Sarah MacManus Interview and Giveaway

Some of you may remember my review for Dreamwalk by Sarah MacManus, if not check it out here! Sarah is an absolutely talented writer and I adored her story about Chloe and Shane. I asked Sarah is she would mind doing an interview with me and she said yes! I absolutely love interviewing authors and this one turned out to be a lot of fun. Enjoy!

What five words would you use to describe your book?
Surreal, controversial, thought-provoking, romantic, lyrical

How did you first learn about dreamwalking? How did it inspire your story?
I can’t remember the exact moment I first learned about The Dreaming. The story started with the idea of lucid dreaming and then I started thinking about other ‘paranormal’ phenomena that could be based on the idea of non-linear time. Like ghosts – are they really disembodied spirits, or is there some breakdown in the time barrier that makes people feel like they’re ‘haunted’? 
One day, I was thinking about how much fun it would be to travel back in time, but since it was impossible, I thought a person could possibly lucidly dream they were and have the same subjective experience. Then I remembered about the aboriginal concept of ‘Dreamtime” and it all kind of fell into place.

How much research was required to write this book? How did you prepare for it?
I did quite a bit, honestly. I needed more information about the mythology of The Dreaming, and read up on papers from anthropologists who’ve studied it. I also decided to write about places I’ve never been, or haven’t been in a number of years, so there was geographical research and a few laws and regulations I had to look into.

Which character from your book did you have the hardest time writing about or getting to know? 
I think it was probably Trish, because Trish is a lot like me, and sometimes it’s really hard to face your own faults and even harder to write about them.

Do you have a favourite character from your book?
Honestly, I think it has to be Shane. He’s a bit of a mess, but his heart’s in the right place. Besides, I think it’s sort of cute the way he’s so pretentious when he’s trying to impress, but then falls back on his working class roots when he’s under pressure.  

What is the best advice you have ever received in regards to writing?
Don’t take it personally. I still find that the hardest to do. 

And now some fun questions:

-Paperback, Hardcover or E-Book?
Paperback for the tub, hardcover for bed (cause you don’t have to hold it open), and eBook for when the shelves are full. I honestly can’t pick one. I’m in it for the stories, the content; the medium doesn’t really make that much of a difference to me. 

-Five things you'd want with you if you were stuck on a deserted island?
My iPhone and a data connection? 
Okay – if really pressed, I’d have to go with the basics: A knife, a lighter, some rope,  a large sheet of plastic.. and my iPhone with a data connection.  

-Chocolate of vanilla?
Chocolate. Easy.

-Favourite day of the week?
Saturday! 

-Zombies or Unicorns?
Unicorns, because the Zombies will eat my brains and I need them for my job. I have nothing (anymore) that would be of interest to the unicorn.

-Favourite colour?
Blue

-What is your ideal summer vacation?
Camping. I love camping.

You can find Sarah over at her webpage - http://www.sarahmacmanus.com
 
Sarah - thank you so much for jumping in and having a blast during my blogoversary! You are such a great author to work with... and I love that you picked unicorns. :) I picked them two during the Zombies vs. Unicorns Challenge back in September. YAY TEAM UNICORN!

And to top this post all off - Sarah has offered up a ebook copy of Dreamwalk to one lucky winner! (Open Internationally) All you have to do is leave a comment below for Sarah, leave a way to contact you and extra entries if you tweet about this post (make sure to leave a link).