Interview & Giveaway: Afterlife Series by T.P. Boje

I know you get asked this question over and over but can you tell us a little about yourself? Maybe something juicy. ;)

I am from Denmark where I lived until 2½ years ago. My husband and I were tired of the cold and dark winters so we sold everything that we had and moved to Florida with our kids and four overloaded suitcases. The sun and the heat makes me happy. It is so much easier to live when it is hot – especially with kids. There is just less clothes to put on when you need to go out. And you can actually be outside all year around. I love it.

Juicy? Are you sure your readers are up to that? Well okay. My husband and I once had sex in the ocean in Italy under the fullmoon. Was that too much? You really shouldn’t ask me questions like that.

When did you first start writing? Are you a full time author or do you do it on the side?

 I have always been writing. Ever since I was a small child I have always told stories to whoever would listen. In school I remember sitting in class during recess and telling stories to my friends making them forget that they were about to go out and play. Even my teacher would often listen in as well. Later I would write stories for my teacher and he loved to read them. I kept writing short-stories in highschool and then I became a journalist. For many years I worked at a Danish TV-station, and it was then I came up with the idea for my first novel. A Danish truck-driver had been found dead in Poland and I was sent there to cover the investigation for the TV-station. Two years later that story became my first mystery novel. Since then I wrote two other mystery-novels that has been published in Denmark, Norway and Germany. I write full-time and that is the only thing I ever want to do.

When I moved to Florida I started writing in English and published another mystery-novel called “One, Two … He is coming for you” but then I wanted to try something new. I wanted to write for a younger audience and that was when I wrote the fantasy-novel “The Eye of the Crystal Ball” that came out this June.  But something was missing, I thought. I needed some romance. So I started reading some paranormal romance and loved it. I knew right away that I wanted to write that too. Now I have written three novels in the series called Afterlife. I am planning on writing three more, so I will be busy for awhile.

Do you have a author that has really inspired you?

I have plenty. I try to read everything I can get my hands on. It is so inspiring to read other people’s work. If I have to put a name out, I would say that Anne Rice is one of my favourite author’s. But my all-time favourite book is The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. I read it as a young teenager and fell in love. 

How long does it normally take you to write an average book or your last book?

It takes about two months. Then my editor has it for about three weeks.

What do you think makes a story great?

 When I read a book I expect to learn new things about life and often also about myself. Books can either be a mirror where you see yourself and learn something about yourself, or they can be a window where you look into a completely different world and see something you have never seen before. The good books are both, I think.

Can you describe your book "Beyond" in one sentence?

Death & Life meet with a twist

Tell us a little about your new series Afterlife.

Haven’t we all at some point wondered where we will go when we die? I used to do it a lot as a kid. Is heaven for real and what is it going to be like once I get there? What kind of a body will I have? What will I look like? Will all of my family come with me? Will I meet my grandmother there? As I grew up I never thought much about life after death and if there really was one or not. I was busy living my life and thinking about my life here on earth. But then one day not many months ago a thought just popped into my head. What if we have to go to school when we die? As it so often happens, the thought wouldn’t go away again once it had come into my head, and I started playing with the idea. If it is true that we leave our bodies here on earth, then we must have some new body on the other side, right? And it would probably take some time to get used to that new body. And how about going through walls and doors and stuff? I mean if we become spirits then we would have to learn how to do all those things, right? And what about flying? That is not something that comes to us easily. We would have to practice first, right? And someone would have to teach us. So eventually I started imagining this school that we all had to graduate from in order to be let into heaven, and soon Meghan popped into my head and started walking around on that school - that just had to be run by angels. She soon made some friends and fell in love (as it often happens when you are sixteen). And that was when the problems began. Because the boy was still human, living on earth, so how could they ever be together? That was when I realized that a book-series was born - and  it was about how dying is only the beginning of the next great adventure

Have you done lots of research for your books or do the stories just come to you?

They just come to me. When I used to write mystery it involved a lot of research because everything has to be so realistic down to the smallest detail or the reader will not believe in the story. But with fantasy and paranormal romance it is completely different. I can use my imagination and create the world exactly as I want it to be. That is a lot of fun.
What are you currently working on?

