Meet Lisa Basso

Today I have Lissa Basso, author of the YA novel A Shimmer of Angels with me!

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

Welcome, Lisa! I’m happy to have you here today to talk about your recent release, A Shimmer of Angels, which I loved!

Thanks so much for having me! *does virtual back flips for the crowd*

I’m a big fan of angel books, but I can imagine you had to do a lot of research. Can you tell us a little about the research you had to do for this book?

Should I begin at the beginning? *snort* Okay. First I started with a little angel research: names, legends, myths, bible verses, anything angel-related I could pull out of the library and internets (yes, internets). As you can imagine, this took a lot of time to sift through. After that was done, I turned my attention to my main character, Rayna, and her past, mainly doing research on mental health facilities, psychology, and current mental health laws. All the time I put into the research phase was well worth it when I started writing. But no matter how thorough your research, there's always something else that comes up. :)

Rayna has a gift but it’s mistaken for an illness at first, and wow does it enhance the story line. How did you come up with the idea to have her family think she’s mentally ill?

I knew Ray was going to be the only one on Earth able to see the angels. Since her world is grounded in the real world, I thought about how a real family would handle that. They'd be concerned at first, and when Ray's actions became more erratic and she started coming unhinged, her dad would have no choice but to have her checked out by a doctor and put her in therapy. The ideas grew from there.

You have two angels in this book who get Rayna’s attention. I couldn’t decide who I liked more, Cam or Kade. Did you want your reader to have just as hard a time choosing between them as Rayna? How did you go about accomplishing this?

I so did. When I first got to know Cam and Kade (during the character interviews) I fell (pun intended). Hard. I loved them both so much. And when I put Rayna into scenes with both of them, I noticed how much she took her own shine to each boy. I've read a lot of YA books with love triangles. Most of the time you can guess exactly who the main character is going to choose. I love mystery, so I wanted to keep the reader guessing. To do that, I introduced Cam and Kade in ways that showed peeks into both their good and not-so-gravy sides. I wanted the reader to get to know both of them before Ray's decision swayed them in either direction. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing "Team Cam" and "Team Kade".

Okay, well I'm Team Both because I love them both!

Just for fun:

Angel or fallen angel? Hmmm. Probably Fallen angel. ;)

Describe A Shimmer of Angels in three words: Mystery. Psychology. Angels.

If you had wings for a day, what would you do? I would fly. Normally I hate flying (in planes), but if I'm in charge and I know how to work those suckers, I'm taking my new wings out for as many spins as I can manage before they disappear. Or I pass out from exhaustion.

Thanks for being here today, Lisa.

This has been great! Thank you again so much for having me, Kelly!

That's not all. You can enter to win a copy of A Shimmer of Angels, a messenger bag, stainless water bottle, journal, keychain, and postcard pack. This is open to US and Canada only. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck.

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