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.
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?
In the womb, but I didn’t have anything permanent to write with. Seriously, I was in first grade. I had written a ghost story and was so proud of myself, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I soon after wrote some dinosaur battle stories, and that sealed the deal.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I feel like I’ve been crawling uphill on a bed of glass and nails. I started writing Paraworld Zero in 1990 when I was 14. My computer died and I didn’t pick it back up until 12 years later. I tried getting an agent but it wasn’t until one of my short stories won first place in a contest that I realized I needed to try harder to get published. I took things into my own hands and found a publisher by myself… of course, it took them 12 months and a week to finally say yes.
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?
“Harry Potter meets Star Wars.” Should I say more? Paraworld Zero is coming out in January by Blue Works. It’s about a boy who is stranded on another world where he realizes he can perform magic. There are two stories, actually, following the “parallel” theme of the book. One story deals with older characters, while the other story deals with younger characters. One reason for this was because I was no longer 14-year-old and I needed some older characters my age to relate to.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
Douglas Hill and Lloyd Alexander were the biggest inspirations to me. I even convinced Douglas Hill to give me a blurb for the back of my book. We communicated a little, and he told me he loved my book. Lloyd Alexander wrote me an encouraging note but was too busy to do a blurb. Both men died this year.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Oh, boy! Let’s just say it took two lines to sign our Christmas letter this year. I’m married to a wonderful woman, and we were crazy enough to have 5 young boys. The oldest two are red-headed twins.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Peanut M&Ms and mint chocolate chip ice cream (the chocolate chips need to be big – none of that finely crushed-up fake chocolate for me!)
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I slither out of bed and go directly to my office, check my email / websites and then see my boys off for school. I usually don’t eat breakfast until my wife forces it down my throat. I’m too busy for food. That’s for mortals. Lately, I feel like a mindless robot.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?
The skeletons. Actually, if you could find my closet, that would be quite surprising (I hear there is one in here… somewhere). I guess I need to clean up my office one of these days.
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?
You’re talking to a guy who can only count the colors he knows on one hand. The rest of the colors are just different shades of those main colors, right? I would be Cauliflower Blue. I used that color on one of my websites recently. I just liked the name. It doesn’t even make sense… like me.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Superman from the more recent Justice League cartoons.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Batman. I’m sort of a recluse. I have a lot of energy inside of me that few people see. It’s not that I’m shy (I’m not shy at all)… it’s just that I’m too consumed in my own imaginary world.
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?
If it could be the future, it would be three months from now, to see what becomes of my book. But for the past, it would be the spring of 34 A.D. in
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
I tried listening to music lately but I don’t get anything done. I just pulled out all my old CDs, blew off the dust and played them last month. It was fun, but I just couldn’t concentrate. I tried classical music but it was distracting me as well. I guess I just need silence to think. Oh, my favorite bands are All About Eve (earlier stuff), Sting, The Church, and The Smiths.
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?
During the two years I wrote and edited Paraworld Zero, I didn’t watch any TV at all, but I recorded the shows I normally would watch. That’s a lot of tapes! I still haven’t watched them. Arrg. Currently, I do watch Smallville. I love
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don’t care so much about what other people are thinking or doing. Be kind. Learn to find good in everyone… even your enemies.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
In the next month, one of my stories called “Yearning to Jump” will appear on teen-age-magazine.com. It’s an autobiographical story of sorts, except for the suicide part. In January, you’ll see Paraworld Zero, my first young adult fantasy novel. The next book in the series will be called The School of Magical Learning or maybe just Magical Learning. I’ll always post what I’m doing at http://www.paraworlds.com/. Who knows, maybe I’ll get run over by a bus and the next thing you’ll read about me is my obituary. Morbid. I’ll try to stay clear of buses.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
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