Author Interview: You’re Dead to Me by Amy Christine Parker

Author Interview: You’re Dead to Me by Amy Christine Parker

We are thrilled to ask author Amy Christine Parker a few questions about her newest release You’re Dead to Me, a new YA thriller murder mystery, where the main character who runs a secret online identity, is outed, and then has to uncover who is trying to kill her before the clock runs out and prom starts. You’re Dead to Me is available now!

You're Dead to Me

by Amy Christine Parker
Published by: Delacorte Press
on December 10, 2024
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
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Gossip Girl meets Happy Death Day in this YA horror novel following high school outcast and anonymous social media gossip Ruby, who comes face-to-face with her own ghost dressed in a blood-splattered prom dress. With less than a week until the dance, Ruby must unmask her killer—or die trying.

Ruby is a scholarship senior at elite Oleander High School with a chip on her shoulder and an attitude to match—which she puts to good use as the infamous local anonymous gossip blogger ReputationKiller. When she’s outed as the voice behind the account, the entire town turns against her.

But after she’s scared witless by a vision of her own ghost dressed in a blood-splattered prom dress, she is faced with an awful truth. Someone out there doesn’t just hate her—they want her dead.

With less than a week until the prom, Ruby starts investigating. Turns out Oleander Bay isn’t the picture-perfect resort town it purports to be. With so many secrets, scandals, and people hell-bent on covering them up at all costs, the murderer could be anyone. Can Ruby beat the clock counting down to prom—and her death—and survive the night?

Author Interview

1. Ruby runs a gossip blog that shakes up her whole town. If you were running a secret account like ReputationKiller, what kind of dirt would you spill—or would you just post memes?

If I were running a secret account like ReputationKiller, I would probably post dirt on anyone whose whole identity was built on the idea that they are upright and morally just when in reality they are actually very corrupt. People who are absolutely unapologetic in their nastiness. So, the secrets would be a lot like the ones Ruby posts—politicians misusing money or engaging in activities that they publicly decry as immoral. I’d target people who take advantage of others for their own gain like corporations using funds to give their CEO’s bonuses when their regular workers are struggling to make ends meet. I think I would build it to be a sort of online Robin Hood type account where I aimed to steal power away from those who don’t deserve to have it and transfer that power to those who usually don’t have a voice. My goal would be altruism and truth telling…and there might be a few memes sprinkled in to inject an occasional bit of humor (at my targets’ expense of course). 

2. Prom with a murderer on the loose? Sounds stressful! If you were in Ruby’s shoes, what’s the first thing you’d do to unmask the killer—and would you even bother showing up to prom?

If I were Ruby I would not show up to prom unless I had no other choice. I have a very healthy survival instinct! But also like her, I would want to unmask my killer to make sure I wasn’t a target after prom as well. I would probably try to do this by setting a trap for the killer–put myself in a place where I seemed to be alone and vulnerable, but have my friends with me and some serious self-defense items. Setting a trap seems like the most logical thing to try first because attempting to reveal who wants to kill me before they actually do—especially if I were to have a lot of enemies like Ruby does is extremely difficult. How do you determine what a clue to your murder is when you aren’t entirely sure how it happens? And who do you trust to help you solve the crime? 

3. Oleander Bay is full of scandals and secrets. If you could hang out with one character from the book for a day, who would you pick—and would they survive until the end?

Oleander Bay is full of secrets! It would be a fascinating place to hang out for a little while—dangerous, but fascinating. If I could go there with one of the characters from the book, hands down it would be Anton. I love him! And if I could cheat and bring two, it would be him and his boyfriend, Xavier. They are two characters who came so alive during the writing process and are genuinely such good guys, I know I would have fun with them. Anton could help me revamp my wardrobe and Xavier could teach me a few parkour moves and yes, they would both surive until the end. I coudn’t bear for them not to.