http://www.davidmichaelslater.com/
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
My pleasure! Thanks for bringing me in. (I’ll have a club sandwich. No mayo, please : )
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I wasn’t one of those kids who always knew, not at all. In fact, I was as likely to read Cliff’s Notes as my assigned books in high school. (Don’t tell Mrs. Calabrese!) I was in graduate school for English when I came across the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges. After reading the first one—“The Circular Ruins”—I suddenly knew. At that time, I had no thoughts of writing for teens, though.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
Sure, the road was paved with rejection letters! I started writing Borges-like short stories, some of which were published in tiny magazines no one has ever heard of. Which was great as far as I was concerned. One of those stories wasn’t working, and it seemed to me the idea was better suited for a picture book. So, I tried it. Then I wrote a second because it was so much fun, and that turned out to be CHEESE LOUISE!, my first published book. After that, while I started teaching middle school, I was writing for kids and adults, and then teens as well.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
THE BOOK OF NONSENSE is the debut of my forthcoming YA series called SACRED BOOKS. It comes out in October, ‘08. There will be five books, all of which have been written. That’s a unique situation, and it has allowed me to weave in hints and clues all through the books. The series is being called an original combination of Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, and the Da Vinci Code. How’s that? Okay, how about this: the publisher’s slogan is “Publishing the Banned Books of Tomorrow.”
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
Easy, Jorge Luis Borges. I don’t necessarily recommend him to teens, though. He’s sort of hard to read. But if you can do it without your head blowing up, you might love him, too.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Only until I write my tell-all memoir! (Just kidding Mom, I won’t mention the closet. Kidding!) I have an older sister, Susan, who lives in
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Easy: chocolate. And if you want a weird food fact, try this: I hate condiments. Mayonnaise is Evil.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Fine, I’ll admit it: 1) check e-mail; 2) shower; 2a) check e-mail; 3) eat; 3a) check e-mail. If I could eat and check e-mail in the shower, I probably would. Send help.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?
Oh, easy again. I have a swimming pool in my basement (one of those current-making deals). You should’ve seen my face when we were first looking at the house and I opened the plain looking wooden door down there. It was like finding Narnia. Wet Narnia anyway.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Hmmm. Maybe black. Black doesn’t draw undue attention to itself, and it’s deep. (Oh, that’s deep!)
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
More easy! Calvin (and Hobbes).
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Now that’s a tough one. My students might say the teacher in Charlie Brown. You know, the one you never see but hear going, “Whah whah whah whah whah.” I actually said that once to see if anyone was listening. I teach 7th grade. Only a few kids noticed.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?
Maybe the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Be kinda neat to be on the moon for the landing, too.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
I enjoy a wide range, including contemporary pop, but I love acoustic classic rock best: Elton John, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, James Taylor, etc. I don’t listen while writing because I’m a lyric person (as opposed to melody people). I can’t help but listen to every word of every song, which makes it hard to write. And since I’m admitting so much, you might as well know I have a scary knowledge of the lyrics of bad 80’s songs.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?
I don’t watch a ton of TV, but yes: Deadwood; Sopranos; Curb Your Enthusiasm. Okay, and American Idol. Movies I watch over and over? Princess Bride; Heathers; Dangerous Liaisons. I may never watch it again, but I was blown away by Pan’s Labyrinth. Last movie I saw in the theater was Batman. I love superhero movies.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
That tenacity is every bit as important as talent when it comes to achieving your dreams, whatever they may be.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Here are the titles for the entire Sacred Books Series. Look for one per year!
THE BOOK OF NONSENSE
THE INFINITE
THE LIBRARY
THE BOOK OF THE MAP
THE BOOK OF ALL THINGS
Lots of new picture books on the way, too! Oh, and I’m working on a film with a studio, called MOCHA COLA HIGH, which is about a globe-dominating corporation that uses elite high schools to, well, dominate the globe!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
My pleasure. Thanks for the sandwich. Sorry about the lame tip : )
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