Author: Derek Milman
Pub. Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 400
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-->Synopsis:
A darkly hilarious contemporary
realistic young adult novel about growing up and finding your place in the
world, perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Running
With Scissors.
Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features.
But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say good-bye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, both real and imagined, he’s left there.
With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?
Author Interview:
1. What does your
writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start? Or do you just start writing and go with it
(seat of the pants writing)? If you plan
it out, how do you do that? Outline,
notecards, post-it-notes, etc.?
I take loose notes in a café in a Postalco notebook by hand
(I just love this particular stationery, and they’re hard to find, so the hunt
is part of the game). Sometimes I just write nonsense, other times I flesh out
ideas I’ve had. I don’t formally outline, but the notes can help me draft,
which I do in front of the computer. I need some guidance to go by when the
cursor is blinking at me, but I don’t want too
much guidance so it feels like homework. E.L. Doctorow described his
process as akin to driving in a rainstorm and seeing how far the headlights
penetrate the murk. I read that and I was like: ah that’s me.
2. Are you part of a writers group that gets together and
helps each other with their writing?
Nope! That’s just not something I have ever needed or
wanted—all those voices chiming. I have a few beta readers, but it’s a really
tight group of me, one or two people I will show an early draft to for
feedback, my agent, and my editor.
3. How do you come up
with your ideas for your stories?
Things people say, casually, in conversation. Traveling.
Articles I read. Movies I see. Sometimes lightning strikes when I’m on the
elliptical, or during a bout of insomnia. But mostly it’s me with a notebook
forcing myself to come up with the skeleton of an idea, and then taking it from
there, fleshing it out later.
4. Do you edit as you go, or wait till you're
finished before you edit? How many times
would you say you go over it yourself before having another set of eyes look it
over?
I edit as I go. I’m always backtracking and fixing. And I go
over it countless times, tweaking endlessly and obsessively, before anyone else
sees it.
5. What are your
favorite horror movies? Do you have any
favorite horror authors or books?
Movies: The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, The Shining, The
Changeling, The Omen, Suspiria, The Birds, Carrie, It Follows, Psycho, and
Alien.
In terms of authors, Stephen King remains the undisputed
champion, but I’ve been obsessed with House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski,
since I read it many years ago. I think it’s terrifying, and unbelievably
original. Joe Hill and Sarah Waters have succeeded in giving me a chill or two,
and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind is not strictly horror,
but it’s a deeply unsettling novel.
About the Author:
Derek studied English, Creative Writing, and Theater
at Northwestern University. He began his career as a playwright (his first play
was staged in New York City when he was just out of college), and earned an MFA
in acting at the Yale School of Drama.
Derek has performed on stages across the country,
and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, working with two Academy Award
winning film directors.
Scream All Night is Derek's debut YA novel. He
currently lives in Brooklyn where he is hard at work on his next book.
Giveaway:
- 1 winner will win a signed finished copy of SCREAM ALL NIGHT and swag, US Only.
Tour
Schedule:
Week One:
7/17/2018- BookHounds YA- Guest Post
7/20/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert- Review
Week Two:
7/23/2018- Smada's Book Smack- Review
