Interview with Bree Despain, Author of The Dark Divine & Contest!

Today I'd like to welcome author Bree Despain, who graciously agreed to stop by and discuss her debut novel, The Dark Divine, which is scheduled to be released on December 22nd 2009.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

The Dark Divine is a compelling young adult novel exploring the Prodigal Son parable but with a romantic paranormal twist. Why do you think the paranormal genre is so popular now with both teen and adult readers?

I think readers enjoy paranormal romance because it offers a bit of an escape, but it also offers a way for authors to explore deeper concepts in the form of a metaphor. Giving my book a paranormal twist, allowed me to tell a story about love, redemption, and family, in a way that is also an exciting and enticing read (at least that’s my hope). Besides, what’s more appealing than a forbidden, dangerous romance with a guy that has superpowers AND is devastatingly hot? *swoon*

In the Dark Divine, Grace’s first crush Daniel mysteriously disappears after a falling out with her brother Jude. When he inexplicably resurfaces three years later, Jude begs Grace to promise to stay away from him, warning her that he’s dangerous. When you were Grace’s age, was there a boy that your family disapproved of and forbid you to see? Can you also tell us about your first crush?

My parents weren’t too crazy about my first boyfriend. He was older than me, very attractive, mysterious, and was an actor and a writer—in fact, we met over a conversation about writing. My parents were concerned about our relationship, but I think they were very smart not to forbid me from seeing him. Doesn’t that just make a guy seem even more attractive? I dated him off and on until one day he asked me to wait for him after class. Well, I waited and waited but I had to leave before he got there . . . and I NEVER saw him again. No joke. He disappeared off the face of the planet.

My first crush: My brother had this best friend (we'll call him Drew). They did everything together--and I tagged along constantly. And even though Drew loved to tease me, I was totally smitten by him. His dad was my dentist, and he would always tease me about how Drew and I were going to get married. Well, then as Drew and my brother got older, they had some kind of weird falling out, and then awhile after that, Drew ran away from home and totally disappeared off the face of the planet . . .oh wait, this is starting to sound familiar . . .

Throw in one other guy-friend who completely vanished one day, and you’d have yourself a theme in my life! I guess you could say that writing The Dark Divine was a cathartic way for me to deal with these mysterious guys who disappeared from my little universe.

The first chapter of The Dark Divine has been made available for readers anxious for a sneak peek into the novel. For those of us who read chapter one, only to be left desperately wanting more, I have to ask--can you give us another small teaser now?

Unfortunately, the “suits” won’t let me share much more than the first chapter, but I think I can get away with sharing a couple of teaser lines:

“In the shadows, his eyes seemed darker than usual, and his stare didn’t just make him look hungry—he was starving. His lips were almost close enough to taste.”

How long did it take you to write the Dark Divine, and how many revisions did you have to make?

I started writing The Dark Divine in January 2005. I took me about a year to write a good working version, and then I started sending it out to agents. After a few months and a lot of rejections, I decided that the manuscript wasn’t ready yet and put it away for about 18 months and started working on other projects. Then, one day, the fire for the story hit me again and I spent the next 5 months completely rewriting about 2/3rds of the book and added about 100 pages of new content. I then did several more revisions for about 3 more months before sending it out to agents again. I did 2 rounds of revisions with my agent, and then 2 rounds of revisions with my editor. All in all, it took 4 years in calendar time, and about 2 years in writing time. I think I lost count of how many revisions I went through after about 10. I like to revise on hard-copy, so I have stacks and stacks of manuscripts in my basement.

The cover of the Dark Divine is so striking and really grabs the reader’s attention with the contrast of the girl’s pale skin against the floating purple fabric. Did you have much input in the cover art? Also, is there any special significance of that particular shade of purple being used?

Ha ha. Well, early on in the process my editor asked me if I had any “thoughts” on the cover—and what he got back was a TWO PAGE letter from me! After considering a few other designs, my publisher decided to go with a cover that fit the “feel” of the things I asked for. I didn’t choose the image (that was the brilliant Joel Tippie) but I feel extremely blessed that my publisher even considered my ideas, and chose a cover that would make me happy.

