Wednesday, October 24, 2012

GCC Presents: Kelly Parra!

My GCC buddy and fellow MTV Books author Kelly Parra has a new short story in an anthology, SOMETHING WICKED, that sounds just perfect for Halloween. Check it out! (Especially that gorgeous cover!)

About SOMETHING WICKED:

Sometimes, they aren't costumes.
 
They’re baaaack.

More nightmares brought to you by the authors of the young adult anthology Prom Dates to Die For...
Beware the Midnight Troll on your late-night stroll by Mari Hestekin. Swim at your own risk Under Loch and Cay by Jenny Peterson. A curse of spiders on campus means Arach War by Lena Brown. Through a Glass Darkly one could lose a soul by Heather Dearly. Supernatural Hunters turn to the sea in Mermania by Kelly Parra. Social media goes to the ghouls in Spectral Media by Aaron Smith.

Don’t miss this paranormal fun for tween, teens and adults!

Kelly Parra’s short story “Mermania” continues Teen Supernatural Hunters Jaz and Blake’s paranormal adventures. The duo debuted in “Darkness Becomes Him” in the young adult anthology PROM DATES TO DIE FOR as they battled a soul hungry dark angel. In SOMETHING WICKED a merman entrances Jaz and it’s up to her and Blake to rush against time before Jaz grows her own tail by the full moon!

About the Author:


Kelly Parra’s earliest stories were told with paintbrushes, but upon discovering the drama and forbidden love of romance and suspense novels, those paintbrushes were replaced with a keyboard. Now a multi-published author in young adult and romance fiction, she has created memorable characters such as a graffiti artist in Graffiti Girl, a psychic teen in Invisible Touch, and a tough undercover narc in her novel for adults, Criminal Instinct. A two-time RITA finalist, she divides her time between her novels, short fiction, and the adventures of motherhood, where she juggles her home life with two children, a tattooed husband, a sweet poodle, and a rowdy pit bull. Visit her website www.KellyParra.com.
The Interview:
Q: What inspired you to write this story?
Kelly: Hello Stephanie! Thanks for having me on your blog! Well, my story “Mermania” in the paranormal young adult anthology SOMETHING WICKED is actually the continuation of my other story “Darkness Becomes Him” in the PROM DATES TO DIE FOR anthology. I’m a fan of the show Supernatural so I thought it would be fun to write about teen supernatural hunters! And from there my characters Jaz and Blake were born.
Q: The main character of my first book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, is the kind of girl I wanted to be (a rock star!), the MC of my second book has a lot more in common with teenage me. Is your main character someone you wish you could be, someone a lot like you, or your total opposite? How so?
Kelly: My main character’s name is Jax. She’s an orphan teen that is able to sense anything magical. So that’s not me! Haha. However, she may have some characteristics of when I was younger. I didn’t always fit in and was somewhat of a tomboy like Jax.

Q: In addition to writing books, I also write for a website for teens called Rookie, which has a regular feature called "Literally The Best Thing Ever," wherein we write about a thing that we think is super mega awesome (even if it is the type of thing that others might call a guilty pleasure, we believe there is nothing guilty about pleasure!) and explain why we think it is literally the best thing ever. It's generally a kind of unexpected thing, for example I wrote one about the soap opera, One Life To Live. I don't expect you to write a whole essay obviously, but can you briefly tell us what either you or your character (or both!) would say is "Literally The Best Thing Ever" and why?
Kelly: Well, if we talk TV, I would have plenty of  “Literally The Best Thing Evers”. So that would very tough! You know what I’ve always loved all my life? Creativity. Creativity is the best thing ever. I have always had to express myself in some way. It’s like a feeling that never goes away. In my youth it was through arts, drawing and painting, then it was poetry and photography, and then it was graphic design, and now its writing, digital design, and home and craft projects. Creativity makes me happy, whether I’m making something or enjoying someone else’s.

Q: What are you working on for us next?
Kelly: I’m the type of writer that always has a few projects in the works. At the moment I’m writing a young adult, a romance, and a short story collection.

2 comments:

TeriBrownwrites said...

I love the cover and the concept. Such fun!
Teri

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

Thanks for the interview, Steph!

Hi Teri, it's definitely fun!