I am about to begin the fourth book in the series. I am really looking forward to it, because a lot has happened to my characters and this book is where a lot of the knots are tied together.

Can you tell us about some of your prior achievements?

I used to be an anchor at a Danish TV-station. That was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as writing.

Is there anything that I didn't cover that you would like to talk about or say to your potential readers?

Just that I love to write. It is what I am all about. I love spellbinding the audience like I did as a child, and I hope they will enjoy reading my books as much as I love writing them.

What would you like to ask?

I would like to invite readers to go to my blog www.tpboje.blogspot.com and check out my books. Let me know which one they most likely would want to read.

Just for fun:

Hardback or Paperback?  Paperback. It is so much easier to carry around in your bag. I prefer digital to be completely honest. It is a lot easier to carry with you when you travel.
Dog ears or Bookmarks?  I am horrible. I make dog ears all the time.
YA novels or Adult novels?  I love YA novels.
Library or Bookstore?  Bookstore. I always want to own my books. I want to be able to go back and read in them again.
Reading glasses or No glasses? No glasses.
Snack while reading or No snacks? I will have a cup of tea.

Beach or Mountain? Beach, beach, beach. Living in Florida means every day is a potential beach-day.

Vampire or Werewolf? I like my men hairy and warm, so werewolf.

Hot or Flirty? Flirty
Movie 1st or Book 1st? Always book first.
Contemporary or Historical? Contemporary
Page-Turner or Tear Jerker? I want both!

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T. P. Boje is a mother of two, a stepmother of another two and a hardcore cartoon lover, Tim Burton enthusiast, and enjoys any movie the Coen Brothers have made (with the big Lebowski being her favorite strongly followed by Burn after Reading). She is also a writer of Y/A Paranormal Romance, fantasy and mystery. She is originally from Denmark but currently living in Florida, USA. Her books are translated into several languages.
To learn more follow her on Twitter, visit her fansite on Facebook or check out her web-page: http://www.tpboje.blogspot.com/

Here is a little about the books in her series Afterlife:

Have you ever wondered where you go when you die?

Meghan is 16 when it happens to her. She wakes up on a flying steamboat on her way to a school run by Angels in a white marble castle. She meets Mick who helps her through a difficult time in a different world filled with heavenly magic. One day she finds a mirror in the cellar of the school and goes through it. She ends up back on earth where she meets Jason. But Jason is in danger and Meghan knows something important.
Soon she will have to choose between the two worlds.
The one she belongs to now, and the one she left.

Beyond is a Y/A paranormal romance and the first book in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife-series.

It is Meghan’s second year at The Academy. While trying to help and care for Jason on earth she is struggling to keep up in school, where they this year will learn both to ride Pegasus’ and fly through severe storms. Meanwhile Mick is becoming more than a friend to her and soon she finds herself facing the unavoidable choice.

But something evil is threatening the students at the Academy and Meghan is no longer safe within the walls of the castle. Something causes several of the students to be caught in the middle of a nightmare, that they can’t wake up from. 

Soon they suspect that there might be a traitor in their midst.

Serenity is a Y/A paranormal romance. It is the second book in the Afterlife-series

Meghan’s training at the Academy is coming to an end. Everything is going great as she comes closer to graduation. She is engaged to be married and the wedding is near when she hears some disturbing news that makes her rethink her future.

In class the students are learning to catch dreams and fly with the speed of light. Meghan soon discovers her special talents and that she is much stronger than she thought. But unfortunately that doesn’t help her as she faces the truth about her own death, which will be revealed to her at the end of the year.

Endurance is the third book in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife series about a young girl’s life after death.

 Thanks to the author I will be giving away one print copy of "Beyond" and one ebook copy.

To enter:

1. Leave a meaning full comment about something you read in this post.

2. Include your email in that comment so I can contact you if you win.

3. The Giveaway is going to be International.

4. The first winner I pick using random.org gets to pick either the print copy or ebook copy and the second winner gets whats left.

6. The giveaway ends on Feb. 11th at midnight.