Guest Author Interview: Deborah Andreasen

Please welcome today's guest author Deborah Andreasen!  Deborah is the author of The Gifted.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Deborah:  I’ve been writing since I was a tiny tot; I wrote a book in first grade about a girl abandoned in the forest. She was raised by fairies and returned to her parents when she was a teenager. New York Times Best Seller List, here we come! As a teen I won awards for my writing, but when I got to college, the fire died under the heaps of course work. After I graduated and worked for a few years, I felt like I had to write, or I would simply explode! That was about the time I took myself seriously as a writer. It’s been about four years now.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Deborah:  Well, I’ve always loved the paranormal. I grew up devouring King Arthur stories and loving fairies and things we can't explain (nor should we try). It just fits me. I think that we should all believe in a little magic now and then. I’ve tried writing a “normal” YA novel. No Fae, no magic, no special abilities. Just raw human nature. I couldn’t do it. I had to add a ghost in there just to make it fun, and ghosts aren't even my thing.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Deborah:  Well, in The Gifted, Pyper has telekinetic abilities. That would be my number one choice. I have an unfinished work about a boy who can travel through dreams, and I think that would be fascinating as well. I can tell you right now I would not want to read minds. *shudder* I prefer to deal with the chaos in my own head, thank you very much.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Deborah:  The Gifted is the story of a girl who doesn’t fit in. I think all of us can relate to that in one way or another. It also has all the necessary elements for a good read: danger, love, death, intrigue, and good old fashioned sarcasm and teenage angst. Really, though, Pyper is the kind of character that most of us could curl up inside and become at one point or another. She’s very real and just wants to be loved, even if she won’t admit it.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Deborah:  Oooh, this is a toughy. I did not write any of the characters with a specific actor in mind. In fact, the characters tend to write themselves sometimes. Anyway. I think Emma Roberts would make a good Pyper. She has that wholesome beauty, but she can also do dark and mysterious. Plus she rocks red hair. The male lead, Kael, was tough. I couldn’t really find anyone who fit him, both in looks and personality, but the closest I came was Zac Efron. I told you he was a tough one! For mean-girl Summer, I picked none other than Dianna Agron from Glee. Need I say more?

 The Gifted by Deborah Andreasen

Pyper just wants a normal life. But ever since the day she died, she’s been able to control objects with her mind. What she can’t control is a mother who fears Pyper’s ability and the possibility of it being discovered. Pyper only finds solace in her friend and brother, Baler.  When Pyper moves to yet another new school, she meets Kael, who takes an immediate interest in her. He knows her secret, and he's got one for her: he needs her help saving the Fae people.

The problem is, Pyper doesn’t believe in Faeries. But when her brother is abducted, Pyper doesn’t have much choice. Can she really save a race she doesn’t believe exists? Can she rescue her brother? And can she accept her second chance at life?


Thank you Deborah for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Deborah Andreasen and her books, please visit her website.