Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Cover Reveal: Phobic by Cortney Pearson - Guest Post & Giveaway


Phobic
Forbidden Doors #1

Cortney Pearson

YA Horror
September 2014

Fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw knows her house is strange. It’s never needed repairs since it was built in the 1800s, and the lights flicker in response to things she says. As if those things aren’t creepy enough, it’s also the place where her mother committed murder.

To prove she’s not afraid of where she lives, Piper opens a forbidden door, which hides a staircase that leads to the ceiling. That’s when the flashbacks of the original residents from 1875 start, including a love affair between two young servants. Each vision pulls Piper deeper into not only their story, but also her house. Piper confides in her best friend, Todd, whom she's gradually falling for, but even he doesn't believe her. At least, not until her house gets axed during a prank, and the act injures Piper instead, cutting a gash the size of Texas into her stomach.

Piper realizes her house isn’t haunted—it’s alive. To sever her link to it, she must unravel the clues in the flashbacks and uncover the truth about her mother’s crime, before she becomes part of her house for good.


Guest Post by Cortney Pearson

As writers we are constantly gathering inspiration (whether we know it or not). An overheard conversation, watching people interact, teenagers laughing together, hearing others tell stories. I believe we subconsciously refer to our life experiences as we write and create stories. We have to. In order to generate realistic emotion and detail that readers can relate to, we have to have some kind of jumping-off-point to base them on. I'd like to share just a few things that sparked ideas for me as I created the world of PHOBIC, a world which is based on the ethereal aspect of seemingly ordinary places.

Inspiration #1

My great aunt lived alone in this fantastic old house built by her father, my great-great grandfather. And it felt like stepping back through time every time I walked through the door. BUT. Right off from her back door--the entrance we always used--was a staircase. It wasn't long. It wasn't even hidden like those in my story. But this staircase led to Aunt Vay's basement with its concrete floor and old cast iron stove and that pair of metal roller skates that always sat alone on a shelf. I hated going in that basement, especially by myself.

Looking back at these pictures now I wonder why I'd been so scared, but as a kid that basement was terrifying!

The basement in PHOBIC plays a huge part in the mystery of the house Piper lives in. It's a place she's been forbidden from entering, but this time she's determined to find out why.



Inspiration #2
Another instance happened at Aunt Vay's when my mom, sister, and I had pulled in late at night to sleep after traveling from California to Utah all day long. We were tired. It was cold and windy outside. And my mom couldn't find her key to the back door. We tried that knob several times and then as I went to reach for the knob again, the door opened. All on its own. OPENED. My mom, sister, and I all exchanged looks and when I checked the knob (on the now open door), it was still locked. True story! So it prompted the opening and this scene in PHOBIC:

My best friend Todd’s red pickup appears at the curb, spewing exhaust like the truck has a cigarette up its backside. I jerk up. My pulse kicks at the sight of him. That’s been happening a lot more lately, my insides flaring up and doing some sort of spastic dance whenever I catch sight of his alluring smile and dark curls.
Leaving the second Pop-Tart on the table, I stuff my phone in my pocket and snatch up my backpack and clarinet case. I dart past the round, velvet-topped table in the wide hallway to the front door.
I reach for the knob. It won’t turn.
Heart pounding, I try again. One way, then the other. Chick. Chick. The lock mechanism is vertical. The door isn’t locked.
“Not now,” I say under my breath. “Please not now.”
The hairs at my nape skulk up one by one until they all stand on end. My wrist flicks, and the obstinate knob makes the same chick chick sounds. The eerie feeling spreads down the length of my arm, making the knob cold under my touch. What is going on? I’m used to my house doing strange things, but why won’t it let me out?

Inspiration #3

The Winchester Mansion in California has also been intriguing to me, especially the staircase that leads to the ceiling. This whole house is completely creepy, but especially this:



Piper's house also has a hidden staircase similar to this one. Her discovery of it knocks her sense of reality way off course, and she begins seeing flashbacks of the original residents of house. Which leads to...










Inspiration #4
I LOVE romances, along with Victorian/Regency-era stories. So my final inspiration for the story--particularly the flashbacks that Piper has to the past--is:


Downton Abbey (I know it takes place after the two eras above-mentioned. But still, inspiration.) It was after watching the first few episodes that my two star-crossed servants in love sprang into my head.

There were many other sources of inspiration as well, but these are the main ones. What about for you? What inspires you when you write?




About the Author

Cortney Pearson is a book nerd who studied literature at BYU-Idaho, a music nerd who plays clarinet in her local community orchestra, and a writing nerd who creates books for young adults. She lives with her husband and three sons in a small Idaho farm town.














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27 comments:

  1. Yes many but the only one that comes to mind is driving and sliding out into an intersection that normally is very busy. Whenever I am in the spot I always remember in the winter to pass it slowly...

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  2. Being in a major wreck. My husband and I, my sister in law and her husband was hit by a driver veering into our lane out of no where. We were very lucky that no one had life threatening injuries, but just seeing that car come to us, hit us, and spin us around was very scary!!

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  3. I have never had a scary experience, no.

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    1. Nothing? Really? It didn't take much to scare me when I was little:)

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  4. Nothing paranormally scary. Just car accidents, being mugged and sexually harassed, amusement park rides.

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    1. Everything other than amusement park rides sounds scary enough without being paranormal!

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  5. Thank you SO much, Kimber Leigh! :D

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  6. So far I have not had a scary experience, but I love books and horror movies

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    Replies
    1. Horror books and (good) horror movies are great!

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  7. yah lived in a few hunted house's and fell of a wall when I was a kid and I can just go on and on.

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    1. Real haunted houses?! I'd say cool, but it probably isn't when you're actually living it!

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  8. Yep I had one in school. We were once preparing during a late afternoon (I was with some of my classmates) for a school event for the next day and then we were chatting loudly, singing, and all those noisy stuffs we do, until we smelled a flower scent -- Sampaguita flower. The scent was really strong. We searched for any flower in the room but there was nothing to be found. Even in the rooms beside it, we haven't found any flower. It has been said that if we smell a flower scent out of nowhere, a spirit is trying to communicate with us. Creepy! It may want to shut us up. Hahahaha

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    1. Interesting about the flower. I may have to incorporate that into my second Orion Circle book. Thanks!!

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  9. When I was younger, my brother hid in the closet, and my sister and I were already going to sleep and then we heard something in the closet but thought nothing of it, and after a few minutes, my brother came busting out and scared us both. Phobic looks like such a cool cover! Thanks for this giveaway!

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    1. Nothing like someone jumping out of the closet to give one a heart attack!

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    2. It was terrible, haha. I smacked the closet door on him, and ran for it!

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  10. YES! Many. A lot of them pranks by people that I love but sometimes want to smack! And some seriously horrible nightmares. And one time in a children's cemetery from the early 1900's. At midnight on Halloween. Without a flashlight. My friend shined her light towards me, and I saw that I was an inch away from falling in an open grave. That scared the poo out of me!

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  11. Nothing paranormal, unfortunately...I love the sound of this book and cannot wait to get it! Heartstopping!

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    1. I can't say I've had anything paranormal happen to me either. Maybe it was so scary that I blocked it out :)

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  12. Nothing really scary or paranormal--I've been lucky that way! I'm also hard to scare, so that makes it even more difficult :)

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    1. None of my scary experiences were paranormal, though they were frightening none the less!

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