6 June 2011

Well it’s official. My third published novel for youth, Dark Poppy’s Demise is available in book stores and online.

It’s been quite a process. But first thing’s first: the book.

For the first time since I put pen to paper, I’ve written a novel from the female perspective. (Weird I know) This was both exciting and terrifying as I’ve always felt more comfortable writing about boys. Don’t ask me why but there you go.

In Dark Poppy’s Demise sixteen year old Jenna Brooks falls madly in love with a guy she meets online. Naturally, all manner of terrible things happen as a result. It’s kind of become a characteristic of my writing for bad things to happen to teens. (See any of my previous published works for proof of this). Maybe I read too many Christopher Pikes as a kid or something.

To create the girl characters I had to call upon my own teenage years. This in itself was a cringe-worthy experience. Teenage girls are terrible creatures. They may look all sugar and spice and all things nice from the outside, but for the most part, they are not. By remembering the she-devils from my own high school years I was able to create the evil characters of Claire and Hayley – the resident bullies.

Jenna herself is a little of me and a lot of creative license. She’s self-absorbed, imaginative, naïve, creative and also feisty. She also has a big heart. All she wants is for someone to notice her, to love her. When she meets Robert online she believes all her wishes have come true. I once flew halfway across the world for a guy I met online so no research was necessary for that part of the novel. I know how bad these things can turn out if you’re not careful. Thankfully nothing bad happened to me, but of course, I had to make my poor characters suffer… (mwuhahaha)

The city of Cape Town is also a character. I love my city, and so does Jenna. I mentioned my own haunts, places I’ve visited with good friends (even Helen Moffett’s favourite spot makes a cameo appearance). I hope my readers will enjoy my perspective of Cape Town through Jenna’s eyes. It was such a joy to write.

Here’s the trailer directed by the brilliant Kirby Kruger that stars the incredibly beautiful Kale Tyler.

Book trailer for Dark Poppy’s Demise

If my first reader reviews are anything to go, I think I did a good job.

“Dark Poppy’s Demise is uber-creepy. And horribly pertinent. Good research, tight pacing”

and

“Mind is blown. I really connected to it. Played out like a movie in my mind.”

If you’ve read the book please let me know what you think and I’ll feature it on my blog.