Michael P. Spradlin's blog

Opinions? I've got 'em. And I love to share 'em. So each week (or a week-like period of time), I'll be using this space to share with you ideas about books, about writing and the occasional rant...er...I mean observation about life.

I'll also use this space to keep you up to date on new projects and how my own writing is progressing, so please check back each Tuesday for a new post. (Fine print: Offer void where prohibited. Readers of this post must be over the age of 1).

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Vicki Pettersson

This week FIVE ON FRIDAY features Vicki Pettersson (yes that’s right, two t’s and two s’s) the superstar author of the Urban Fantasy Zodiac novels. Her newest book City of Souls is on sale this week and in it her heroine Joanna Archer, who has barely survived her latest encounter with the forces of the Dark Zodiac, must venture into a strange new shadow world. Where every friend could be an enemy and every breath could be her last. And best of all, the action takes place in Las Vegas. What could be better than that?

(An important note for readers: I write children’s books. Some of the authors who are interviewed in my FIVE ON FRIDAY feature write books for adults. Please remember that the idea behind FIVE ON FRIDAY is to give readers an insight into writing and the creative process. So if you are a parent, teacher or librarian please make note that not all of the books mentioned or featured here may be age appropriate for all of your children, students or patrons. And once again, thanks for visiting!)

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1. When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I’d always scribbled, but it was mostly journaling or magpie-ing (Look! It’s a verb!) thoughts and ideas, situations, or descriptions of people I thought were unique or funny (and, believe me, there’s no dearth of those in Vegas!). It wasn’t until New Year’s Day of my twenty-sixth year that I thought, ‘I’m going to write a book.’ And that was it. I started it that day and have been obsessed every day since. I’m very all or nothing about my obsessions.

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2. What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

Undoubtedly, Diana Gabaldon. I started out writing historical fiction, and about a year into it I found Outlander, and discovered Diana had made a virtual home for herself on the web (In Compuserve’s Writer’s Forum). That essentially became my writing school. A former professor, she was extremely accessible to unpublished writers, openly answering questions about her series and her writing process. She has a gift for being able to break down the writing process, in particular what she does and why, and explain it to the neophyte so that one feels it’s actually possible, with work, to attain that skill level, too. Perhaps most importantly she also showed, day in and day out, what it was to be a working writer. I saw what she was doing, work-wise, and began to emulate it. Between her complex words and plots, her love for the work and skillful prose, and her belief in herself, she unwittingly taught me how to work. My gratitude and admiration for that woman is endless.

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3. What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

The books that have most recently blown me away were Janet Fitch’s Paint it Black, Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box, Theresa Schweigel’s Officer Down, and Dennis Lehane’s The Given Day. I’m currently finishing up Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (a book I initially resisted precisely because it was so popular; boy, am I glad I got over that!).

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4. If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Read, read, read.
Write, write, write.
Don’t stop.
If it’s hard, that means you’re doing it right.
And did I mention, don’t stop? Don’t ever stop.

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5. Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

I’m finishing up the fifth book in the Signs of the Zodiac series, to be released summer 2010. I’ve also just completed a short story for an urban fantasy anthology called Dark and Stormy Knights, edited by PN Elrod, also out next year. There are some amazing authors in that project, and I’m excited to be working alongside them.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Brenda Seabrooke

Our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest this week is Brenda Seabrooke. Brenda is the author of numerous children’s books, including Cemetery Street, which is a Mystery Writers of America 2009 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Children’s Mystery. You can visit Brenda at her website: childrensbookguild.org

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?
At the age of 4 when I found out that they didn’t just appear, that somebody wrote those wonderful, magic things called books!

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What book or writer do you feel influenced you the most?
I don’t think any one book influenced me but I did read my way through the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe starting at age 10. Before that I read all of Dr. Doolittle and the Walter R. Brookes series about Freddy the Pig.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?
I am currently reading How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills.

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?
Read books in the field you want to write in. When I taught writing I was so amazed at the number of people who wanted to write for children but only read popular adult writers.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?
I’ve just sent in the galleys for Wolf Pie, a transition book just past easy readers but before novels. (Clarion, 2010) It’s a different direction for me, a humorous book about the antics of the Pygg Brothers and Wilfong Wolf.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Claudia Mills

Claudia Mills is our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest this week. Claudia is the delightful author of several hilarious and touching chapter books including the Gus and Grandpa and West Creek Middle School Series and also knows that everything is up to date in Kansas City.

Visit Claudia at www.claudiamillsauthor.com

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I think I always knew. Writing was what I loved, and what I was good at (not math! Not P.E.!). I wrote poetry, stories, and plays all through elementary school, and in eighth grade, I wrote my first book, an autobiographical account of my life, called T Is for Tarzan (my nickname in those days was Tarzan). It was the sensation of the junior high (partly because everybody was in it, with none of the names changed). That was my first real taste of success as a writer.

