I really wanted to do something special this year for Halloween. After I brainstormed ideas, I decided that whatever I did had to be book related. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that I wanted to conduct Halloween interviews with some of my favorite authors.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I would get much of a response, especially since I brought out the big guns and emailed some of the biggest names in YA (all of them my favorite YA authors). Much to my surprise and awe, many of them agreed to an interview!

Kicking off my Trick-or-Treat Chronicles Halloween author event is the fabulous (and so insanely nice) Kim Harrington. Kim is a MG and YA author of a multitude of books written under Kim Harrington and K.A. Harrington. I recently read FORGET ME and I was blown away. It had everything I wanted in a book and more. In fact, I devoured it. Most of my reading updates on Goodreads for Forget Me were like, “I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I DON’T WANT IT TO BE OVER.”

Hi Kim. Thank you SO much for letting me interview you. I’m a huge fan. So, I’ll just start off asking a few bookish questions. Because I was completely in love with Forget Me, I’ll start there. What inspired your amazing YA mystery novel Forget Me?

I was online one day and a social media site wanted to tag a photo of a friend with someone else’s name. They do look alike. But the gears started turning in my writer brain. I played the “what if” game and FORGET ME was born!

God bless your creative writer’s brain! I loved that story. I too have had a similar experience but I never even thought about turning it into an epic mystery. So, you have several novels out under Kim Harrington and K.A. Harrington. Which has been your favorite book to write and why?

My favorite is always the book I’m drafting at that time, and my least favorite is whatever I’m revising. 😉 But CLARITY will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my first published book. I wrote a few before that one, but it was the first that I got to hold in my hand and see on a shelf.

Ah! That makes sense why it would be special to you. So, speaking of writing, what is your writing process like? Tea? Cookies? Music?

I prefer writing at home in total silence. I’m not one of those writers who can work productively in Panera. I’m too easily distracted. And I love to eavesdrop, which is a great way to get ideas, but not to get work done.

Hahaha! You love to eavesdrop? You’re my kind of people. Honest about writerly quirks! So, this is a Halloween interview after all, do you believe in ghosts?

No. But that might be more wishful thinking than anything else.

Ha! So if you don’t believe in ghosts, have you ever had a real-life spooky encounter?

Not really. When I was growing up, there was a big old house at the end of the street that had been built in the 1800s. It was abandoned for much of my childhood, so of course we all said it was haunted. And we would dare each other to look in the windows and freak each other out. It was fun!

Oh, I love it! I’m picturing it right now. So, what ‘s your favorite scary movie?

Poltergeist. It’s a classic! I watch it again every few years.

Oh! That’s one of my favorite horror flicks! I loved it growing up and still do! So, speaking of scary things, what is the best thing you’ve ever been for Halloween?

One Halloween a few years ago, I was sick. My husband and son were going to be out trick or treating so I was the only one able to hand out candy. I didn’t want to get any kids sick, but I also didn’t want to not answer the door. So a friend who worked in a hospital got me a surgical mask, gloves, and a surgical gown. The kids who came to the door thought my doctor costume was great, but it also made sure I didn’t give anyone else the flu!

Haha! I love it. Now, that’s creative and efficient! So tell me, what is your favorite scary, spooky, or fall read?

Oh, there are so many. My two favorites are HELL HOUSE by Richard Matheson and THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson.

Eep! I just looked these up and they look fantastic! How have I never heard of them? I am definitely adding them to my October reads. Thank you! So, random question, what mythical creature do you wish was real and why?

When I was little I had a thing for unicorns, so I’ll go with that! Make little Kim’s dream come true.

Haha! Who doesn’t love unicorns? I can’t say that I blame you. So what’s your favorite Halloween treat?

I love candy bars. Like LOOOOOVE candy bars. It’s difficult to pick just one, but if forced…Twix? No, Snickers. No, Hershey’s Cookies & Cream. Ugh, this is hard.

Sorry Kim. I had to ask some tough life questions. I guess we’ll just have to buy you one of each. So tell us mesmerized readers and fans, what’s next for your story-telling?

Nothing I can announce yet, but here’s hoping you haven’t seen the last of me. 🙂

Lightning Round

What do you associate with the following words? (Example: Bat – Dracula)

Pumpkin – orange

Cemetery – bones

Midnight – moon

Vampire – teeth

About Kim Harrington

Kim Harrington is the author of Clarity, Perception, The Dead and Buried, and Forget Me for teens and the Sleuth or Dare series for kids. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son. When not writing, she’s most likely reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, or fantasizing about her next vacation. Her first book, Clarity, received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, was a 2012 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, sold to nine countries, and was optioned for television by Warner Brothers.

Join Kim on Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr.

Check back here on Friday for our next installment of the Trick-Or-Treat Chronicals. We’ll be having fab author Judith Graves.

Thank you again to Kim for making this possible!