Megan Crewe's debut YA novel Give Up the Ghost isn't your typical oh-goodness-I-can-see-ghosts-get-me-out-of-here! ghost story. Cass McKenna can see ghosts, all right, but she's using the gossip they glean from her unsuspecting classmates to tear the poseurs off their pedestals. When the student council vice president seeks Cass's help, though, it might be time to re-evaluate her opinion of "breathers" [in other words, The Living].

In honour of Give Up the Ghost's release on September 15th, Megan agreed to answer a few questions for me. One of the things that most intrigued me about her novel on first glance was that each ghost has a specific smell, and so I led off with this question:

If you could pick one historical figure to appear to you as a ghost, who would it be and why?  And what scent do you imagine might linger in their presence?

I think I'd pick Shakespeare, because I'd like to find out if he really did write all those plays after all.  (There's so much mystery about that!)  And I suspect he'd be entertaining to talk to.  I'd imagine he'd have a scent with a little alcohol in it, along with theatre make-up.

How would you suggest readers set the mood for settling in with your story? (ie watch a spooky movie, grab a bowl of marshmallows, dab on a drop of unique perfume)

A great way to set the mood for reading the story would be to get out a high school yearbook and flip through it, thinking about all your classmates, the adventures and troubles they got into, and the secrets they might have been hiding.  And/or listen to the album Geek The Girl by Lisa Germano.

If you could say one thing to Cass McKenna (heroine of Give Up the Ghost) before the story begins, what would it be?

Be willing to listen to what people say to you, even if you end up deciding not to believe them.

Has being Canadian affected your writing/publishing experience so far?  If so, how?

It hasn't affected my writing really, and as far as publishing goes it's mostly meant that a few things are a little more inconvenient--I have to cross a border if I want to meet up with my agent or my editor, phone calls cost more, and I feel a bit out of touch with the US market.  (I'll have to rely on American friends, for example, to let me know what stores GHOST is showing up in.)  What's been great, though, is that I have a whole country in which I am a "local author" and the support I've gotten in Canada has been amazing so far.

Say GIVE UP THE GHOST was made into a movie.  Who's your ideal director, screenwriter, and cast?  (Feel free to use representative movies to illustrate your answer!)

I'd say Heathers and Ghost World are the teen movies closest in tone and sensibility to GIVE UP THE GHOST, so it'd be amazing to have the writer-director teams who did either of those movies involved.  I've always thought Thora Birch would make a great Cass, but I'm not sure she could still play 16.  Tina Majorino from Veronica Mars might also work.  I could see Hayden Panettiere as Paige.  Tim's a hard one!  I'll leave that to the casting director to decide.  ;)

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Drift on over with your morning muffin/latte/brownie to Megan's blog for behind-the-scenes info on her writing process [she does excellent craft-related posts]. Or maybe you're curious what character you'd be from Give Up the Ghost? Or what Megan's office space looks like? Or to see a trailer for Give Up the Ghost? You can find all that and more at her website.