I’m honoured today to share with you all an interview with the author of Almost Dead, Kaz Delaney. Kaz has generously given her time to answer some of my questions about her book, writing and her life as an author. I had a great time reading Almost Dead and I loved reading Kaz’s answers to my questions. You can find my review for Almost Dead here. I also have a copy of Almost Dead to giveaway to one lucky person so make sure you keep reading to the end of the post for more information on how to win. 

Interview with author Kaz Delaney!

Macey, the main character in Almost Dead sees ghosts and another character, Zordastramus (that name is brilliant!), has psychic abilities. Do you believe in spirits and supernatural phenomenon?

Thank you for having me here Kate! And yes, I do! I’ve had a few spooky things happen that have been way too specific to be random. Once I awoke to a bright light beside my bed and I yelped. It wasn’t there for long, but in it was the image of a child just hovering beside me (children and young people feature a lot in my experiences) – but it was a child from a long ago time. It seemed to be wrapped in swaddling. Frankly, a bit scary. It disappeared very quickly and suddenly the room seemed very black. Anyway, I finally chalked it up to a dream and tried to get back to sleep. However the next morning, our teenage daughter whose room is adjacent to ours asked if I was okay. She said she’d been woken by a bright light coming from our room and heard me cry out. When the light went out again, she figured everything was okay. When she told me that, I knew I hadn’t been dreaming.

Another time during a reading, a psychic kept reassuring me that a friend (distant) with a very unique name, was going to be okay. She was annoyed because I wasn’t reacting strongly enough to the prediction and so kept repeating it over and over with urgency. It meant little to me, and really? I just wanted her to move on and get back to me! 😉 I mean, this friend wasn’t someone I was very close to. I was glad for her that she was going to be okay, but what more did the psychic want me to say? I went home puzzled. The next day, however, I got a phone call from another friend to ask if I’d heard any news reports. She had – and she’d just heard that our mutual friend (the one mentioned in the reading) had been involved in a serious accident. Wow. That was very sobering. (And yes, I did feel the most horrid remorse for being so cavalier. And yes, the prediction was right – she survived and thrived. Thank goodness.)

These are just two random things I remembered, but there have been many. Too many for me to brush them aside. So yes, I do have an open mind about such things. But all that aside – it’s fabulous, fabulous fun to write about!

As someone who grew up on the Gold Coast – I loved the setting! Was it hard for you to decide on the location for Dead Actually and Almost Dead?

You are so lucky! The Gold Coast is one of my favourite places in the world. I love the colour – and the way the natural light makes everything shinier and brighter. I love the buzz; the energy! The atmosphere. I feel alive when I’m on the Gold Coast and had always wanted to set a book there (and NOT just so I could claim my trips as expenses!!! 🙂 ), so it was a no brainer for me.

When I’m there I spend a lot of time people-watching, hopefully not in a creepy way (!) and some of the ideas came from watching young people just having fun, being themselves. When I created the cast and had the outline for Dead Actually, the first in these loosely connected series, I knew the GC was the perfect setting. And it’s proving to be a great choice. So many people can relate to it – even if they’ve just seen it on the telly! It’s just such a cool place!

Are there any similarities between you and Macey? 

Oh wow – I’d love to answer with a resounding ‘YES!’. I mean, Macey’s so cool. She’s so strong and feisty and sassy. She’s takes no prisoners and she’s so self possessed! Most of us like to think we can rise above what people think about us – but secretly, we do care. And it makes us vulnerable. Macey is one of those rare beings who really doesn’t care. Not in an ‘I-am-so-cool-and-you’re-not’ way, but just because she doesn’t waste time on that kind of trivia.

So, yes, of course, I’d love to say ‘Yes!’

But truth be told, I’m way more of a doormat. I stress over what people think and so I try hard to make people like me. (By the way – would like a back massage with this interview??? 🙂 ) Actually, I truly just believe in being nice to people – that’s my nature.

