Tonight we are honored to have indie author and fellow book blogger, E.J. Stevens with us. Her young adult novel, She Smells the Dead, has been creating quite the buzz in the book community so I thought I would talk a little bit about it with her as well as some seasonal topics. After reading the interview, be sure to go over to our giveaway to win a She Smells the Dead autographed book and some swag! If you have any questions for E.J., feel free to leave them in the comments below as she’ll be popping by to answer them this weekend.

Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you, E.J.

The pleasure is all mine. I’m excited to be a part of the 31 Days of Halloween festivities.

What prompted you to write She Smells the Dead? What was your inspiration?

I had just finished work on Shadows of Myth and Legend, a collection of haunting paranormal poetry, and was taking a celebratory walk in the woods with my corgi. When we approached the overgrown graveyard near my home I was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong smell and suddenly wondered what it would be like to have a psychic connection with spirits of the dead that came in the form of smells, rather than sight or sound. I knew immediately that this was a story that I needed to write and felt inspired to begin work on She Smells the Dead.

Yuki has such a unique gift, and one you’d not normally run across in the paranormal genre, did that develop naturally or did you purposely give her that ability?

The idea for Yuki’s gift came to me in the graveyard, but the way in which she uses her paranormal talent developed gradually as I was writing. I wanted to allow the characters to guide the story and let their personalities influence how I envisioned Yuki’s paranormal ability.

What about you? If you could have an ability, what would it be?

I definitely wouldn’t want Yuki’s paranormal talent! I would prefer to have the ability to create a glamour. I have always been intrigued by the symbolism of masks and the glamour that faeries conjure is the ultimate form of mask. They can appear as hideous or beautiful as they wish, which would be very useful for Halloween…and for bad hair days. ;)

When can we expect another chapter in Yuki’s tale?

Spirit Storm, the second book in the Spirit Guide series, is due to release in early 2011.

Any favorite “thing” that goes bump in the night?

I am very fond of the night creatures of the Unseelie court. I wouldn’t want to meet any of the Unseelie in a dark alley, but they are the magical folktale monsters of my childhood that I have never outgrown.

What’s your best Halloween memory?

When I was eight or nine I had a Halloween slumber party. I already had a reputation for telling scary stories so we dimmed the lights and I told a chilling ghost story. Just as I reached the climatic ending thunder boomed, lightning flashed, and the power went out. It was a perfectly terrifying way to end the story.

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

My Halloween ritual is to visit Salem, Massachusetts. I travel to Salem throughout the year, but October is my favorite time to stroll the cobbled streets and bask in the Halloween atmosphere.

Thanks so much for being here, E.J.! I’ve had a blast!

Thank you so much for having me!

You can find E.J. online at her paranormal book blog From the Shadows, her official blog and the Spirit Guide series blog.

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.

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