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Series: Dark Metropolis #1
Release date: June 17th 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare - a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.
Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules.
Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.
Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.
Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jaclyn Dolamore was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate.
She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream.
She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food.
She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and two black tabbies who have ruined her carpeting.
When did you start writing?
Before I could write, my mom actually wrote down stories I would
dictate to her. I still have this notebook! I told stories about telling
bears and mice to "Scat!" By the time I was 5 I could write on my
own--in a rudimentary way--and I never stopped.
I am also, apparently, an anomaly among writers in that I still have
pretty much every scrap I've ever written. Piles and piles of it. If
anyone needs to research the creative development of children with
bizarre and disturbing imaginations, you know where
to find me.
What makes you want to write?
I have a quote saved from Sylvia Plath's diaries: "I
love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector
loves his collection. ... I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a
dying man, a whore,
and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that
person." I don't actually want to be a dying man or a whore, but I do
know just what she means. The best stories make me yearn to step out of
my own skin and into someone else's, to see and
experience someone else's view, feel their triumphs, and even sometimes
their suffering. I keep telling stories because of the magic of making
fictional people and places breathe.
Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?
Oh, yeah. And it isn't an easy thing. It's taken me years of
experience to really understand what causes writer's block and how to
get over it. It usually falls into two kinds--a scene is just boring,
and I need to either cut it or plow through it to get
to the better stuff (usually, I try to cut it, unless it's very short
transitional stuff), or I've made a wrong turn earlier on in the story
and I have to go back and fix it. That's a trickier business and all I
can say to beginning writers who get stuck is,
if you're not excited to write, go back and look at choices you've made
earlier and see if there's something you can change to make it exciting
again, and don't be afraid to think very BIG.
Do you have a special way of going about writing?
I really don't. I eat lunch, sit myself down in my office, and get to work.
What are your hobbies?
I love junk hunting and vintage stuff...there's an auction house
just a few minutes down the street from my house and I look forward to
bimonthly auctions like crazy, and I also love thrift stores. I collect
vintage dresses--I must have fifty of them by
now, to say nothing of shirts and skirts and pants...I even have a 1920s
wool bathing suit. I love sketching characters from my stories; I draw
little comics when I have the time, which lately I haven't. And I'm a
total foodie, I love to cook and talk about
food incessantly and I've started gardening as well.
How did you choose the character names for Dark Metropolis?
Character names just come to me, at least for the main characters.
Though Thea is named after Thea von Harbou, who wrote the screenplay for
Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis, and Frederick is an Anglicized
Friedrich, which is Fritz Lang's actual name,
so there is a bit of homage there. But I can't say I entirely planned
that. Their names came first and then afterward I realized, well, that's
perfect!
Do you have any works in progress?
I'm finishing up the sequel to Dark Metropolis and then I need to
finish something I call my "magical Mafia" book which, if published,
would be my first contemporary fantasy!
Who is your favorite character in Dark Metropolis?
In Dark Metropolis, it's Nan. If you include the sequel, it's Thea--she has more personal struggles in book 2.
Where did you get the idea for Dark Metropolis?
I love the film Metropolis and wanted to pay homage to it!
What was your favourite part of writing Dark Metropolis?
The creepy stuff. Sorry, Mom. ;)
What are you currently reading?
Theoretically, I have Eva Ibbotson's The Morning Gift in progress,
but I've been working so hard on the sequel to Dark Metropolis that I
don't even have room in my head for other people's stories right now and
I've been spending all my downtime playing
mindless puzzle games on the DS. =(
What is your favorite book?
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery.
Who is your favorite author?
L. M. Montgomery or Maud Hart Lovelace--tossup!
What is your favourite film?
Marie Antoinette.
What is your favourite TV show?
Of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender. At the moment, maybe Brooklyn Nine Nine.
Quick-fire questions:
Chocolate or ice cream? I seem to have become lactose intolerant lately--O CRUEL WORLD--so, chocolate it is.
Chocolate or ice cream? I seem to have become lactose intolerant lately--O CRUEL WORLD--so, chocolate it is.
Paperback or ebook? Paperback.
Dogs or cats? Cats.
Go out or stay in? Stay in, usually, but I love it when I do go out for something fun!
Summer or winter? Hard choice! I hate heat but I LOVE summer produce, so I think I
have to say summer just because...cherries and freshly picked corn!
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