Love spells gone wrong, boyfriend-stealing cheerleaders, and Zombies who want to eat you for dinner. In ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH by Amanda Ashby, love has never tasted— or rather felt— so good. (Speak; Paperback original; 978-0-14-241256-5; $7.99; 224 pages; Ages 12 up; March 2009)
Tomorrow is prom, and all Mia wants to do is cast a love spell on her date Rob Ziggerman to keep him away from cheerleading goddess Samantha and save him all to herself. But somehow she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class instead. At first Mia loves all the attention her classmates are giving her; treating her like a queen, compliments galore, and all the chocolate a girl could want. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up. Why? Because in twenty-four hours, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. That’s what being the ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH means. She’s sure she and Chase can figure something out, especially when the alternative means that her classmates and teachers will be feasting on her bones. But in the meantime, she’s suggests that no one wear white to tomorrow night’s prom, because she has a feeling that things could get very messy.
About the Author:
Amanda Ashby was born in Australia and has spent the last ten years dividing her time between England and New Zealand. When she’s not moving countries, she likes to write books (okay, she also likes to watch television, eat chocolate and sit around doing not much, but let's just keep that between ourselves, shall we?). She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two young children. Her debut adult book You Had Me at Halo has been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award. This is her first book for young adults. Visit her on the web at www.amandaashby.com.
Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit Interview with Amanda Ashby:
How many fingers would you use to count the books you've read more than three times? What books do you turn to time and again and why?
I would use lots of fingers – though surprisingly enough, there are really only two authors that I re-read on a regular basis. Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and in each case I think it’s because they both create worlds that are so full of humor (and gorgeous, gorgeous men) that I secretly want to live there myself!!! The problem is that once I start re-reading one book, the rest quickly follow. It’s a disease I tell you, a disease!
Have you ever fallen in love with a character (yours or someone else's)? How did that work out for you?
In my debut book, YOU HAD ME AT HALO and I fell pretty hard for Vince Murphy the hero. Not only was he incredibly good looking but he had the patience of a saint when he ended up having a dead girl shoved into his body. The other thing I adored about Vince is that he loved Holly unconditionally despite her many, many flaws. For me this is the number one thing I look for in my leading men. As for how it worked out for me, well as much as I loved Vince I decided in the end to let Holly have him. After all, she did die and get kicked out of heaven so I figured she deserved some sort of reward for all the pain I put her through!!!!!
Was there a pivotal moment in your writing or a single (or plural) epiphany that really changed or improved the way you write?
There have been a few pivotal moments along the way but probably the biggest one was when my dad died almost four years ago. I had been working on a book that I quite liked, but after having an imaginary conversation with my father on the day of his funeral, I had an idea for a book that just wouldn’t go away. I wrote it a few weeks later and not long after I got an agent and a sale. I can’t even feel sad that my dad wasn’t around to see it, because I always felt that he had a helping hand in the matter and that always gave me a lot of comfort.
I don't think any character really lives and breathes without quirks. Can you talk about that?
If we’re going to talk about quirks, then I’ve got two words for you. Candice Bailey!!! She’s Mia’s best friend in ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH and she is without doubt the quirkiest character I’ve ever written. In fact the minute she showed up the page she started complaining about her health and I immediately realized I was dealing with a hypochondriac – a seventeen-year-old hypochondriac who almost gets turned into a zombie. What could be more fun than that?
Do you ever fear that people you've known will read your work and see themselves in the characters you create?
I did worry that my stepmother might think I’d based the stepmother in my first book on her when I totally hadn’t (unless of course I did it sub-consciously), but apart from that I don’t really worry about it. Most of my characters are quite over the top and I tend to put them in such ridiculous situations that I don’t think any of my friends or family would dare think I had used them as a model!!! Though, I must add that when my son was five he had a disgusting habit of licking us all on the arm and I totally used that in my zombie book!!!
If you could meet any fictional character ever created, who would it be and why?
I’d love to meet Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum so I could explain to her just why she should forget all about Ranger and settle down with Joe Morelli (and then perhaps we could all go and eat some donuts together).
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