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What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

Definitely Maud Hart Lovelace, who wrote the marvelous Betsy-Tacy series, written in the 1940s and 1950s about the author’s own childhood growing up in Minnesota at the turn of the last century. I consider Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown to be the finest novel in the English language. It was the proudest moment of my writing life when I had a book signing at Tacy’s house in Mankato, Minnesota, now maintained as a museum by the Betsy-Tacy Society.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’re recommend to others?

Carol Lynch Williams’s The Chosen One, out this spring from St. Martin’s Press, is a stunning and amazing young adult novel about a girl growing up in a polygamous community. I also loved Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, a beautiful story of a 16-year-old homesteading by herself on the Montana plains.

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Luxuriate in your love of it. The more you let yourself love writing, and make room in your life for your love of it, the better a writer you will become.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

My brand-new chapter book, How Oliver Olson Changed the World, just came out this spring from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Oliver has very controlling, “helicopter” parents who hover over him, help him excessively with homework, and refuse to let him attend the long-awaited third grade space sleepover. But things start to change for Oliver when he and his classmate Crystal team up to make a protest diorama on behalf of Pluto, upset that poor Pluto has been kicked out of the solar system. If Oliver can advocate so effectively for Pluto, maybe, just maybe, he can start standing up for himself. I love writing third-grade chapter books! I love everything about them: the peppy pacing, adorable format, humor and sweetness. They are the best!

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Mary Downing Hahn

This week our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest is award-winning author Mary Downing Hahn. Mary is the author of nearly two dozen books including Wait Till Helen Comes and Stepping on the Cracks. Mary’s books usually combine elements of suspense and supernatural and keep you reading long into the night! Mary can be visited on the web at www.childrensbookguild.org/hahn.html.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I began life wanting to be an artist, but when I was about thirteen, I began thinking about being a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Years later, my first novel, The Sara Summer, was published, and I discovered I was a writer, not an illustrator.

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What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

Like many writers, my choice is Catcher in the Rye. I was sixteen when my best friend and I discovered the novel at a beach house. I’ve never forgotten the thrill of reading about a real teenager, flawed, unsure, and thoroughly human.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

One of my current favorites is Out Stealing Horses, the only book in recent years that I’ve read twice.

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers (or illustrators), what would it be?

Read, read, and read some more. Write, write, and write some more. Keep your eyes and ears open for story ideas — you never know when inspiration will strike.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

My new book, Closed for the Season, will be published this June. It’s a mystery featuring two boys who try to solve a murder and find the money the victim may have stolen. Their quest leads them into danger in the form of some of the town’s local thugs. Several scenes occur in a spooky amusement park that’s been closed for many seasons. Called The Magic Forest in my novel, it’s based on a closed park not far from my home in Maryland. After sneaking through the fence to take pictures, I was inspired to use the park in a book — a truly scary place.

My current project is a Victorian ghost story set in England. Tentatively called Here, There, and Everywhere, It features Florence, an orphan, who comes to stay with her great aunt and uncle in an old house in the country. Her sickly cousin James is also staying there, but he is too ill for company. Florence soon realizes the little boy is afraid of something — could it be the mysterious and menacing presence she senses watching from the shadows?

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Richard Jennings

Richard Jennings has been called ‘the master of middle American whimsy’ by Kirkus Reviews. His newest book Ghost Town is on sale this week. Richard can be visited on the web at www.richardwjennings.com.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

At age ten I received a used Smith Corona typewriter from my parents as a birthday present. I had no desk, so I sat on the floor to begin writing my first story.

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What book or writer do you feel influenced you the most?

Kenneth Grahame’s wonderful story for young readers The Wind In The Willows.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

The Times Atlas of The World, Ninth Edition (Times Books).

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Never seek critical advice of your writing from other people no matter how celebrated they may be.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

The Octopus that Ruled the World in which a 75-pound giant Pacific octopus named Armoire, now believed to be approximately 63 years old, has developed a brain that is bigger — and smarter — than that of any other living creature.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Kim Harrison

One of our Five On Friday favorites, author Kim Harrison, returns this week to talk about her new Young Adult novel Once Dead, Twice Shy. Already a superstar in the world of urban fantasy, Kim has now turned her considerable talents toward the Young Adult world. What can readers expect when they pick up a copy of Once Dead, Twice Shy? Read on and find out.

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You’ve had a phenomenally successful career writing for adult readers. Were there any challenges you found in writing for teenagers that are different than writing for adults?

