Interview with suspense horror novelist Mav Skye

Today’s guest writes dark…as in horror suspense. Mav Skye is here to chat about her newest novel, Supergirls, and promises not to scare anyone – yet.

During her tour, Mav will be awarding a $35 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner and a signed paperback copy of Supergirls (interntional) will be awarded to another randomly drawn winner. To be entered to win one of these gifts, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

When Mav Skye isn't turning innocent characters into axe murderers, refinishing old furniture, chasing around her spring ducklings, or reading the latest horror novel, she's editing at the almighty Pulp Metal Magazine.

She adores puppies, pirates, skulls, red hots, Tarantino movies and yes, Godzilla.

Especially Godzilla.

She is the author of Supergirls and The Undistilled Sky. Look for her wicked horror romance, Wanted:Single Rose, this fall and the second book in the Supergirls series, Night without Stars, early 2015.

Welcome, Mav. Please tell us about your current release.

Supergirls is what happens when two sisters born into dismal and dire circumstances grow up believing what they see on TV. They’ve had no parental guidance. No adults to trust. There was nothing but television to define their reality, nothing but superhero comics to set their expectations. They watched Superman and believed it, they watched Leave it to Beaver, I love Lucy, Goonies and believed it. They read Treasure Island and Supergirl Comics and Stephen King’s It, and believed it. As teens, they watched Pretty Woman, Kill Bill, Austin Powers and believed it.

Now, the only thing that stands between their current miserable existence and their Little House on the Prairie dreams is one “Fat Bastard” named Frederick Bells. Dispensing justice upon him, and stealing his money, should be a piece of cake…except younger sister, May, is a schizophrenic, Bells is a serial killer, and this isn’t a Disney movie.

Supergirls is the about the great gulf between what is and what should be.

What inspired you to write this book?

The unconditional love of my sisters. Passion, grief, guilt, the gray area between right and wrong. I’ve worked first hand with women and men who were dealt one sick hand of cards. It’s exasperating, frustrating, and I can see why the ugliness of crime can seem enticing.

Of course, there’s personal experience here too. I was still grieving my father’s passing, my son’s mental health illness was out of control, so much in my life was not working out. I felt dead inside. Writing this story helped raise me from the ashes. Supergirls isn’t pretty but it is heartfelt and honest. In the end, I think that is what matters most.

Enjoy an excerpt from Supergirls:

A narrow door with a brass knob catches my eye. It blends into the wall. “The closet,” I whisper.

We both walk to it, look at each other. I open the door. It is dark. A lone pull string hangs from a bulb. It tick-tocks back and forth like a grandfather clock tongue. I watch it a second, willing it to stop ticking, but it moves anyway in its own ghostly rhythm. I hesitate. Do I really want to see? Not just inside the closet, but see our lives clearly: May and mine, always looking for the next 7-11 job to get screwed at, flip a trick to pay rent, grab a buck burger for dinner, never having a real boyfriend, the weight of paying for May’s meds. What is the price for a dream, for peace? Our mother’s price (her face appears in my mind, navy blue eyes and a pale pretty mouth, a scar the shape of a kiss on her cheek) was running away. The price, I know, is always hefty and… complete. What would my price be?

The string tick-tocks on.

“Maybe we should just leave,” whispers May.

Her statement reflects my thoughts, but in her voicing it out loud, I feel angry. Running away. It’s what we’ve always done, what our mother did. We aren’t going back to that life. No way.

Tonight everything is going to change.

“Not without the money,” I say, and grab the string.

What exciting story are you working on next?

There’s a wicked little horror romance I’m hoping to release in the fall called Wanted: Single Rose. It’s my first full-length novel and has one kick ass femme fatale fox I’m quite excited about.

I've also written a sequel to SUPERGIRLS called Night without Stars. I can't give away too much, but I will say this-- the darkness we discover in the first book plunges even deeper in the second. I disturbed myself quite a bit writing it! I hope to release it in early 2015.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was singing stories before I learned to write. I made up bedtime stories to tell my brothers and sisters so they wouldn’t be afraid. I don’t think of myself as a writer so much as storyteller, in whatever medium I can get my hands on.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I don’t write full time, but I’m working on making that dream happen. I don’t like to give a lot of information away about myself, mainly because I think that’s creepy. And mystery is good. I will say I love to refinish furniture and play hide and seek with my ducks. If I ever disappear, my fine feathered friends will find me before any sniffer dog could. They are funny.

I have a couple of kids. One of them has a severe psychiatric disorder. My son has been one of the most challenging, exhausting, and rewarding experiences of my life. His courage and bravery amaze me as well as his tenacity to stick through what he needs to do. He gives me courage to dare what I dream because I see him do it every single day, I see his struggles which is fifteen times harder than what you or I could even imagine. My son doesn’t shirk away from what he needs to do, what he dares to do, and because of him, for him, I don’t either.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write in the attic, under a Godzilla poster.

I refer to my writing style as the bird poop method…

I have a steampunk spyglass that I whip out to survey the world through my tiny dormer window. I spy on birds in my apple tree.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

In this order: the first woman president, the first woman astronaut on the moon, and then I’d retire as a rock star. I think that as I’ve aged, I’ve grown more mature. Now I just want to be the first Martian president. I’d deliver my speeches in neon metal telepathy. I’d wear a quicksilver cat suit and moon boots with heels. My only hesitancy in accepting the presidency of Mars is whether I could bring my ducks with me or not.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

If you ever loved someone so much you’d do anything for them. If you ever felt like you had the opportunity to give someone you loved the world, but then dropped the ball. If you believe in the light and the dark, humor, fear, love and the gray area between…then Supergirls is for you.

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Supergirls is available in print or e-book at: 

Payhip (50% discount at Payhip if you "share" the book)

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Thanks, Mav!

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