Q+A with Vanessa Barneveld Author of This Is Your Afterlife

Please welcome today's guest author Vanessa Barneveld!  Vanessa is the author of This Is Your Afterlife, a young adult paranormal romance about a girl who can see ghosts...including the ghost of the guy she's been crushing on.

Q+A with Vanessa Barneveld

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Vanessa:  I first started writing short stories in my early teens. I had a healthy addiction to series fiction, and when I ran out of books to read, I’d try to write my own. Writing is incredibly hard work, but also incredibly fun. What could be better than making up stories for a living?

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Vanessa:  When I wasn’t reading all kinds of fiction as a teenager, I was virtually gobbling up a collection of magazines called The Unexplained. They were chock-full of eyewitness accounts to nightmarish stuff like spontaneous human combustion, UFO abductions and, my favorite, hauntings. These apparently true stories not only prevented me from having a good night’s sleep, they gave me a story idea or two.

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

Vanessa:  I’m about to become a godmother, so I would love to be a fairy godmother, one who can make other people’s wishes come true. I’d do my best to be responsible about it, though. One person’s wish cannot have a hurtful impact on another or cause the stock market to crash or whatever. Hmm, fairy godmothering could actually be a troublesome talent. Maybe it’s safer to choose the ability to fly like Superman instead...

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

Vanessa:  This Is Your Afterlife is a fun, quick read that brings new meaning to “teen spirit.” Sixteen-year-old Keira has finally got what she’s always wanted – the popular, hunky captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost. Being a practical sort of girl, Keira takes on the job of finding out who killed Jimmy so he can move on to the next world. Readers tell me they love the book’s blend of humor, mystery and romance.

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

Vanessa:  During the making of my book trailer, I spent days trawling a stock image site for models who resembled Afterlife’s three pivotal characters. Tough job, but somebody had to do it. You can see my cast here. I think they look perfect, but if I had a Hollywood-sized budget, these are my top picks:

Kate Mulvany as Keira. She’s an award-winning actor friend of mine here in Australia who is the same height as Keira. I’m sure Kate wouldn’t mind dyeing her golden hair black for the part. Kate was in the recent film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
Brenton Thwaites from The Giver would play the ghost, Jimmy. Brenton’s also Australian and has a lovely blend of athleticism and sweetness.
Tom Welling, if he’s willing, should be Dan, Jimmy’s brother. Tom is not Australian, but this Smallville star is rather hot and fits the mental picture I had of Dan when I wrote the book. (And let’s just pretend these three talented actors are around the same age, shall we?)

This Is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld.

When the one boy you crushed on in life can't seem to stay away in death, it's hard to be a normal teen when you're a teen paranormal.

Sixteen-year-old Keira Nolan has finally got what she wanted—the captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost and she’s the only one who can see him.

Keira's determined to do anything to find Jimmy's killer. Even it if means teaming up with his prickly-yet-dangerously-attractive brother, Dan, also Keira's ex-best-friend. Keira finds that her childish crush is fading, but her feelings for Dan are just starting to heat up, and as the story of Jimmy’s murder unfolds, anyone could be a suspect.

This thrilling debut from Vanessa Barneveld crosses over from our world to the next, and brings a whole delightful new meaning to "teen spirit".

Release Date: October 21, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

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

To learn more about Vanessa Barneveld and her books, please visit her website.

Have a question for Vanessa? Ask away in the comments below!