But we are alike in two ways: Fashion. O.M.G. – I love it. And it’s such amazing fun to have that as a component of these books. Although, it does require serious sacrifice. I mean, do you know the effort involved in trawling designer sites to see what’s happening and who’s designing what??? And the shoes? I have worn my fingers to the bone researching designer shoes! It’s a tough job but thankfully I could steel myself to do the hard yards. True! Do you doubt me? (Excuse me while I untangle myself. It’s not easy typing with your fingers, toes and fallopian tubes crossed…)

Second likeness? We both have a shut-down button. I am much more tolerant and forgiving than Macey, but neither of us suffers fools lightly. It might take me longer to get there, (a LOT longer) but ultimately, we’ll both roll out the spike strip if you’re speeding headlong into stupid-ville. (The difference is that I’ll probably make you a cuppa and point out the error of your ways. Macey will leave you stranded to work it out for yourself. )

Can I just add here though, that Macey is vulnerable like the rest of us. Her vulnerabilities are just buried deeper and therefore much painful when we reveal them throughout the story.

Many authors are categorized as being either plotters (having plotted their novels out in advance) or pantsers (writing by the seat of their pants). Would you consider yourself to be a plotter, a pantser or a little of both?

Definitely both. I ‘have’ to know where the story is going. That’s my safety net. But how I get there is a journey that takes us on many side roads; the scenic route. So, I’m a good mix.

Did you always know you wanted to write?

Absolutely. I had my first work published in the Sun Herald when I was nine years old. Writing has always been my passion. In fact when I was a kid I used to think it was all I could do well. I’m not sure why, because I was a fairly good student – but writing was always the thing I felt most confident about. I don’t think there was ever a time in my life when I considered that I wouldn’t one day write for a living.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

It’s fairly busy, actually. Number one, naturally, is reading. I read at every opportunity. I teach, so that takes a fair bit of time. I’m a trivia nut, so I play pub trivia once a week in a team that’s been together for hundreds of years. (At least twenty. 🙂 ) To unwind and keep fit(ish) I walk by the lake and just recently I’ve discovered kayaking! So, I’m so thrilled you asked that question because I get to give an answer that makes me sound really fit and sporty! LOL.

What are you currently reading?

I just finished the gorgeous ‘Cinderella Moment’ by Aussie YA author Jennifer Kloester. Loved it, loved it. Such a sweet story with so much heart. But now I’m reading a book I found on the back of my shelves entitled ‘The List of Seven’, by Mark Frost. It fictionalises Arthur Conan Doyle on a quest against the so-called ‘dark arts’ – spiritualism, psychic prediction etc. I’m not far enough into it to pronounce judgement, but I’m sure it’ll be brilliant once I get into my stride with it.

I’ve just finished a mid grade novel that was heaps of fun about kids with special abilities, and have gone back to working on another book in this loosely connected series that will shortly head off to my agent and publisher. Can’t say too much just yet, but it features Flick and a country girl who is suffering the whole fish out of water thing. Macey and Willow both have cameos. After that, is a YA that’s completely different and new, that begins in Paris and ends up (ultimately) in Australia.

Do you have anything specific you want to say to your readers?

I’d love to tell the readers that they must never forget how important they are in the scheme of books and publishing. Without readers, we don’t have an audience – we don’t have an industry!
So, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting us and reading our works so that we can continue to write stories that you will (I hope) love.

Almost Dead is a story I love. It’s one of those special books for me that, as an author, I am so proud of, that I want to burst. I sincerely hope you enjoy it as well. I hope you laugh and cry with Macey and Finn. And I wonder if you will solve the mystery before you get to the end? Mwahahah!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions Kaz. I enjoyed reading Almost Dead and loved getting to witness Macey’s story!

Thank you Kate! This has been a brilliant interview with loads of fun questions. Clever girl! I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity to talk about ‘Almost Dead’. Thank you, again!

 

 

Giveaway!

 

Thanks to Allen & Unwin

I have

1 print edition of Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney to giveaway

**Open to  Australian Residents only**

Please leave a comment on this post to enter and then

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Entries Close January 23rd, 2014

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