The purple was inspired by the color of Grace’s eyes. She and Jude both have “violet” eyes. The final version of the book also has more purple in the story than the ARCs.

If the Dark Divine were to be made into a movie, who do you see playing the roles of Grace, Jude and Daniel?

Daniel is the easiest to cast. A few months ago, hubby and I were watching Friday Night Lights and I saw Taylor Kisch sitting on a bench looking all brooding—and I suddenly exclaimed, “That’s him! That’s Daniel!” Now if only I could figure out how to cryogenically freeze Taylor so he’d stop aging. . .either that, or somebody needs to make a Dark Divine movie like yesterday! Also, after seeing 17 AGAIN for the first time this week, I think if you bad-boyed up Zac Effron enough, he could possibly make a good Daniel.

Jude is harder to cast. I’d need someone fresh faced, boy-next-door looking who was also very attractive. Like a younger Tom Welling, or Chase Crawford with dark hair.

I’m still struggling with casting Grace in the movie in my head. I think Leighton Meester is very pretty and fits Grace physically, but I can’t get over her mean-girl-ness enough to imagine her as Grace. Grace is definitely not a mean girl! I need someone who is innocent and sweet, but still has a tough streak--Maybe Taylor Swift with dark brown hair?

In your bio, you wrote that you took a semester off from college “to write and direct plays for inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York.” Out of all the plays you were involved with, which one was your favorite, and why?

I love the theatre and I’ve participated in many plays over the years. However, that summer, my favorite thing was getting to write my only plays for the teens to put on for younger children. We mostly did spoofs on fairytales, like a Cinderella Murder Mystery (Clue Style), and a musical inner-city-esque version of Goldilocks And The Three Bears—complete with dancing, and a 250 pound girl with an awesome voice playing “Goldie.” We got a huge standing ovation for that one. However, the best thing about doing these plays were the people I got to work with—including my partner (who was a total British, professional soccer playing pratt) who I butted heads with all the time until our vision for “Goldie” started to come together. Working with him ended up being a ton of fun.

You’ve also said that you love archaeology and anthropology and would like to participate in a dig someday. If you could travel to one special place in the world to look for artifacts, where would you go and what would you want to dig for?

I’m mostly obsessed with Egyptology. I’d love to go on a dig there and discover some unknown tomb in the Valley of The Kings, or explore Amarna. I know there’s probably not much left to be discovered now days, but a girl can dream, right?

How do you find time to write with all the responsibilities that come with having two small children, and what’s a typical writing day like for you?

For me, finding a balance with my kids and my writing is the most challenging part of this job. Luckily, I have a mother’s helper who comes a few times a week during the summer to do crafts and other activities with my kids while I write at the library (or lock myself in my bedroom). During the rest of the year, I utilize every moment my kids are at school, napping, or playing with friends. I often trade babysitting with family and friends so my kids are having fun while I work. I do my best writing when I can get a consistent 2 hours in a row to work.

The highly anticipated The Dark Divine will be released December 22nd 2009 and you have a sequel in the works too. Can you tell us more about it?

Yes, I am working on a sequel!! It’s hard to talk about the sequel without spoiling anything in the first book. . . But, let’s just say that something one of the character’s did in the past comes back to haunt him/her.

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Read an Excerpt of the Dark Divine HERE.
Purchase The Dark Divine at Amazon.com
My Review of The Dark Divine

To learn more about The Dark Divine and Bree ,Visit her Official Website & Blog

*****CONTEST***

Bree Despain is offering one lucky winner the opportunity to win a
signed copy of
THE DARK DIVINE!

Just leave a comment for Bree attached to this post
Bonus entries for posting/linking about this contest on any social network.

Contest is open to all U.S. residents
Ends: 1/10/2010
**NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

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