Merrie Destefano: Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles

This contest is closed. The winners are:

avalonne83
LibrarianJessica

If you didn't win, youc an always find a copy of Afterlife: The Resurecction Chronicles at your local bookstore or online at the Official Number One Novels Amazon Bookstore.

Here's how to enter this week's contest for a chance to win two autographed copies of Merrie Destefano's debut novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles:

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Title: Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles
Author: Merrie Destefano

Publisher: EOS
Mass Market Paperback: 336

ISBN-13: 978-0061990816

ASIN: B003V1WSUK

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Merrie Destefano: First, thank you so much for inviting me here. I’m thrilled to be interviewed on your blog today! Second, to answer your question, my first novel, Afterlife, takes place in a near future New Orleans, during a time when we have the technology to resurrect, instead of die. My pitch is below:

A jazz musician at heart, Chaz Domingue works as a Fresh Start Babysitter, a warrior-chaperone with more authority than the local mugs. He spends seven days and nights guiding Newbies through the transitional period from one life to the next, frequenting jazz clubs and slugging down black-market whiskey when he can. But there’s something wrong with his current Newbie—a beautiful young woman with 50-odd years ahead of her. Her circuits aren’t firing right and she can’t remember her past lives. Somewhere within her subconscious mind lies a secret that could change the world. In her previous life, she stole invaluable research just before she was murdered. And the underground organization she secretly worked for will do anything to get the research back.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

MD: The idea originated from an article I read in a scientific journal several years ago. I’m no scientist, so I’ll probably get all my facts wrong here. Basically, there’s a theory that if we could lengthen the telomeres in our DNA, and keep them from breaking, then we might have the key to immortal life. So, in my book, I created a society and a world built around that concept: what if we had immortal life, or what if we could live 500 years? The more I worked on the premise, the more I realized that our world would be greatly changed by just altering that one fact.

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

MD: About ten years ago, I heard my agent, Kimberley Cameron, speak at the San Diego State University Writer’s Conference (a great conference, by the way!). I really liked her and wanted to work with her, but unfortunately I didn’t have a project that was right for her at the time. Time passed. I wrote more books that didn’t sell. Then I wrote Afterlife, and I decided it was time to look for an agent.

First, I put together a list of agents that might be interested in my book, then I followed their submission request info (most agents have that information on their websites or blogs). Kimberley was at the top of my list, and she was the agent that I really hoped would like my book. So, I was beyond excited when she called me and wanted to represent me. Together we went through another round of edits. Then she sent my book out to about ten or twelve editors. I signed with Kimberley in March 2009 and she got me a 2-book deal with Diana Gill of Eos/HarperCollins in August 2009.

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

MD: Chaz Domingue is the main character in Afterlife. I used to work in a publishing company where all the girls talked about a guy who quit before I started. His name was Chaz. I never met him, but my friends said he was just the cutest guy they’d ever met. I liked that name and, obviously, it stuck with me—I guess it represented someone mysterious and handsome. Then that name just jumped out of the ether when I started writing Afterlife. I very rarely have to go searching for a name for my main characters—they often appear to me fully named. It’s completely different for my secondary characters, however. But Chaz still needed a surname that fit in with New Orleans’ history, so I had to do research until I found just the right name for him. It had to have a good rhythm with his first name, had to be easy to read, and needed to be fairly easy for readers to pronounce. Some French or Spanish last names are beautiful when you hear them spoken, but don’t make sense to readers on the page unless they’re already familiar with the culture. So I picked Domingue. I thought it had a strong, powerful sound—necessary for his family since they owned Fresh Start, a worldwide resurrection monopoly. I need a name that had the sound of a dynasty. To me, Chaz Domingue sounds like a character who would be mysterious, handsome, strong and poetic—the poetic side is implied by the rhythm of his name. And Chaz is a jazz musician, so there needed to be a certain amount of music to the sound of his name.

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

MD: Yes, two actually. I just finished copy edits for my second novel, Feast: Harvest of Dreams. You can read the back cover copy here: http://merrie-destefano.blogspot.com/2010/12/magic-runs-deep-during-harvest.html. That book will release on June 28, 2011. And I’m about two-thirds of the way done with a third novel. I hope to have it finished by the end of January. But that book doesn’t have a scheduled pub date and I really can’t talk about it too much yet. However, I can say that as soon as one of my books is finished and sent off for edits, I start writing another book. It’s hard to say how much I can accomplish, but I would love to be able to write two books a year.

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

MD: Actually, I write whenever I can find the time. That said, I almost never start writing in the late afternoon. Every single day, my brain turns to mush at 3 p.m. So I usually try to write in the mornings, if I can clear my schedule. However, if I’m busy, and I usually am, then I can almost always count on having the time slot from 8 to 10 p.m. free for writing. If I haven’t been writing for over a week—which happens frequently if I’m in the midst of an editing cycle—then I print out my entire manuscript and read it through, before I jump back into writing again. I wish I could say that I write when the mood strikes me, but in reality writing is a deep need for me. If I go too long without writing, I get cranky and depressed and I’m not fun to be around. Writing is an outlet that I desperately need and I would write even if my work didn’t get published.

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

MD: I love trolling the Internet, specifically Facebook and Twitter. So, when I’m not writing or editing, I’m most likely hanging out on one of my social networks, chatting with readers and fellow writers.

NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

MD: A cutout greeting card of Glinda, the good witch from The Wizard of Oz. I don’t remember seeing the movie as a child, but it must have made a big impact on me. For a long time I refused to answer to anything but the name “Glinda.” And I had an imaginary friend—a large bubble named Bubbie. He and I went everywhere together. All my neighborhood friends were jealous that they didn’t have an imaginary friend.

NON: What are you currently reading?

MD: Today, I’m reading The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley. I just downloaded it last night, using a Kindle app for my iPad. I stayed up late last night reading it—it’s so good! It’s a tale about a young girl who protects towns from The Folk, or fairies. I really love reading fantasy and science fiction.

Afterlife excerpt can be found here.

Want to hear more from Merrie Destefano? Her blog can be found here. Tweet with Merrie Destefano here. Keep up with Merrie Destefano on Facebook here.

You can also find more about Merrie Destefano at her profile page on the HarperCollins website.