Character Interview: Eli from Hereafter

Today I'm joined by Eli from Tara Hudson's upcoming young adult release HEREAFTER. Eli's a pretty fascinating guy (and also so very modest ;-), so be sure and mark June 7th on your calendars so you can "meet" him for yourselves. Thanks so much for stopping by and answering my questions Eli!

What would you say was your greatest fear when you were living? Now that you’ re in the afterlife?

That no one would remember me. But that's obviously not a problem anymore, is it? And I'm not afraid now. Why on earth would you even ask me that?

If you and Amelia were to swap roles, what would she have to do to convince you to join her as her assistant?

She wouldn't have to. Everything about this afterlife is appealing. I'd be crazy not to want the job.

Let’ s say you could go back in time to the moment you made the choice to assist your mentor in collecting souls while retaining your knowledge of all the events that have occurred since then, would you still make the same decision?

Of course. I don't regret anything. Ever.

As a ghost, you are unfortunately forever stuck in the clothing you were wearing at the time of your death. If the same were true of music and you were only able to listen to the song that was last playing when you were alive, what song would that be? Is there a particular song you wish it could have been instead?

I was around in the late sixties - that's an impossible question, since most songs were almost as amazing as my music. But if my death song was stuck on repeat, I'd probably kill myself again. No offense to Don McLean, but there's only so much "American Pie" one man can take. If I could redo it, I'd choose Led Zeppelin's "Street Corner Girl."

If you could change one aspect of the life you lived now that you’ve had a great deal of time to think about every moment of it, what would you change if anything?

I'd have learned to play guitar. With a lead singer that looks like me and can play guitar, my band would have made it big a lot earlier.

What is your favorite paranormal ability being a ghost has granted you?

The ability to open and close the netherworld at my command. But the control over the wraith army isn't too bad, either.

Do you ever question your decision to wait to make yourself known to Amelia given her attachment to Joshua? Do you think your job of persuading her to join you might have been easier if she had met you first?

Like I said, I don't regret anything I do. But yeah, maybe that was a slight misstep. I guess I didn't realize how much taste in guys she lacked.

What was the first thought to run through your head when you saw Amelia prior to her death and believed she was fated to help you?

When I saw her eyes - those beautiful, luminous green eyes - I couldn't think about much of anything else.

If you could have controlled what was inscribed on your headstone by your bandmates, what would you rather it have said?

"The New King of Rock n' Roll." Screw Elvis.

If there were one person from your life you could haunt, who would you most enjoy messing with?

My bandmates. I never told Amelia, but three of them went on to join a famous group. Some of them are still playing today. The jackasses.

For more information on Tara, Eli, and HEREAFTER, you can find them here:

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HEREAFTER (from Goodreads)

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.