Teen girls, ages 13-18 and I hope teen boys, too will enjoy all of my books.

My latest book, Draven Atreides, Teenage FBI will be released in April 2010. This book will be the first in a series, which is about a 16-yr-old girl who gets recruited by the FBI as an informant. There are a few teen espionage series' out there right now but the Draven Atreides series isn't typical espionage: she's African-American and she's putting away the bad guys by herself. In this case, the phrase "there's no 'I' in team" really does apply because she's not part of a team. She's an informant, which means she's an observer. Everything is behind the scenes. No special training, no disguises, no weapons (unless you count her camera) and no traveling to exotic places. She's a typical teenager with an unusual job. I'm hoping the girls will like the series for the female empowerment and the guys will like it for the mystery of her assignments. Readers can learn more about the series at http://celisedowns.com/books/draven-atreides/ and get to know Draven on a personal level by checking out her blog: 1-800-SNITCH, but you can only find the following information about Celise Downs herself, right here on BestSelfPublished.com Author Interviews.

BestSelfPublished: What's your favorite concert you've ever attended?
Celise Downs: Lenny Kravtiz. My husband got good seats ( 4th or 5th row) and I was smiling the whole time. It was just like listening to his CD (and those are the best concerts). He played all my favorite songs.

BestSelfPublished: If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?
Celise Downs: Somewhere in Greece. Maybe Corfu. After watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Bourne Identity, I have now put Greece on my list of Places To Visit Before I Die.

BestSelfPublished: Would you rather have one great friend or 5 pals?
Celise Downs: One great friend. Although I actually have two, whom I've known over 20 yrs each. I think you can have 5 great pals, but you're really only going to be closer to 1 or 2.

BestSelfPublished: Would you rather take pictures or be in them?
Celise Downs: Be in them. These newfangled digital cameras are a pain to operate.

BestSelfPublished: What is your favorite sport to watch/play?
Celise Downs: I have two that I love to watch: gymnastics (both men and women) and ice skating (particularly pairs). They all make it look so easy, but it takes so much work!

BestSelfPublished: What's your favorite song?
Celise Downs: Hands Held High by Linkin Park from their "Minutes to Midnight" CD. It's a beautifully written powerful song about the war. I like the part where he says "When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." When I first got this CD (it's their latest) I got choked up a little when I heard it. And then kept hitting Repeat, like, seven times. Even now, when I've sufficiently worn it out, I tend to hit Repeat at least twice. I've been a huge fan of this band for years and have all their CD's. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing a Linkin Park song on the radio.

BestSelfPublished: What's your favorite movie?
Celise Downs: The Fifth Element. There's one part where I laugh. Every single time. It never fails. Leelou and the priest need to get on this "fun ship" to find the special stones and they need Bruce's (Willis) help. When they get to his place, the priest finds out that Bruce won a contest on that ship, knocks him out with a trophy and steals the ticket. I don't set the scene very well, but it's funny. Believe me. Chris Tucker is a hoot and I like the idea of a supreme being--a female, of course--created to protect the Earth from evil. Huh. What a concept.

BestSelfPublished: Where do you spend most of your money?
Celise Downs: On books. Hands down. Adult romance books, to be specific. The Harlequin Blaze series, if you want to get technical about it. I also tend to read almost anything by Sandra Hill, Carly Phillips, Alison Kent, Lori Foster, Karen Kelley, Donna Kaufmann, and a bunch of other romance authors. For some it's alcohol, nicotine, shopping, or gambling; my addiction is books. And I actually do go through withdrawal if I don't have something to read. When I'm not in Writing Mode, that is. All my friends and family know the motto: "If all else fails, get a BN gift card." If they don't know what to get me, they can never go wrong with a gift card to a bookstore.

BestSelfPublished: What's your favorite summer drink/winter drink?
Celise Downs: Favorite summer drink is ice cold water. I love ice cold water in the winter, too, but I love hot chocolate with marshmallows, too.

BestSelfPublished: Do you squeeze toothpaste from the middle or end of the tube?
Celise Downs: The middle, then from the bottom when we're trying to eek it out one last time.

BestSelfPublished: What do you want our readers to know about you and/or your books?
Celise Downs: There will be 8-10 books in the series, I haven't decided yet, and they're all based in Phoenix, AZ. All the non-local readers will get to know my hometown a bit. Book One will be released in April 2010.