Author Interview: Shadow Eyes by Dusty Crabtree

In this post, you will find an interview with Dusty Crabtree, a quote from her debut novel Shadow Eyes, and a trailer for her book.

Interview with Dusty Crabtree

Q:  In your book, Iris tends to have recurring nightmares that haunt her. Can you describe one of those dreams?

A:  It was dusk and the air was stagnant and bitterly cold as I shuffled hesitantly on Main Street at an old strip mall. I was alone, kicking at the misty fog covering my feet and listening to the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement. I paused to wrap a black cloak tightly around me but didn’t receive any warmth from it, so I kept walking, hoping to reach my destination soon before frostbite set in.

Suddenly, my eyes caught a glimpse of a brilliant light and I halted mid-stride, shivering and lifting my head to stare at a glowing man across the street. He gazed back at me. He had a quiet intensity about him, and although he didn’t say anything, I could tell he was hoping I would invite him over. It was as if he knew I needed him for some reason and wanted to help but had to wait for my invitation.

Q:  If you could only use five words to describe the characters in Shadow Eyes, how would you describe each character?

A:  Patrick: suave, mysterious, sexy, flirtatious, confusing (that’s all I’m going to say about that)

      Josh: sweet, cute, protective…um, I don’t think I can say anything else without spoilers

      Hanna: kind, giving, transformed, goofy, good

      Kyra: pure, good, friendly, compassionate, beautiful

      Iris’ mother: lonely, cautious, caring, troubled, funny (but not because she tries to be)

      Mr. Delaney [Iris' teacher]: handsome, mysterious, mentor, kind, powerful

Q:  If you had to pick an actor or well-known star to model Patrick, who would you pick?

A:  Since he has to be young-looking with messy-blonde hair and gorgeous, I’d have to say Alex Pettyfer [pictured above] for sure! And for Josh, even though you didn’t ask, I would pick Logan Lerman from Percy Jackson
[pictured below].

(manda-rae:  Obviously, we can tell which guy I'm rooting for in this book...)

Q:  Iris experiences a lot of dark shadows following her friends around. In some scenes, it seems like the shadows are attached to people like parasites. Can you describe one of these shadows?

A:  The shadows vary quite a bit depending on what they represent or what their motives are. Some are foggy masses that hang over or around people, and some are more distinct, dark human-like silhouettes that hover beside or on people. Some of them drift slowly, whirl around chaotically or have vapors flutter away from them like steam.

Q:  Kyra and Iris tend to frequent a local coffee shop, Coffee at the Ritz, that features cupcakes in addition to coffee. What is your favorite coffee shop beverage and favorite cupcake?

A:  I LOVE coffee! My favorite is probably some sort of mocha with chai or toffee flavoring. I like chocolate cupcakes over vanilla with lots of cream cheese or chocolate icing.

Q:  Nicole, Iris' friend, had problems passing her driving test due to parallel parking. Did you pass your first driving test?

A:  I did pass the first one, but barely! I had learned to drive from my mother instead of through drivers ed, so I learned the bad habits of normal drivers like not coming to a complete stop. He said I “rolled” through most of the stop signs, but I actually did great with the parallel parking.

Q:  Who has been your biggest inspiration?

A:  Probably Becca Fitzpatrick. I loved the suspense and intrigue of Hush Hush and the way her writing flowed. I did my best to make my writing like that.

Q:  What is one book that everyone should read?

A:  Good question! For mind-blowing enjoyment and to get people to want to read more – Hunger Games.

Q:  Favorite Quote?

A:  “If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
    – Ray Bradbury

Dusty's favorite quote from Shadow Eyes

Click here to see the Goodreads description and my review.

It was as if his green eyes were my kryptonite, making all my defensive powers of wit and sarcasm useless. I was exposed and vulnerable. But for some reason, with Patrick…I liked it.

Shadow Eyes Trailer

Shadow Eyes by Dusty Crabtree

Genre:  YA Urban Fantasy

Dusty Crabtree's website

Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

We're in the life of a regular teenager, Iris.  Although she has violet eyes, she's living the average teen life with normal friends Nicole and Lexi.  She's also got a love interest named Josh and things start to move forward with him.  However, new people enter the school, and they seem to be paying special attention to Iris.  Kyra, the best friend we all wished we had in high school, helps Iris deal with some difficult situations.  And Patrick, a green-eyed beauty, just makes Iris question who she likes more.  Oh, and did I mention that Iris' normal life is surrounded by vague shadows?  And these shadows tend to stir up trouble wherever they show up?

I have some mixed reactions to this book.  Did I like it?  Yes.  It is really easy to relate to Iris' life and struggles with being a teenager.  I felt like I could fit into her shoes easily and feel the same self-doubt and struggles without question.  However, the paranormal aspect was slow moving.  It felt like it was slow growing until I hit a spot where I felt blinded by the paranormal.  And I believe as a result, the beginning felt a little slow.  Also, the shadows kind of left me feeling a little depressed.

The book has a contemporary feel to it (minus the shadows) at the beginning.  But the shadows do get explained.  And all of a sudden, we see things in a new light.  And so does Iris.  With how it ended, I'm hoping there's going to be another book (because I'm a sucker for paranormal, and I want to see more of it here).

It's tricky for me to say who I'd recommend this book to.  Young adult fans who want to relive high school, definitely.  If you're only slightly dabbling into the paranormal genre, I'd recommend this one as well.  I will say fans of paranormal contemporary reads would most likely enjoy this read.

Thanks goes to Dusty Crabtree for providing me a review copy.

Challenges:  Debut Author Challenge and Young Adult Reading Challenge