Blog Tour: Drawn by Marie Lamba

Welcome to my stop in the Drawn Blog Ghost Tour!

Today we have Marie Lamba, author of Drawn. She is going to take a few minutes and answer my Top 10.

Marie Lamba(marielamba.com) is author of acclaimed young adult novels including What I Meant… (Random House), Over My Head, and Drawn. She's also an Associate Literary Agent at The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency in NYC.

1. fav song/singer?

I’m really smitten by Coldplay. The songs from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends served as my soundtrack while I wrote DRAWN. Among the songs that inspired me is “Life in Technicolor,” which brings me right to the moment when Christopher appears on horseback, grabs Michelle out of the present and gallops with her across the medieval countryside. The quiet singing in “Cemeteries of London” could be Christopher singing to Michelle in the early morning as he recovers from his battle wounds. And, from another album, Coldplay’s “Amsterdam” echoed in my mind during the book’s Ghost Tour scene in the dungeon, a chilling moment when Michelle finds Christopher clinging to the bars and to dear life.

2. fav season?

Fall, without a doubt. I love the sweaters, the smell of hot cider, the glittering colors and changing leaves, and the chill in the air that makes me feel full of boundless energy.

3. worst vacation?

The two-week odyssey by car to Canada with my family when I was 7. My dad had a thing for forts and for Holiday Inns. So we went fort to fort, Holiday Inn to Holiday Inn. There are only so many canons a kid can appreciate, honestly. My mom, ever the economical one, spent the entire trip calculating costs and complaining. My brother and I moaned and pestered each other relentlessly. There were plenty of “That’s it! I’m stopping the car!” threats to go around. But, alas, we always made it to the next fort, the next Holiday Inn…

4. guilty pleasure?

Chick flicks. She’s the Man. Never Been Kissed. He’s Just Not that Into You. Etc. Etc. Also, and don’t think less of me, now…but there’s nothing I like better at night than leaving behind my brain and getting lost in cheesy reality T.V.: The Bachelorette, or The Biggest Loser or even Hell’s Kitchen. Embarrassing, but true!

5. fav book and/or author?

My first and foremost favorite book is The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I fell in love with this novel when I was a teen, and I re-read it every few years just to recapture that sense of wonder and folly. I guess you could say my fascination with castles began with that book.

6. one item you cannot live without?

My laptop. No surprise there! Whether it’s 6 in the morning or 10 at night, you’ll find me at my laptop writing or editing or reading submissions (in addition to being a writer, I’m also an Assistant Literary Agent for the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency in NY). Back in September my old laptop died and I was wandering around in a state of shock begging time off of other people’s computers like someone in need of a fix. It wasn’t pretty.

7. hobby?

Even though writing is my profession, it’s also my hobby in a way, because I love it so much. I also love to take weekend walks into town with my dog and my daughters. To do puzzles on hot summer nights in my back screened porch, watching the lightning bugs flashing all around. To travel abroad whenever I get a chance, and then explore little villages, sketching and photographing the back streets and tiny squares. I do love to draw, just like my character Michelle in DRAWN, though I don’t give this as much time as I used to. Also, back in high school and college I used to be a varsity fencer, but now my foils have gone all rusty. Blah.

8. fav movie/actor/actress?

I’ve become a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. I think it’s the know-it-all cocky thing he’s got going for him, a quality that I used to find attractive in guys back when I was single. You can be that worked out well for me, right?

In actresses, these days I’m liking Emma Stone. She was fantastic in “Easy A.” Smart, funny and vulnerable. Actually, she’d make a great Michelle if they ever did a movie version of DRAWN. Just the right amount of sarcastic confidence to pit her up against a medieval ghost who dares to mess with her heart.

9. fav food?

Just one? Okay…dark chocolate.

10. who would you like to meet? (dead or alive?)

I guess I’d have to say my grandfather. He died when I was just 10, and I adored him. It would be wonderful to speak with him for just a little while now that I’m an adult. To ask about his past and let him know that he was important to me. I guess we all carry around ghosts of people that went before us. Some memories haunt us, but others add magic to our days, and that’s what my grandfather’s memory does for me.

I just adored all your answers. Thank you for taking your time to really answer them. And your answer to the worst vaca was hilarious. 2 whole weeks? ugh!

Teen artist Michelle De Freccio moves to England in search of a normal life...instead she finds a hot medieval ghost with a sketchy past.

It all begins when a strange guy appears in Michelle's drawings. When she actually meets him at the town’s castle, she's unmistakably drawn to him. But something is definitely not right. For starters, he wears medieval garb, talks of ancient murders and tends to disappear each time they kiss.

Could he possibly be a ghost? Could Michelle be losing her mind? Or has she simply uncovered a love so timeless it’s spanned the centuries…

 

Praise for Drawn:

 

“A lushly romantic ghost story…captivating and haunting. I didn’t want it to end.” –Cyn Balog, author of paranormal YA novels Fairy Tale, Sleepless, and Starstruck

"...a wonderfully spooky tale of romance and discovery. It’s a magical exploration of the unconquerable power of love. Highly recommended!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot& Ruin and Dust & Decay

“In DRAWN, Marie Lamba deftly entwines romance and mystery, past and present, into a page-turning adventure. Buy it today and I promise you’ll be finished reading far too quickly!” —Joy Nash, USA Today bestselling paranormal romance author of The Immortals series, The Grail King and The Unforgiven

 

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