Interview: Vanessa Barneveld + This Is Your Afterlife

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Vanessa Barneveld to the blog to answer a few questions about This Is Your Afterlife, her debut novel releasing today from Bloomsbury Spark. A couple months back I was given the amazing opportunity to design Vanessa's cover, and I'm so thrilled to share a small part of her release day with her. I hope you all enjoy the interview and add This Is Your Afterlife to your lists!

While being haunted isn't an ideal situation, being haunted by a longtime crush is a best-case ghostly scenario. If you found yourself in Keira's shoes, dealing with the sudden appearance of a ghost in your life, what fictional character or real-life celebrity would make your haunting a much more pleasant experience?

Patrick Swayze – he could sing, act, ride horses, and he seemed like a top guy. If he could teach me to dance, that’d be some kind of wonderful. I’m hopeless at following choreography, though. Think Baby at the beginning of Dirty Dancing but ten times worse. I’ve no doubt he’d merengue away from me at the first opportunity!

Keira desperately wants to find out who's responsible for Jimmy's murder. How skilled a sleuth would you say you are?

I grew up devouring Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie books, so I like to think I have a good grasp of the best techniques and questions to ask in order to find out whodunit. And I love trying to guess the villains in Law & Order episodes. In reality, I’d be more like the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, unwittingly destroying evidence and contaminating crime scenes.

Do you think you'd be of any help to her?

I’m not sure I’d be much help at all when it comes to ghost wrangling or interrogating suspects. For one thing, the idea of ghosts does freak me out. I’ve had a few experiences with what I think were ghosts. Unlike Jimmy, they weren’t the greatest of conversationalists. :-) What I could do for Keira is be her confidante and help her through the turmoil that comes with being suddenly psychic. She’s a loner, and while she’s perfectly fine with hanging out by herself, everyone needs a friend they can count on.

You obviously knew both what was going to happen to Jimmy as well as who helped him into an early grave ahead of time, so how difficult was it to place clues for your characters and readers that were neither too obvious nor too obscure?

It’s tricky to get that balance right. Plotting out the story before you start writing helps. Mind you, I’m not a natural-born plotter, so I find this process especially difficult! You need a red herring or two so readers don’t figure it out too quickly. At the same time, it’s useful to drop a tidbit here and there so when the truth is revealed, it’s not something that’s come out of left field. Agatha Christie excelled at the “tidbit drop” – some clues may be submerged in a throwaway conversation, but they’re there.

Given the loss of Jimmy, Keira could probably use some time away from everything to grieve. If she could escape to the world of any other piece of fiction, what world would she choose?

I would like to say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but that’s a sore point with Keira because she’s regrettably allergic to chocolate. The Wizard of Oz might be more her style. Its “no place like home” motif would certainly inspire her. She has to help Jimmy find his home in the afterlife.

Let's say Keira, Dan and Jimmy are all accompanying you on a promotional tour for This Is Your Afterlife. Which one of them would have the most fun answering reader questions?

Jimmy, hands down! As the captain of the football team, he’s used to being on show. Death is bewildering to him. He isn’t used to being invisible. So he’d take any opportunity to be seen and heard...and flirt. He’s shameless. :-)

If a book was written about your road to publication, what would the title of that book be and how would the first or last line read?

Patience is a Virtue: A Case Study.

Vanessa had spent seventeen years fruitlessly working toward a book deal, but when her cats got “published” in a calendar, she knew it was time to step things up a notch!

Even though Keira can talk to Jimmy in death, what's one thing she wishes she had told him in life?

Jimmy was a like a demigod at school. Strong, confident, celebrated. People were naturally drawn to him. He had an entourage around him all the time – teammates, his girlfriend, girls who wanted to be his girlfriend. But something he never told anyone was that he hated being alone. Keira could have helped him overcome that. The two of them could’ve been great friends in life if they had the chance.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Vanessa!

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THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE

When the one boy you crushed on in life can't seem to stay away in death, it's hard to be a normal teen when you're a teen paranormal.

Sixteen-year-old Keira Nolan has finally got what she wanted—the captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost and she’s the only one who can see him.

Keira's determined to do anything to find Jimmy's killer. Even it if means teaming up with his prickly-yet-dangerously-attractive brother, Dan, also Keira's ex-best-friend. Keira finds that her childish crush is fading, but her feelings for Dan are just starting to heat up, and as the story of Jimmy’s murder unfolds, anyone could be a suspect.

This thrilling debut from Vanessa Barneveld crosses over from our world to the next, and brings a whole delightful new meaning to "teen spirit".

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

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VANESSA BARNEVELD

I live on the east coast of Australia with my musician husband and two photogenic cats. My Young Adult books are represented by Beth Miller of Writers House literary agency. Three of those works have received nominations in the prestigious Golden Heart® Award in 2009, 2010 and 2014. On most days you will find me chocolate addled and trying to convince my cats to sit somewhere other than on my keyboard. The best thing about being an author is the free rein to make up tall stories, as well as short ones.

Speaking of short stories, one of mine was published in HarperCollins Australia’s e-book anthology, URL LOVE. I was inspired to write THE TWEETEST THING after my boss took me to a Duran Duran concert in 2012.

I’m excited about the release of my debut novel, THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE, on October 21, 2014. The cats? They’re not all that impressed – they’ve already appeared in the AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS book and the 2012 I Can Has Cheezburger desk calendar.

Be sure to check the blog page regularly for more news about my books, my cats and my baking disasters.

Find Vanessa:

Website • Facebook • Twitter