Today we are joined by C.C. Hunter (some of you might know her better as Christie Craig). Her YA debut, Born At Midnight, is set it release March 2011, but the community is already abuzz about it. C.C. was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to talk with us about her upcoming release and share some Halloween memories.

Thanks so much for allowing us to interview you, C.C.

Thank you, Chrissy*. I love talking about writing.

What prompted you to write Born at Midnight? What was your inspiration?

I wish I could tell you that it was all my idea. That I’m just that brilliant. But honestly, an editor had planted the seed of an idea in my mind. Two words: “paranormal camp.” Now, that’s all she said. I asked, “What kind of paranormals?” She answered, “That’s up to you.” I asked, “Who is the main character?” She answered, “That’s up to you.” I asked, “Is the main character a paranormal?” She answered, “That’s up to you.” I asked, “You are going to pay me lots and lots of money, right? ‘Cause if it’s ’up to me,’ I’m all for it.” She didn’t fall for it. But I took those two words, “paranormal camp,” and went to work.

I’d always loved ghost stories, even had a few of what I call woo-woo encounters, where I actually believe there was a spirit around. So I knew I was going to have some ghosts in my series. I also wanted some of your average, everyday paranormals that we all love. Don’t we all love vampires and werewolves?

Because I loved the challenge of writing about someone who is coming to accept and care about people/characters who are completely different from themselves, I wanted to write about a character who didn’t know these paranormal creatures existed. Then it hit me, what if my heroine didn’t know what she was? What if, along with discovering that other-worldly characters exist, she discovers she might be one of them? Because I think we all deal with some kind of identity crisis, I decided to run with that premise.

Then, because I love writing every day characters, I wanted all my secondary characters to have the same characteristics, problems, and flaws we all have. Things like, trying to fit in, and even disabilities. Being dyslexic, and having a dyslexic son, I decided one of my characters would deal with the difficulties that my son and I face.

Was it difficult going from Adult Fiction to Young Adult, and can we expect your classic humor in Born at Midnight as well?

Difficult? You know, I’ll admit I was worried at first. But after the characters came to life, I stopped thinking about it being a different genre and just started writing. To be honest, I didn’t change my writing style. I just got into the head of my sixteen-year-old character, decided what her issues were, what her life experiences were, how she would react to certain things. Then I put her in my plot and told her story.

As for my classic humor? I don’t think I can completely shut that off. It’s like a bad penny, it pops up all by itself. However, my humor mostly stems from my characters. So if something dark is happening, it may be a little harder for that character to project the humorous side of things. Born at Midnight is paranormal and it’s darker than my regular romantic comedies. But the humor is very strong in the book. Hey. . . the book opens when Kylie discovers that her mom is barbequing her dad’s underwear on the grill.

If you could be a paranormal creature, what would it be?

Ohh, good question. Maybe a witch? I’d like to have different powers. If someone was being bitchy, I could zap them an attitude adjustment. (I really don’t like bitchy people.) Men who cheated on good women would find themselves less of man. LOL. Chocolate and red wine would be free of calories and writing would offer the equivalence of using a stair master. I’d be in such good shape.

What’s your best Halloween memory?

My parents didn’t have a lot of money, so our costumes were mostly homemade. And by that I mean, fifteen minutes before we left with our pillowcases in hand to collect our candy, Mom would get creative. I remember once being a mummy. The toilet paper fell off after the first few houses, but no problem, my mom brought a couple of extra rolls and every few houses, she would roll me up again. That worked until it started raining.

One year, I was an angel, wings and halo made out of aluminum foil and a coat hanger. No surprise that I lost my halo pretty quickly.

Then there was the year mom was obviously low on creative juices, because she teased my hair, and slapped some makeup on my face and announced I was ready.

“What am I?” I asked her.

I remember her hesitating before answering. “A floozy.”

I didn’t even know what a floozy was, but I was proud of being one and to my six-year-old mind, I looked like an adult . . . just like mom. So that’s what I told everyone that night. “I’m a floozy just like my mom.”

Amazingly, the next year, I got one of those costumes from the store.

Any special Halloween ritual you have? A certain movie or book that you have to watch or read this time of year?

I’m not much of horror movie fan. Considering how vivid my imagination is, those scenes can really haunt me. Now, I love a good suspense novel and movie, but it can’t be scarier than it is suspenseful. Oh, I still give out candy every year. I love seeing the excitement in the kids’ eyes. Of course, I hide all the good pieces in my desk for when I need a little treat.

Thanks so much for being here, C.C.! We’ve had a blast! If you have any questions for C.C., she’ll be popping around this weekend to answer them so feel free to drop her a line below in the comments.

To learn more about C.C. and about Born At Midnight, check out her website www.cchunterbooks.com, also be sure to check her out on Write With Us (especially if you are an aspiring writer – lots of good stuff here).

And who doesn’t like free books — C.C. is currently hosting a contest on her website and blog. St. Martin’s Press also has 48 copies of Born at Midnight being given away at GoodReads and 48 copies being given away at LibraryThing. What are you waiting for, enter!

Book Trailer

* Chrissy is my nickname.

Teresa

Teresa (nom de plume: Torrance Sené) is a self-proclaimed geek, a Janeite, a lover of werewolves and bad-ass angels, an aspiring novelist and an avid book reader who freelances as a web designer. You can follow her on Twitter at @eireannoir.

More Posts - Website