Challenges, no, but I did make some changes in my writing style when I shifted from adult to YA. I took out the sex, of course, while keeping a few kisses because YA does not mean dead, even if the main character is. ;-) I toned down the language a tad, but again, I didn’t make my characters unrealistically angelic, even if one of my characters is one. Because the YA audience likes a lot of the same things that an adult audience does, I’ve hopefully kept just as much action and surprises, and tried to make the magic logical. I’ve worked hard to make Madison a real person, with real fears, and real friends to help her. She makes mistakes, and she thinks on her feet. Sound familiar? ;-)

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Did you read any young adult literature in preparation for writing Once Dead, Twice Shy and if so what books did you find influenced you the most?

I did read a few YA’s to help me find my voice, but because they were mostly romance or “true life” stories, I didn’t take much but some pacing and dialog with me when I sat down to write. It was about three years ago, actually, that I did my “research,” and there weren’t as many YA urban fantasy’s out then as there are now.

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More and more YA fiction seems to be attracting adult readers. What would you say to one of your adult readers who might be reluctant to try a YA Novel?

I would suggest that they might find an author that has previously done adult fiction and try them first. YA does not necessarily mean unsophisticated, but be sure you know what you’re buying. Just like urban fantasy, YA urban fantasy can tend toward romance (like the Twilight books) and others are more thriller-like (Kelley Armstrong’s YA, Darkest Powers series).

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Did writing a teenage character bring back any particular memories of being at that age? How did you find that experience?

No, I didn’t have any major flashbacks. To be honest, I don’t feel much different now than when I was a young adult, myself. Yes, I am older, and believe me, I feel it, but what matters to me now, mattered to me then: friends, finding my place, learning something new.

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Will readers see Madison Avery again in future adventures?

Yes! Madison is a three-book series right now, and the second one is on my desk even as I write this, being tightened up and getting ready to go back to HarperTeen next week. If I had a title, I’d tell you, but we are still kicking a few around.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Dan Burr

This week our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest is illustrator Dan Burr. Dan is the wonderful artist of several picture books, including the recently released PIRATES, which features poetry by FIVE ON FRIDAY favorite David Harrison. Dan can be visited on the web at www.danburr.com.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be an illustrator?

When I was in college, our instructor introduced me to illustration as a profession and that’s when I knew I could do this. I immersed myself in the world of illustration and have never looked back.

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What book, writer or artist do you feel influenced you the most?

The one book that changed things for me was Treasure Island, imagine that!

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read you’d recommend to others?

Mostly I read manuscripts…but The Earth Is Enough by Harry Middleton… what a book!

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers (or illustrators), what would it be?

If you want to do this for a living, don’t give up and don’t take no for an answer, and be naive enough to believe that you can do this.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

I am working on several books but the one I am excited about is Cavemen a story about men and dogs.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Kirby Larson

This week our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest is Kirby Larson, author of the Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky. She is also the co-author of the recently released TWO BOBBIES: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival. You can visit Kirby at her website, www.kirbylarson.com.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been a bookworm since I could read and have always written for fun but didn’t take the leap to a writing career until I read a picture book written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, called Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. That very day, I began the long process of learning to write for children. And I have a file cabinet full of wretched manuscripts to prove it!

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What book or writer do you feel influenced you the most?

In addition to Arnold Lobel (see above), I would have to say Betsy Byars, Patricia Reilly Giff, Jamie Gilson and Katherine Paterson were my inspirations early on. Now, of course, the list of writers who inspire me is longer than Lincoln’s left leg, but in the early days it was those women who kept my fires fed.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

Chains and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Orwell’s Luck by Richard Jennings

The Farwalker’s Quest by Joni Sensel

Seven Times Nine Equals Trouble by Claudia Mills

The Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Amy Laura Schlitz

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Philbrick Rodman

Inside Out by Terry Trueman. . . I could keep going or you could simply join GoodReads to read about the rest of my recommendations!

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers (or illustrators), what would it be?

May I offer two? Read, read, read. Revise, revise, revise.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

My second book co-authored with dear friend, Mary Nethery, will be out in the fall. Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle is the story of an Iraqi dog befriended by a US Marine and we are very proud of it. Also, I am in the almost-final revision of another historical novel, based on an incident that occurred in 1927; title and pub date TBD. Thanks for asking, Michael!

