Voodoo, Juju, and Dina Rae– last day of the coffin hop!

For the last day of the coffin hop I want to welcome to my attic Bad Juju writer, Dina Rae!

Who are you and where did you come from?

My name is Dina Rae and I’m from Chicago, but just moved to Dallas.

 

Obviously you’re a writer, what is the name of your book and the general plot? 

Bad Juju is about two teenage boys who learn about the dark side of Voodoo from a bokor with a mysterious past.

 

Where did you come up with the idea?

I work with teenagers and I find mystical religions like Voodoo fascinating.

 

Which of your characters do you like the most and why? 

I love all of my characters, but Henry is my favorite.  He is a fifteen year old boy with Asperger’s, a high level form of autism.  He comes from a very Christian family who want so desperately for him to get better.  Upon Henry’s request, they go to Haiti on a mission trip and watch their trip turn into something evil.  His family doesn’t know about his growing fascination with Voodoo.

 

Which one do you hate the most and why? 

I don’t hate any of them.  One of the themes of the book is about the blurry line between good and evil.  We all have our moments of both.  The character with the least redeeming qualities is Luis Garcia.  His self-absorption is his biggest flaw.

 

You’re stranded on an island and you are granted three things;

The first thing you’re granted is an IPod with only one song loaded, what is it?

Amazing Grace pretty much says it all.

 

The second item is a book with the last chapter missing, what is it and who wrote it?

Hmmm….intriguing question.  I love everything by Dan Brown, but I’d like to have Da Vinci Code without the last chapter.  It was kind of a shock in a bad way.

 

And the third thing you’re granted on this island is a lunchbox with a sandwich and a full thermos, yummy, what kind of sandwich and drink would you appreciate? 

Has to be pastrami on rye with some Vitawater.

 

 

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your life? Not writing or publishing mistake – any mistake. Even if it happened in 3^rd grade, I wanna know about it.

I’ve made a million mistakes, especially in my youth.  Without getting too specific, my biggest mistake was living a self-centered life.

 

 

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Not a fave of mine, but I would strip naked on the expressway for any dessert at the Cheesecake Factory!

That sounds like a plan! I’ll meet you.

 

You’re still stranded on that island and two people show up, the character you love the most, and the one you hate the most, and they both know what you said about them. What do you do? 

Start swimming!

Hahaha!

 

 

Flash round favorites:

 

Color

Green

 

Sound-

Church bells

 

Season-

Fall

 

Animal-

dogs and dolphins

 

Smell-

burning leaves

 

Food-

sweets and appetizers

 

Place to visit-

any place with a lake, forest, and mountains-Yosemite comes first to mind.

 

Place to live-

Dallas!

 

Movie:

Angel Heart, Fallen, 9^th Gate, Devil’s Advocate, Dracula

 

Alien-

Avatar

 

Number –

35

 

Writing spot-

home in my den

 

Texture-

my dog’s fur

 

Planet-

Earth

 

And last of all, favorite memory-

Halloween when my kids were little, honeymoon

 

 

Anything else you would like to add?

 

 

Blog

 

Facebook 

 

Goodreads

 

Pinterest

 

Twitter

 

Website

 

Thanks for having me!

Thanks for coming!