Two years ago, I read the QueryTracker success story for Stefanie Gaither’s FALLS THE SHADOW and thought, “Wow! I have got to read that!” Well, fast-forward two years and I’ve finally had the chance. And, bonus, Stefanie agreed to answer my questions about the five things I loved best and has offered to send a signed copy to one of you lucky readers. Details are at the end of the post. But first, here’s the cover and description for those of who you didn’t read that query :).

When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement. Like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced.

She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.

At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protestors want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.

And here are Stefanie Gaither’s answers to the questions I posed about the five things I loved most:

1. I love this premise. I’m sure you’ve been asked before, but where did you come up with the idea for a world where clones are a reality?

Part of it was the science geek in me wondering about that sort of world, but there were personal reasons for wanting to tell this story, too; as someone who had lost quite a bit of close family by the time I was Cate’s age, I can really relate to that desire that some of the people in this world have to give their loved ones an immortality through cloning.

2. Yay for parents who aren’t dead! And yet … there were definitely complicated family dynamics. I’m curious: did you plan Cate’s parents and their histories in advance (in particular her mother’s), or did that develop with the plot?

I had an idea of what Cate’s relationships with her parents would be like from the beginning, but as the story progressed, I had to think more and more about how those relationships came to be so that it would (hopefully) read more realistically. And that involved a lot of thinking about what her parents had been through, which led to backstory, which, of course, ultimately influenced the plot. So, I guess you could say it all sort of developed simultaneously? I’m not much of a linear thinker when I’m writing, so it’s hard to say which details came first.

3. The relationship between Cate and Violet was fascinating. Obviously the story’s from Cate’s point of view, but how much did you get inside Violet’s head to figure out how she would react in various situations?

A lot. Fun fact: when I first started writing the book, it was actually a dual pov that switched between Cate and Violet’s narration. There were a few scenes later on, too, that I at least partially drafted from Violet’s pov so that I could try to see things through her eyes. It was especially challenging with her because she’s essentially two people—the old Violet and the new one—and those two people are constantly warring in her head. So I spent a lot of time in that head, trying to figure things out.

4. I loved all the action! What kind of research did you have to do for the fight and chase scenes? Or are you secretly a ninja?

I may have been known to dabble in ninja-ry every now and then :). But other than that, most of the research I did for those scenes had to do with the weapons used, and medical stuff re: what would actually happen if someone, say, stabbed you in the stomach. There was some hands on stuff, too; when I’m writing out an action scene, I like to act it out to help myself visualize it. My poor husband usually gets roped into the act too. But he’s usually a good sport about me kicking him around and putting him in chokeholds, at least ;).

5. And I have to mention the romance, of course. I loved the way you threw Cate and Jaxon together in a life-or-death situation, and yet there’s history on both sides. How did you decide what kind of guy would coax Cate out of the shadows?

It was all a matter of knowing Cate first and foremost, and knowing how she would react to different people and personalities and different kinds of attempts to, as you put it, “coax her out of the shadows”. I couldn’t see her, for example, opening up to a guy she just met, because she’s too guarded for that. So I decided they had to have some sort of history, and as much of a pre-established connection as the quiet Cate would have allowed. And I couldn’t see her opening up to someone as loudmouthed as say, Seth, either. She has enough drama in her life dealing with Violet, so it made sense to me that she would seek comfort in someone like Jaxon, who to me is ultimately (even in spite of a few mistakes) the strong, steady and sweet type. Basically, it just comes down to seeing her as an actual person, and thinking about what other sort of actual person would complement her best.

Thanks, Stefanie, for stopping by! I love these answers. If anyone wasn’t already dying to read this book based on the description, I bet they are now!

And on that note, to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of Stefanie Gaither’s FALLS THE SHADOW, click on the Rafflecopter link below. North America only, please.

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Next week I’ll have another interview–with Kimberley Griffiths Little and her new young adult novel, FORBIDDEN–so be sure to come back for that one!

Note: This giveaway has ended.