Thursday, April 12, 2012

Interview with Shannon Dittemore

Today I have Shannon Dittemore, author of the upcoming novel Angel Eyes stopping by for an Q and A. If you want to learn more you can view the Goodreads page, follow Shannon on Twitter or visit her website. Angel Eyes will release on May 29. Thank you for stopping by Shannon!


Describe Angel Eyes in three words

You can't unsee.

Cheating, right? I stole that from the book jacket, but it's a great summary of what's going on in Brielle's world. She sees things she can't unsee, learns things she can't unknow, and that's... well, that's a problem for her.

How would you describe Brielle?

Cold. Scared. Guilty. When we meet Brielle, she's just suffered a major loss and feels she could have prevented it. Now, if I were to describe Brielle at the end of the story, I'd use very different adjectives.

How would Brielle describe Jake?

"He's a stalker who has no business being gorgeous. And he's hot... I mean his hands, his hands are hot. Sheesh."

What would you say is the most unique aspect of your angel mythology?

I'm going out a limb a bit here because I've kept myself fairly sheltered from other angel books. Not because I dislike them, but because I'm still working on this trilogy and I've needed to keep my own world--and its rules--clear in my mind.

But, from what I have read, I'd say there are probably three things that set Angel Eyes apart. First of all, there isn't a single reference to the Nephilim in my books. The idea of angels marrying the "daughters of men" is not discussed as a reality or a back-story. I went another direction entirely and I hope readers will find the journey compelling.

Second, my source material, in nearly every way, was the Bible. I took liberties of course, creating my own characters with their own stories. But, I grew up fascinated by the angels of scripture and I've wondered what it'd be like to see them. What would it be like to talk to them, to understand their task here on earth. And wh+ile my stories are contemporary, I wanted my angels to be believable theologically. So believable that they could fly back into the pages of that big coffee-table Bible Grandma always had out. I don't know if I've quite accomplished that, but I hope I'm close.

Oh. And there's a halo. Yup, a halo. *zips lips*

What sort of research did you do for this book?

Well! I work with teenagers and young adults, and I have for years. Being a dedicated people watcher certainly helps. I also did some reading on the tragedy of child trafficking, which plays a bit part in this story. I do hope to learn more about this very real, very unsettling issue and I'd love to see young people doing what they can to fight it. And of course, the Bible and I are good friends. If you're a writer, it's impossible to get away from the phrase "write what you know," and I did my best to do just that.

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