Hello everyone! It's February 12,2013 and we are not just celebrating my Dad's birthday *coughs* but also the birth of a new book from Cristina Daley...*tan-ta-dadan* RADIANT! And I'm proud to introduce to you this book as well as the very approachable and sweet(yeah :D) author who gives us her inspiration about Radiant. Have fun reading!
Christina Daley made her first book with neighborhood friends when she was four years old. They "wrote" out some semblance of lettering with crayons, cut up a cardboard box for the cover, and bound it all together with clear adhesive tape. It was brilliant.
Quite a few years later, Christina is trying her hand at writing "real" books. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with a pet plant named Herb.
Quite a few years later, Christina is trying her hand at writing "real" books. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with a pet plant named Herb.
What is your inspiration in writing Radiant?
Thanks for having me on the blog today! I'm so glad to be here and to talk about Radiant and my inspiration for writing it.
A few years ago, I was actually writing another book called Seranfyll, which is a middle grade fantasy that I published in 2011. When I got about 20 pages into Seranfyll, I ran out of ideas and set the story aside.
Meanwhile, I had read some random science articles that weren't related to each other. One was about comets and some were about health. I can't remember where the possessing idea came from, but I started to wonder what it would be like if a person nearly died and was then possessed by something that wasn't a ghost or an alien.
And a lot of the characters in Radiant reflect real people. For instance, Mary's mother is based on about four or five women I've met over the years, and Mary's grandmother is actually a lot like my own mother. Emma's based on a lovely black lady who's friends with my mom, and George has stories from a couple of Vietnam War veterans that I know. Ben looks like a musician I admire, and Carter (the jerk one) is the conglomeration of several guys I knew in high school (although they weren't jerks to me personally).
The story for Radiant grew from there and I finished writing the first draft in about three weeks. About a year later, I had come across other inspiration for Seranfyll and finished writing that book as well.
And that's a little bit about how Radiant came about :) Thanks again for letting me visit today, and I hope everyone will check it out. Happy reading!
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Author: Christina Daley
Release date: February 12, 2013
(Ages 13+) Mary is part Vietnamese. Carter is a complete jerk. Normally, they don't talk much.
But when Mary's in an accident on the way to school one morning, Carter nearly dies saving her life. The doctors say his chances of living are slim, and Mary's feeling the full weight of survivor's guilt.
However, Carter's back at school in a matter of days, as if nothing had happened. Although, he is a little "glitchy," and he's developed a sudden and intense interest in Mary. She thinks he's suffering from major brain trauma from the accident. Or that he's been possessed.
As it so happens, Carter really is possessed. And the thing controlling him is having the time of its life learning to be human.
Featuring a diverse cast of characters, RADIANT is a funny "paranormal-lite" story about being human, being in love, and being healed.
