In The Name of Books: Boo Bash Giveaway & Interview_ Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

I am very excited to post this interview with Sarah Beth Durst author of Drink Slay Love. This is book I am especially excited about because I've heard so many great things about it, seriously vampires and unicorns how cool does that sound?

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

Since I love twitter, I think it would be fun to see how you would describe your book Twitter-style. How would you describe it in 140 characters or less?

Pearl is a 16-year-old vampire, fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night she is stabbed through the heart by a were-unicorn's horn.

What inspired the concept for Drink, Slay, Love?

One night, I was thinking about how I'd love to write a story with a were-unicorn in it, and it suddenly occurred to me: Unicorns are natural vampire hunters. Seriously, look at their horn. Built in stake! Clearly, their cute and cuddly reputation is mere propaganda to disguise their true purpose...

Which character from your book did you find you could relate to the most?

Bethany. She's the human friend with zero superpowers and boundless optimism. That's me. Like Bethany, I'm the glass-half-full girl (even if the glass is half full of blood).

Not to imply that I drink blood. Totally not a vampire. Just want to clarify that.

What was the hardest part of the writing process?

Saying goodbye to the characters. Usually, my writing process involves at least one "oh, no, I'm doomed!!!" moments, but with this novel... It was so much fun to write start to finish that I cried when I was done. Kind of weird, I know.

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing environment and/or and rituals you go through before sitting down to write?

I like to be temperature regulated. (If I'm too hot or cold, I tend to start whining rather than writing.) Also, I'm not fond of bugs. So if you give me my laptop in a normal-temp room that isn't crawling with centipedes, then I have my ideal writing environment.

I don't think I have any rituals... aside from writing every day whether the writing is going well or not. I don't believe in waiting for inspiration. I believe in showing up to write, and if the muse decides to show up too... well, then, she can share my chocolate.

Do you listen to music while you write, if so what’s on your playlist?

With Drink, Slay, Love, I had a definite playlist. It included a fair amount of Tori Amos and a bit of Queen, plus a variety of songs that just seemed kind of vampiric to me. If you're curious, I posted it here on my blog: http://sarahbethdurst.blogspot.com/2011/10/drink-slay-love-playlists.html

What is your favorite Book or Series?
Ooh, so hard to choose! I read mostly fantasy. And I love books about girls who kick butt. All-time favorite... I think Tamora Pierce's Tortall books.

My favorite recent read is Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Also loved Bloodshot by Cherie Priest and Soulless by Gail Carriger.

If there was one thought or feeling you would want readers to take away from reading Drink, Slay, Love, what would it be?

I want you to laugh.

And for the length of time it takes you to read, I want Drink, Slay, Love to take you away from whatever's bothering you or upsetting you in the real world. I think that's the true magic of books -- the power to transport someone out of their life and into another. I hope I've created that kind of magic.

Thanks so much for interviewing me! Thanks Sarah for giving me the opportunity too!

About the author:

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of young adult novels Drink, Slay, Love, Enchanted Ivy, and Ice from Simon & Schuster, as well as middle grade novels Into the Wild and Out of the Wild from Penguin Young Readers. She has twice been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award, for both Ice and Into the Wild.
Sarah was born in Massachusetts as Sarah Angelini and grew up in Northboro, a small town in central Mass that later became the setting for her debut novel.

At the age of ten, she decided she wanted to be a writer. (Before that, she wanted to be Wonder Woman, except with real flying ability instead of an invisible jet. She also would have accepted a career as a unicorn princess.) And she began writing fantasy stories.
She attended Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk.
Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her two children, and her ill-mannered cat. She also has a miniature pet griffin named Alfred. Okay, okay, that’s not quite true. His name is really Montgomery.