I am so pleased to welcome Cathy Brett to Book Chick City today to celebrate things that go bump in the night! Cathy is the author of “Scarlett Dedd” the brilliant young adult novel about a family of ghosts. Cathy is also an illustrator and you can find her drawings throughout her books.
I read and reviewed the wonderful “Scarlett Dedd” – it’s a witty ghoulish story perfect for this time of year. Make sure you enter the giveaway at the end of Cathy’s post for the chance to win a copy, thanks to Headline.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
No, I’m not coming out from behind the sofa!
Uurgh! *clutches chest* You made me jump! Hello. Put the lights on, will you? I’m sure I saw something lurking in the corner just now. Over there. A pair of yellow eyes. Or a shadow passing the window. And it was holding a knife… or an axe… or had blades for fingers. No, really. Honestly. I’m not imagining it. What? Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I’ve got to cut down on my caffeine intake… or stop eating cheese. Uurgh! *shivers*
Just for now though, I’m going to be writing this behind my sofa. OK? And I’m not coming out until November, when this festival of horror is over. Why? Because I’m scared… obviously! I’m not going to watch telly, because there will be at least one channel doing a gory ‘slasher flick’ season – teenagers being ripped to pieces while smooching in cars or swimming in lakes or dozing in hammocks. Yuck! And I’m not going near any shops because their windows are filled with skeletons and learing pumpkin heads (even the quaint village tea room!). And I’m definitely not going to answer my door bell because the Trick-or-Treaters in my neighbourhood are masters of the macabre… ghoulishly gifted… talented terror-ists. Their blood-chilling Halloween costumes are so authentic, so convincing, that every year during the final week of October, they reduce me to a quaking, pathetic puddle of fear. And that’s just the four-year-olds out with their dads!
I know what you’re thinking. ‘Hey, Cathy!’ you call (loudly enough for me to hear you behind my sofa). ‘If you’re such a big scaredy cat, why did you write a horror novel… an illustrated horror novel, at that?’ And my (slightly muffled by the sofa) answer would be, ‘Because I, like many writers, am just a little bit perverse.’ You see I hate to be scared… but I love to be scared! If you get what I mean? No? Let me explain.
Have you ever laughed all the way through a horror movie? I have. Scary stuff scares me, but it also makes me chuckle and I don’t think it’s because I’m a psychopath or insane or anything. It’s just that fear and humour seem to be closely related emotions. As one of the teenagers in ‘Scarlett Dedd’ says, ‘Did you know that “laughter” with an “s” in front of it spells “slaughter”?’ The only way I was able to write about a group of people in deadly, terrifying peril was by making it hilarious. And believe me, some truely horrible things happen to my characters – blood, guts and gore everywhere! In fact, the most repulsive stuff happens to the youngest character, Scarlett’s ten-year-old brother, so I guess I had to make it funny or you might think I’m a bit depraved and need locking up!
So, horror makes me laugh… but it’s also incredibly exciting! Being terrified gives me a buzz. The rush of adreneline you feel when a crazed killer is waiting behind the door, or the sharks are circling the splashing swimmers, is simply delicious. Horror films make great date movies. In my experience, boys almost never want to go and see a ‘rom com’. They seldom find them funny. Nor do I, for that matter. Go see a scary movie with your bloke, however, and you’ll both jump, laugh, shiver, scream, then find comfort in each other’s arms in the really frightening bits. Perfect!
Which reminds me… horror stories are great for a dose of passion too. Characters who might die at any moment always seem to discover who their real friends are, who they truely love, what really matters. Full-on intense emotion breeds more full-on intense emotion. You’re a vampire, so I don’t want you to bite me, but I fancy the pants off you, so I actually want you to sink your teeth in and make me a vampire like you, but that would mean I’m dead, so I’m scared… etc. See what I mean? The ultimate dilemma. Excellent!
‘So, Cathy, if horror is so excellent, why are you still behind the sofa, then?’
Dunno. I’ve kind of undermined my ‘fear of Halloween’ arguement somewhat, haven’t I?
‘Yep.’
Mmmmm. Perhaps I’ll come out for a while and watch a scary movie with my bloke. Just one. That would be OK. Then I might buy a pumpkin. A small pumpkin. I always enjoy carving the creepy face and lighting the candle. And maybe I’ll prepare a bowl of sweets for the village kids… with some hidden plastic spiders and flies and snakes, of course, to give them a fright. And then I’ll get that fake knife-through-the-head I bought and wear it down to the village tea room. See if anyone notices. I might even take a little look through the notes and sketches I made for a ‘Scarlett Dedd’ sequel. The notes that I thought were far too gruesome for publication….
(with scary echo voice distortion) Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!
Thanks for the great post Cathy!
You can find out more about Cathy and her books here:
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Now onto the GIVEAWAY!
I have FIVE (5) copies of “Scarlett Dedd” to giveaway thanks to the lovelies at Headline.
All you have to do to enter is the following:
1. Read BCC’s giveaway policy
2. Fill in this form
3. Leave a comment for the author
4. One entry per person please
This giveaway is for UK & US residents only (publishers request) and ends 31st Oct!
GOOD LUCK!
23 Comments
Thanks for the awesome interview!
I love the cover of this novel.
Reply
great post, i'm added it to my wishlist
Reply
ty for this!!!
Reply
Awesome post. Horror and humour is a very good mix.
Reply
I enjoyed the post and now I've got to check out Scarlett Dedd. It sounds lovely – scary and funny, great combination.
Reply
That's such an awesome cover!
Loved the interview!
Reply
Can we enter from Ireland?
Reply
Fab interview, I had a good giggle! I've never really thought of Halloween as a scary time, everything just seems so cute! From toothy smiling plastic pumpkins, to glow in the dark happy ghosts and chewy sweets in the shape of vampire teeth. There is something about the power of a laugh to mediate the nasty shock of a scare though.
Reply
Hi. I love ghosts. If you ask me there arent enough ghost stories. I am putting your book on my book list!!!
-Brandy
brandyzbooks@yahoo.com
Reply
Thank you for the interview!
Lane
Reply
Awesome hilarious interview! Can't wait to read this book now, hope I win the giveaway!
Reply
What a fun interview! Love it.
Reply
I love the cover and title.
Reply
Did you do the cover art yourself? I love the graphic novel feel. What made you decide on an illustrated book? Besides that you like to scare yourself:) Great interview!
Reply
This book sounds really cool. I'd like to read it.
Reply
Lol, this was a great post. I love all the horror themed stuff this time of year. And I like your description at the beginning of it being witty and goulish.
Reply
Good interview
. I'm excited to read the book.
Reply
Sounds like such a fun, original book! Great interview
Reply
Great interview. Horror stuff scares me too. But I love it. Great cover.
lizzi0915 at aol dot com
Reply
Great post! Love your intro…you almost had me looking over in the shadey corner of the room I'm in….*starts to peek*…ALMOST. Definitely know what you mean to some degree….scary movies/books can be downright funny at times. Like in the movies and you see the angle of the camera putting the character on screen either slightly off the the side of the picture or with a lot of unnecessary space….THAT'S your queue to coer your eyes, plug your ears, or brace yourself because SOMETHING is going to happen…it's the basic formula. It's good that you can laugh at the scary and decided to share that with your readers. ^_^
Wishing you much success!
(…and thanks for the chance to win too!)
grgenius(at)gmail(dot)com
Reply
Great post! Thanks for the giveaway! I so want to read Scarlett Dedd! It sounds like a great read!
Reply
i'm glad i'm not the only sick one….i laugh at horror movies all the time! lol
k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com
awesome post!
Reply
You sound very interesting!
Reply