YA Horror/Thriller Spooktacular Day 14 - Beware the Wild + Giveaway

Today's interview marks the first one where the book featured hasn't actually hit the shelves yet!  Although it just so happens that today's featured book hits shelves TOMORROW.  For the remainder of the month you won't be so lucky, seeing as you'll have to wait at least several weeks (and up to 6 months) to wait for the book to come out.  That being said the author of today's book is the lovely Natalie C. Parker, a debut author whose book is full of gothic horror goodness!  Please give her a warm welcome!

 Peace, Love, Teen Fiction:  I’m sure eventually you’ll be tired of the question, actually, you may already be tired of it, but can you describe Beware the Wild in 10 words or less? 

Natalie C. Parker:  One missing brother + one false sister = one deadly swamp.

PLTF:  Why did you decide to make the swamp the big bad thing in this book and not something else? 

NCP:  It all boils down to my love of gothic novels. The traditional ones like The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, The Italian by Ann Radcliffe, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. One of the tropes of a gothic novel is a setting that makes the protagonist feel impinged upon, small, or helpless. I wanted to take that one step farther and make the setting something with power that was both active and focused. After all, what is more terrifying than knowing the ground you stand on might choose to swallow you at any moment…?

PLTF:  The setting is obviously a huge part of the book, how did you decide where the book would be set and were there any other places you considered setting it? 

NCP:  I only ever considered the deep south. It’s where my family hails from and home to many a swamp. I was also interested in boundary or liminal spaces, so I was drawn immediately to the swampy border between Mississippi and Louisiana. It felt like the sort of place magic could easily grow.

     

           PLTF:  Is there a method to the madness in the swamp or did you just go with things that seemed scariest to you? 

     NCP:  There’s definitely a bit of both. The magic of the swamp follows specific rules, but I also looked for opportunities to make explore the things I find naturally frightening about swamps – how many noises it makes, how easy it is to get lost in them, how many different dangers they hide.

PLTF:  What’s next? 

     NCP:  Well! I’m working on something, but I’m not yet allowed to say what. However, if you’re speculating that there are more stories lurking inside this swamp, you might find that you’re correct.
                                                                                                                                      
Lightning round
1.     On a scale of 1 to 10 how scary is your book? I think it probably hovers around a 6 or 7. How about 6.7?
2.     If you were a character in your book would you survive? I like to think so.
3.     Favorite scary movie? The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It’s exquisite!
4.     Favorite Halloween candy? Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s Kisses.
5.     What were you last year for Halloween or what do you plan on being this year? Last year, I was “Burton-esque,” which basically meant I wore dark make-up and stripped tights. This year, I’ll be driving across the country on tour with two of my best friends, so I think I’ll probably put on some bold lipstick and be Julie Murphy for Halloween.

This or That
1.     Swamp or the woods? Woods!
2.     Small town or big city? Small town, please.
3.     Keep secrets or keep it out in the open? Ooo….keep them. Preferably in a box.
4.     Loner boys or popular boys? I’ll go for the loners almost every time.
5.     Tricks or treats? I like a little spice. Let’s go with tricks. 

     

It's an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp -- the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn't return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp's done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance -- and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her. 

Find Beware the Wild on

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Natalie C Parker grew up in a Navy family where having adventures was as common as reading fairy tales.

She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in English, then went on to earn her MA in Women’s Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Continuing her efforts as a lifelong scholar, she currently works on a project studying climate change at the University of Kansas where she eavesdrops on the conversations of brilliant scientists gathering fodder for future novels.

Though still baffled by having ended up in a landlocked state, she lives in Kansas with her partner in a house of monsters.

Natalie is represented by the indomitable Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency.

Find Natalie on

Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Her Website

Natalie has graciously provided a swag pack for a giveaway which will include a bookmark, a sticker, and a bookplate (see examples here)!  The giveaway will run for two weeks and is INTERNATIONAL.  All you need to do is fill out the rafflecopter below!

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