?" the speaker asked, eyeing me suspiciously.


"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Seriously, did I look like some sort of psycho assassin? Maybe it was the pink sneakers. Or the heart earrings?


Now you know why something pink and/or sparkly will be part of the giveaway. I just haven't found the right something yet. And to go with the pink and sparkly theme - for the interview - Kiersten's answers will be highlighted in pink.

What's the best part of having Steph for a critique partner?

Partnering with someone so much more talented than myself is an excellent way to stay humble.


Seriously though (which isn't to say that the previous statement wasn't serious), Steph is an incredible editor. She loves reading, and she loves teenagers, and she loves love and relationships and BOYS. She has an incredible talent for taking your manuscript each time she reads it and, no matter where it is, pointing out what needs to happen for it to reach the next level. She never tries to make it her own, just helps me figure out how to refine what I already have and somehow make it even more my story than it was before.


I fully credit her editorial advice with pushing me to the the point where I was good enough to get published. So if you hate my book, please blame her. It's all Steph's fault.


But aside from the fact that she is a brilliant writer and an incredible critique partner, Steph is one of the most genuinely kind and generous people I know. There is nothing about her that isn't delightful, and I don't know where I would have been without her friendship during these last couple of very crazy years. I feel very, very lucky that we found each other. And while I can't get a tattoo of her name for religious reasons, I may very well try and adopt her one of these days.


I know that Evie's favorite color is pink, but what's her favorite food?

You know, I'm not much of a food person. (I say, after desperately scouring the house for something--ANYTHING--salty, please for the love I need a snack.) I notice these gorgeous, food-related passages in other books, but I never seem to have any in mine.


That being said, Evie has a special affection for a certain pizza place's greasy, gooey cheese pizza, since she ate it on one of the best days of her life.

Does she have a favorite paranormal creature at the beginning of the story?

Absolutely! Although there's no love lost between Evie and vampires, she completely adores Lish, IPCA's main coordinator and Evie's foul-mouthed mermaid best friend.


Evie also happens to have a least favorite paranormal. That would be Reth, her faerie ex-boyfriend with some personal space issues.


Myself? I like Reth a lot more than Evie does...he's PRETTY.

How did you end up married to a part-vampire?

After living for two years in Romania and Transylvania, Hot Stuff came home with a few new...personality traits he was missing before. That first time I met him, when he looked up and his huge blue eyes met mine, that was it for me--that was all it took.


Thinking back on it now, I probably should have suspected something supernatural about it. No one should have eyes that enchanting! Still, I have no regrets, and our quarter-vampire children are incredibly beautiful and also sun-resistant. Although my son *is* slowly sucking the life from me by waking me up every single night in the middle of the night...

How many of Steph's celebrity boyfriends have you met, and which one is your favorite?


Most of them have been by at one point or another, although they don't ever stay with us because they miss their custom bunk-beds at Steph's house too much. Also, we don't have a Nintendo 64, which means they all fight over who gets to play games on the computer, and of course my kids fight with them too, and it's a big mess that ends in me sending everyone to time out and then giving up and taking us all out for ice cream and the beach.


Anyway...James McAvoy was one of the first things Steph and I bonded over. He's really a lovely person, although he's constantly losing his passport and calling us in a panic. He stops by when he's in California and we chat about our mutual adoration of Steph. But don't leave any chocolate out when he's around, because he's a notorious sugar-thief. His emails are nearly incoherent, but we don't much care because we mostly just like listening to him talk.


So he's probably my favorite, but I'm actually prouder of Lee Pace--did you know I introduced them? Lee and I had been friends for a while (since I started watching Pushing Daisies and decided we had to be friends) and I kept catching him reading Steph's blog--for hours on end--and pouring over my emails with Steph, smiling that sweet smile of his over her funny things and getting really stressed out and worried when she was having a bad day. So finally I forced him to just get on a plane and go see her. He was so nervous! But of course all went well and he's blissfully happy to be part of the Celebrity Boyfriends staff.


Really, they're all lovely people, as you'd expect anyone who loves Steph to be. Except I'm kind of terrified of Thom Yorke.

Yes, Thom Yorke can be a bit intimidating. My favorite is Chris Martin. He had Steph send me butterflies from one of his concerts because he knew I was a fan. I appreciated the thought, and I appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions, Kiersten! I love reading your blog, and I can't wait to get to know Evie!

If anyone would like an extra contest entry, just leave a comment on this post. I'll make sure it goes in the drawing. And if you missed my contest post and interview with Stephanie Perkins, there's still time to read it and enter. The contest closes this Thursday, Midnight PST.

And I just remembered I have dinner in the oven. Be glad you're not eating at my house tonight.