Interview + Giveaway: T. P. Boje of Beyond (and the Afterlife series)

Hey guys! Today I am welcoming T.P. Boje, author of Beyond, and the other books in her Afterlife series.

Afterwards, she’ll be giving away TWO copies of Beyond (the first book in the series), and TWO copies of Serenity (the second book in the series). So stick around and be sure to enter to win after the interview!

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.

1. Welcome Therese! Thank you so much for stopping by. What was your biggest source of inspiration before and while writing the Afterlife series?

After I started writing the series I read Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and that was very inspirational. The fun part was that I had almost written the first book when the boy (who has a near-death experience and goes to heaven for a short period of time before he comes back to life and starts to talk about it to his parents) tells his parents that he actually went to school when he was in heaven. I started laughing when I read that and then I thought: “maybe I am not that far off after all with this book-series”.

I’m a big fan of books that take place in schools, so that’s awesome that the Afterlife series does. What inspired you to create this sort of “prep school”, if you will, for the after-life? It’s such a unique concept!

I used to wonder about death 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.

So we obviously get to see Angels in this world since that’s who Meghan’s school is run by. But are there any other kinds of paranormal creatures we can expect to see in the Afterlife series?

I love creatures and magic, so of course there will be just that in the spiritual realm that I create. On Meghan’s second year she gets to ride a Pegasus and rumor has it that there is a unicorn living in the big forest surrounding the school. They surf on the clouds and climb on rainbows and the place is just filled with all kinds of magic.

Unicorns huh? Sounds cool!

What kind of magic does the Afterlife series have, and does Meghan learn how to do any of the “heavenly magic”?

I don’t want to reveal too much, but it is really a magical place. She does eventually learn how to do a lot of different things and she realizes that she is much stronger than the rest of the students. But that is not in the first book. In the first one it is all about figuring her new world out. Throughout the second and the third one she gets braver and grows really strong.

Can we expect to see any romance in Meghan’s life or is the series strictly a personal journey for Meghan?

There is a lot of romance. She falls in love with a human boy and that is very difficult since she has just left his world and they know they cannot be together.

If you had to describe the Afterlife series in three words, what would they be and why?

Someone wrote in a review: Quick, fun and inspirational. I will stick with those three words.

What are you reading right now and what book(s) have you had your eye on lately but haven’t gotten to read yet?

I am currently reading Carlos Ruiz Zafón The Shadow of the Wind. I still need to read the Hunger Games. I am really looking forward to them.

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. It is a school everybody has to go to before they are let into Heaven. On the boat she meets Mick who has been dead for more than a hundred years but still looks like a teenager. He helps her past the difficult beginning at the new school in a new world. One day some of Meghan’s roommates find a mirror in the cellar of the school and they persuade her to go through it with them – well knowing it is strictly against the rules of the school. Meghan ends up back on earth where she meets Jason. But Jason is in danger and Meghan know something important. Something that is a matter of life and death. Soon she is forced to choose between the two worlds. The one she belongs to now and the one she left.

Beyond is the first novel in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife series and is great for children and teenagers ages 9 and up.

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 realize that they might have a traitor in their midst.

Serenity is the second book in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife-series about a young girl’s life after death. It is great for the young reader ages 9 and up.

Meghan’s training at the Academy is coming to an end.

Everything is going great for her as she comes closer to the graduation. She is engaged to be married and the wedding is very near when she hears some disturbing news that makes her rethink all of her coming life.

In class they are taught to catch dreams and fly with the speed of light. Meghan soon discovers that she has a lot of 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.

Giveaway

Okay, now it’s time for some winning! Here’s what you could get:

TWO lucky winners will get a copy of Beyond (one eBook – international, one paperback – US only), and TWO lucky winners will get a copy of Serenity (one eBook – international, one paperback – US only)! So that’s four chances to win! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Giveaway Rules

You must follow our RSS feed (follow elsewhere for extra entries).
Four winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter.
eBook giveaway is open Internationally. Paperback giveaway is open to US Only.
Open between February 17th-February 23rd. Form closes at 12:01am on February 24th.
Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Just click “I Did This” after you’ve done each step.
The winner will be notified by email.

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