EgmontUSA Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway: Oblivion (Sasha Dawn)

Lisa McMann's Dead to You meets Kate Ellison's The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery. 

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: May 27th 2014 by EgmontUSA

One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.
Since that fateful night, she's been plagued by graphomania -- an unending and debilitating compulsion to write. The words that flow from Callie's mind and through her pen don't seem to make sense -- until now.

As the anniversary of Hannah's vanishing approaches, more words and memories bubble to the surface and a new guy in school might be the key to Callie putting together the puzzle. But digging up the secrets she's buried for so long might be her biggest mistake.

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Sasha Dawn teaches college composition to America’s youth at McHenry County College and the College of Lake County. She’s drawn to suspense, the survival instinct in people, and has a crush on Thomas Jefferson. She lives in a suburb of Chicago.

1. What gave you the inspiration to write this book? Most of my plots come to me in dreams, and this one is no exception. However, Callie’s story derived over the years. She’d always had a addiction to writing, but it was a fellow writer (sci fi phenom Diana Botsford) who suggested I tie the graphomania to a crisis. Never underestimate the power of the critique group!

2. Who is your favorite character in the book? I love all my characters equally. Every time someone asks this question, I try to give perspective on someone else. Lindsey Hutch is deliciously evil at times, and incredibly needy at others. She’s an abandoned soul, seeking approval, but she’s also a Queen Bee. She’s the illustration of the mean girl inside the scared child, or vice versa, and proof that mean girls need love, too. She’s rampant to judge, but she hopes others won’t judge her too harshly.

3. Which came first, the title or the novel? The novel didn’t have a title until we sent it to editors. I lovingly called the book Perpetual because I’d been writing and rewriting it for years. It was my perpetual project.

4. What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why? I answer this question differently every time, too, because it’s hard to choose only one. I love the opening scene: enter two girls. One of them has an unusual problem and doesn’t want to solve it the usual way. Reference guys. Reference school. Consider what money has to do with fitting in. Consider the consequence of not remembering. The girls came alive for me in only a few pages, and while I’d written them countless times before, they were suddenly flesh-and-blood at the close of chapter one.

5. Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now? There’s no such thing as writer’s block. I might be afraid I won’t finish, I might be bored with the plotline, I might not know how to fix it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t. I’ve learned to write through the fear, boredom, and confusion. I write.

6. What do you like most about the cover of the book? I love the cover! The artists compiled some of Callie’s nonsensical poetry and etched it over the model’s face. Aside from its haunting air and creepy appearance, the poem is not only one Callie conjures over the course of the novel, but one I wrote ten years ago and never published. It’s a great feeling to see it in print…and to know that I, in a very small way, contributed to the incredible cover.

7. What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2014? I can’t wait to read Jessica Warman’s The Last Good Day of the Year, coming Fall 2014. Jessie writes, with true-to-life humor, such well-rounded characters that one can’t help falling into her books on page one.

8. What was your favorite book in 2013? Such a tough one to answer! Probably Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

9. What’s up next for you? I’ve been busy writing and reading. I have several YA thrillers finished and ready. I’d love to work with Egmont USA again! Fingers crossed!

10. Is there anything that you would like to add? Thank you for the opportunity to reach readers and other writers. While we may not all agree on what makes a good book, we all stand firm that life would not be the same without books. If you’d like to continue this conversation, follow me on Twitter @_SashaDawn!

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