Of course there's the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, and while it's not strictly horror (more sci-fi) I highly enjoyed K.A. Applegate's Remnants series. Maximum Ride series by Patterson is really awesome too. Some would say that many of the horror young adult novels published these days become famous because of their shock value. What do you think?I don't think so. The most famous series are those that have more heart than shock. Of course shock will cause a buzz, but it seems to do so more among parents than teen readers, and normally quickly fades away. I do think that books today need to reflect the times. No longer are girls wearing tea-length dresses, or bobby socks and saddle shoes. Today, rightly or wrongly, they are being tested by more and more adult concerns as the world becomes more dangerous and fast-paced. A lot of that is simply survivalism, some of it is most likely unnecessary, but overall, I can't imagine it's easier today to shock a teen than even twenty years ago. So what might seem shocking to us as parents, might be old-hat for teens today, considering what they face in the media, in schools, and on the street. In my book, and in my series, I'm not interested in shocking them - just giving them a substantial and scary read.Do you have a website or blog where readers may find out more about you and your books?Yes! My website is www.jennifer-turner.com and my blog is jr-turner.blogspot.com. I love to hear from my readers very much.What are you doing this Halloween? Do you dress up?
I'm planning on dressing up like Isabelle, the ghost in my book--as part of a fun Halloween book signing at a store near my hometown. Mostly though, I dress up my kids. They've been everything from a Pepsi machine to a "baseball bat" — a round baseball with bat wings — and a hippo ballerina. We enjoy Halloween almost more than we do Christmas around here.What is your favorite Halloween monster and why?
Oh gosh - that's a toughie. Vampires are so terribly romantic. Aside from the Anne Rice books/movies, I loved Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. Frank Langella, though, will always have a special place in my heart. I love the whole Underworld series. Werewolves are great, too. Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman is one of our favorite family films. Anne Rice's book, The Mummy and the totally unrelated movies series by the same name starring Brendan Frasier are terrific, too.Just one?? I don't think I can do that - I haven't even begun to cover how I love zombie movies and end of the world films like 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. I didn't get to mention UnDead, which is a fabulously done film made by the Spierig brothers (special effects done on home computers!) with zombie fish and a very cool and unique plot twist.I better stop now--you've got me on a roll here and this could take all night. Gosh, I didn't even get to cover all my Stephen King favorites or mention M. Night Shyamalan!Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?I've got some super awesome plots and supernatural beings coming up in the Extreme Hauntings series. From a haunted hospital to a truly insane asylum, it's going to be a wild ride! But don't worry, Kaylee is going to discover more and more what latent talents she has deep inside her to get her through what lies ahead. I can't wait myself to write these books!
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