GYDO: Daniel Marks

Danny Marks, Author of Velveteen (2012)

Why did you decide to write about the afterlife?

It's not so much a decision as it comes naturally. I've always been a fan of horror and had written about just about every kind of supernatural creature in my adult series (written under a pseudonym which I'd rather keep separate), but when it came to writing for young adults, I went back to basics. That first scare when you're a kid: ghosts. My inclination is to worldbuild and I knew I wanted to do something that was heavy on the fantasy aspect so setting a large portion of the book in a sprawling industrial Purgatory appealed to me.

Velveteen (the girl) has been called "sassy" and "kickass"! So how much fun was it to write from her POV? And was it hard or easy to write in her POV?

Velveteen is awesome fun to write, but probably not fun to hang around. She's violent, aggressive and lets very little get by her without a comment. She's a super strong heroine, which is exactly how I like them, in fiction and real life. As to whether it's difficult to write from her perspective, I'd say no. I'm pretty comfortable with a dark, dramatic voice and when I worked as a counselor, the majority of my clients were adolescent girls so I can mimic pretty well at this point...I think. I guess the reader will be the judge of that, though I hope they'll find Velveteen’s dark perspective refreshing.

What are your opinions on the cover? (I personally LOVE it!)

I was super excited about it. It's subversive (like the book). At first, you're drawn in by the familiarity, the CW-ness of it, but the closer you look the more it reeks of death. The characters are gray and emaciated, the pretty dress is worn and the girl's gloves look like they've seen a fistfight. I just can't wait to feel it in person. The title is supposed to be embossed and the whole thing is supposed to be buttery!

If you only had a two word pitch for Velveteen, what would it be?

Ghostface Killah!

What has been your favorite book of 2012 so far?

Definitely John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Green has this uncanny way of creating unique characters that look at the world in such a vivid, funny and poignant way that you can't help but like them. His treatment of cancer and the shifting of the whole paradigm was fresh and fantastic. Loved that book!

Can you name the best thing about writing?

The flexibility. I'm able to take care of my wife and the house and write on my own timeline. I'm accountable to myself, which is sometimes the worst thing about writing. But overall, it suits me.

Any last words to all the readers?

Just that VELVETEEN comes out on October 9th and If you like snarky, violent heroines, hot boys, ghostly revolutions, serial killers and tentacle monsters, then this is the book for you! Also, come visit me at my YouTube channel! There's a thriving YA book community over there and we'd love to have you visit!

Velveteen Blurb

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.
The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.
Bonesaw.
Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.
It’ll be brutal... and awesome.
But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.
Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Short Author Bio

Daniel Marks writes young adult horror and fantasy, spends way too much time glued to the internets and collects books obsessively (occasionally reading them). He’s been a psychotherapist for children and adolescents, a Halloween store manager, a cafeteria janitor (gag) and has survived earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons to get where he is today, which is to say, in his messy office surrounded by half empty coffee cups. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Caroline, and three furry monsters with no regard for quality carpeting.

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