Amy McCaw Author Interview
Mina and the Undead

As you all probably know by now, I've been part of #TeamMina for the last few weeks, getting involved in lots of fun challenges about Mina and the Undead which is out tomorrow (1st April 2021)!

I've seen the quotes, read the first chapter reveal, even done the quiz and discovered I'm a Mina. AND finally I received my copy and read the actual book! As a huge bonus I got the chance to interview Amy and found out a few more exciting details about both the book and the author.

Read on for my review and the interview. Plus as usual there's a cocktail recipe inspired by Amy and the book for you to try at the end!

Book Summary

Summer ’95, New Orleans. Mina’s having a summer to die for.

17-year-old Mina arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie and can't wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths…

Her trip takes an interesting turn when Mina lands a part-time job at a house of horrors, the Mansion of the Macabre. Especially when she meets Jared, Libby’s flatmate, and co-worker (and an excellent Lestat impersonator).

But, the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina discovers the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck and a lock of hair suspiciously resembling Libby’s … who, or what, has made those marks? Is Mina’s fanatical obsession with Vampires playing tricks on her mind? Or could Vampires actually be stalking the streets of New Orleans, hunting for fresh prey?

Mina and the Undead is such a fun return to my past loves of vampire films and books. Like Mina, I loved reading Interview with a Vampire in my youth and since then I have really wanted to visit New Orleans. The book takes a very sudden turn to the (really) supernatural and there's an excellent twist and reveal. This book was so full of wonderfully vivid descriptions. I felt immersed in the mansion and in New Orleans, I could practically feel the heat. It has just intensified my need to visit!

The book itself has some fantastic nostalgic details on the cover, sprayed edges and the pages inside have super cool borders and artwork.

Interview

How similar is Mina to you, and did you do that intentionally? Are there any of your own actual experiences in the book?

In some ways, Mina is very similar to me and in others not so much. We have the same interest in dark and creepy subjects. I would definitely seek out a local cemetery or a horror-movie experience! I wanted to bring those things into the book because they fit well with the murder mystery and New Orleans mythology. My love of 80s and 90s movies also seeped in and was part of the reason I set the book in 1995. Like me, Mina is reading whenever she gets the opportunity!

There are also ways that she isn’t like me. I’m too cautious to make a very interesting main character! Mina puts herself in harm’s way and rushes into situations more than I do.

Have you ever visited New Orleans? Your descriptions really made me feel like I was there! What made you choose it as the setting for Mina and the Undead?

Thank you! I visited New Orleans in 2012, and the story rattled around my head until I started writing it in 2016. I’ve visited 29 states over fifteen years of holidays to America, but there was something about New Orleans. The setting of Mina and the Undead definitely came before the plot. I loved the creepy, atmospheric locations and the stories surrounding the city. I wanted to write a book set there, and the murder mystery and characters developed from the setting.

(Pharmacy Museum New Orleans)

What started your love of Point Horror? Did you plan to write something along those lines or did it just happen naturally?

I read Point Horrors way too young when they were popular in the early 90s. I’d exhausted the Sweet Valley High, Babysitters’ Club and Nancy Drew books and liked the idea of moving on to horror. Point Horror was just scary enough and written with a fast pace and plenty of twists.

It didn’t occur to me that the book has a Point Horror feel until early readers pointed it out! I crammed a lot of the things I love into this book and chose to set it in the 90s, so I think that combination came out quite like a Point Horror.

Could we have a photo of your horror shelf?

My YA shelves are in a shameful disarray at the moment, so I’ve shared a photo of one of my adult horror shelves. A lot of the books are the ones I used to research Mina and the Undead and there are some novels too. They’re stacked two deep but the front layer should give you an idea of what I like!

Finally, what is your favourite cocktail?

I’m more of a tea drinker, but I am a fan of fruity drinks with lots of ice. I put a sticky red cocktail in the book that looks a lot like blood, and that sounds pretty fun too!

For both Mina and Amy I have tried to make something like the test tube cocktails Mina and her friends drink at Fang Fest. If you have a test tube to use then great, but otherwise a shot glass works just as well. Chill all the ingredients in advance. Pour vodka roughly halfway, add 3 drops of angostura bitters and a dash of lemon juice, then top up with strawberry syrup.