Interview: Mindee Arnett + The Nightmare Affair

I'm chock-full of giddiness today because I have the pleasure of welcoming young adult author Mindee Arnett to the blog to answer a few questions about the first book in her new series, The Nightmare Affair. I absolutely adored this book (read my full review here), it was full of snark and romance and mystery, and I simply couldn't put it down. A huge thank you to Mindee for taking the time to answer all my questions, and I hope you all enjoy the interview!

If you were a Nightmare like Dusty, what would you dread seeing most in someone’s dreams?

Oh my, probably all the naked people? I know that some of my worst nightmares growing up were the ones where I would find myself at school without any pants on. Even thinking about it makes me embarrassed. And really, witnessing someone else’s mortal embarrassment can be just as bad.

Let’s say you find yourself in Eli’s shoes, attending a school for magically gifted students when you yourself are ordinary. What would you love and hate most about the experience?

I would love just seeing and experiencing the magic, especially combined with all the history of it. I think I would be paralyzed by wonder. But eventually, I would hate not being able to participate. It would be pure torture. Poor Eli. I’m feeling sorry for him all over again.

Dusty is given an extra assignment thanks to her smart mouth. She has to travel to the world of any young adult piece of fiction and witness the dreams of a character of her choosing and then report back with her findings. Whose sleepy mind would she most like to see into?

I think she would pick Cas Lowood from Anna Dressed in Blood. I imagine Cas’s dreams are pretty scary given his day job, but I think Dusty would have a fun time making him dream about fluffy kittens and unicorns instead. Plus, who wouldn’t want to meet Cas? He’s the epitome of cool.

If your computer was to develop a personality like the technology at Dusty’s school has, what type of personality would it have and what kinds of things would it do to express itself?

My current computer is a brand new Mac Air, and I’m quite sure it would have a brainy- chic attitude. I think it would mostly express itself with quirky Doctor Who sounds and wiseass remarks when I make silly typos.

My previous computer was a Dell, and it would be stubborn and crotchety, a bit like an electronic mule. It would express itself with loud, annoying noise and unnecessary commentary, a lot like the computers at Arkwell.

Eli can’t manipulate his own dreams the way Dusty can, but if he could, is there any one place he would like to show her while he has her all to himself away from the real world?

Such a tough question! I think Eli is a bit of a rugged romantic. I think he would take her somewhere very remote and naturally beautiful, like the top of a mountain. This song is a little dated, but I think Eli is a bit like the “cowboy” in the Dixie Chicks song “Cowboy Take Me Away.”

What’s the strangest or most inconvenient place you’ve found yourself when a brilliant idea for a story has popped into your head?

I get a lot of ideas in the shower or while cleaning stalls. Pretty strange, I know, but I guess it’s because both activities are physical and methodical, the perfect activity for the creative mind to wander.

Dreams are rarely straightforward and often times deliver meaning only through symbolism. If Dusty was to get a peek at the events of book two in dream form, what’s one symbolic element she might see there?

Birds. I won’t say what kind of bird or anything, but definitely birds. And funnily enough, I think the cover artist for The Nightmare Affair, the lovely Kate Forrester, must be psychic because she put this on the cover long before I started writing book 2:

 

Thanks so much for such a fabulous interview!

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MINDEE ARNETT

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

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THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.