Interview: Gretchen McNeil [Author of POSSESS]

This week, I'm interviewing Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess, which comes out (according to Goodreads) on August 23, 2011! 

 Some of you guys might be like, "What is this book you speak of?!" so, here's the summary -- read it to your heart's content!

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

 Sounds awesome right? Well, without further ado, here's the interview!

1. Describe POSSESS in a haiku.

Demons surround her.

Who to trust and who to fear?

The Fifth Rule: They Lie.

2. Which character in POSSESS was the most fun to write about?

I love Hector, Bridget’s best friend.  He’s an out of the closet Hispanic male at a Catholic school, who solos with the show choir, has a penchant for chocolate cream pie and doesn’t take crap from anyone.  And he’s hilarious.  Totally love him.

3. What were your must-haves/playlists when writing POSSESS?

Bridget has very strong opinions on music.  Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, and some old school Rage Against the Machine and Smashing Pumpkins top her most-played list.  I’ll actually be revealing a full POSSESS playlist on the blog in August, and doing a giveaway of all the songs.  Here’s a tease:

“The Fallen” by Franz Ferdinand

“Testify” by Rage Against the Machine

“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant

4. What's your favorite scary movie?

Hands down, The Exorcist.

5. If you had to wear one color for the rest of your life, what could would it be?

Bright emerald green.  Goes well with the red hair.  

6. Any other future projects or sequels to POSSESS?

I have a stand alone YA horror novel coming out Fall 2012 called TEN, also with Balzer + Bray.  It’s about ten teens trapped on an island with a serial killer, getting hunted down one-by-one.  Then the sequel to POSSESS is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2013.

Big thanks to Gretchen for being here today! Are you guys anxiously waiting for Possess just like me?