FIVE ON FRIDAY with Mary Casanova

This week our FIVE ON FRIDAY guest is celebrated and award winning author Mary Casanova. Having written more than twenty books including picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, Mary has traveled the world to bring her stories to life. Research trips to France, Norway and Belize among many others have proven the old adage that one must suffer for one’s art. You can visit Mary and try to keep up with her adventures at www.marycasanova.com.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

Somewhere in high school, between writing an essay on Russian history to a paper in a College Prep writing class, I discovered the power and magic of words. I was stunned to realize how my words, if carefully crafted, could persuade, move, and maybe entertain a reader. If I loved working with words, then perhaps I could think about writing books someday…of being an author. I kept the dream carefully tucked close to my heart, however, as there wasn’t a single person encouraging me to follow this path until later in college, when an English professor said, “Mary, I think you could have a career in free-lance writing if you want to.”

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What book or writer do you feel influenced you the most?

I always assumed I would write for adults until I was 32 years old and read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I appreciate his compact language and forward-leaning tension combined with a story set in the deep woods. It’s not surprising, then, that my first novel for young readers was Moose Tracks, about a 12-year old boy in northern Minnesota struggling to save an orphaned moose calf from poachers. Twenty years-and to my amazement, 23 books later–I still appreciate the high quality of writing in books for kids and teens.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

I’m on an historical novel kick right now, and in the books for adults category, I just finished Red Azalea (a memoir by Anchee Min that covers her experience during the Cultural Revolution in China), The Widow of the South (historical novel by Robert Hicks based on a civil war battle in Franklin, TN, close to where I recently was doing author visits at schools and visited the historic sites) and To Catch The Lightening (by Alan Cheuse and exploring the life of photographer Edward Curtis who spent years photographing Native Americans at the turn-of-the-century).

I highly recommend Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, a fine prairie novel that won the 2008 Newbery Honor. I’m just finishing Eliza Carbone’s Last Dance on Holladay Street, which deftly explores the limited options of girls and women on the western frontier. And after that, I’ll read Lea Wait’s book for young readers called Wintering Well, set in l820 in Maine.

So many great books! So little time.

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Revise recklessly and endlessly. Don’t hang on with white knuckles to those early drafts you so painstakingly wrote. Get feedback. Then revise again and again to make the story stronger. Revise until your brain, even in the half-awake-half-asleep moments of the morning cannot dredge up one more single thing to fix. Then you might be getting close to sending it out.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

Sorry, Mike, but I would rather talk about what’s brand new–like my two books, doll, and DVD from American Girl! The first book is Chrissa, and its sequel, Book Two, is titled Chrissa Stands Strong.

Chrissa is the “2009 Girl of the Year” from American Girl and she is a generous, creative 10-year old girl who moves from Iowa to Minnesota midway through 4th grade, only to be seated at a cluster of four desks with girls known as the “Queen Bees” or “Mean Bees.” Not only does Chrissa have to learn to stand up to bullying, but she has to risk speaking up for others when the bullying turns dangerous. This was a topic I was asked to write about and was eager to tell a story that would help show how damaging bullying can be to victims, and how difficult it can be for kids to know how to make it stop. To soften the story, Chrissa’s Nana raises mini-llamas, and for a little Hollywood sizzle, HBO and American Girl released a DVD based on both books. To see the trailer, which is very cooooool, go to www.marycasanova.com or www.americangirl.com.

FIVE ON FRIDAY with James Rollins

This week our guest at FIVE ON FRIDAY is New York Times Best-Selling author James Rollins. This week, Jim has entered the world of Children’s Books with the publication of his new YA Novel Jake Ransom and The Skull King’s Shadow.

Visit James at his website www.jamesrollins.com.

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When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been the storyteller in the family (what my Mom called being the “Liar” of the family). I was always terrifying my siblings with stories of Martians loose in the neighboring cornfields and of a ventriloquist doll that would wake at night and wander the house looking for blood. I also read a lot growing up, but I’d say it was junior high when I truly began setting pen to paper and truly considered writing for a living.

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What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

If I had to pick one, I’d say Michael Crichton. I have all of his books, including a signed first-edition of The Andromeda Strain. His mix of science, adventure, and suspense is the stuff I love. It’s the reason I write what I do today. He is an author I admire both for his versatility and his bottomless ingenuity. Though many have tried to follow in his footsteps, none have succeeded. He will be missed.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

One book really stood out this past year of me, and I’ve been telling lots of people about it: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s a YA novel about a Survivor-like game show of the future, where children compete in a kill-or-be-killed competition. Loved the whole world she creates, and especially the main character.

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers (or illustrators), what would it be?

It’s also only one word: READ. There’s the old adage that you should “write everyday” if you wish to get published, which is definitely true. You do need to practice and hone your craft. But I’d like to add a caveat to that old nugget: “Write everyday, but read every night.” There is no better teacher on the craft than a good book. Whatever problem you struggle with during your writing day (dialog, opening a scene, etc), you’ll discover a great example on how to address that in the book you read that night. If you write everyday and read every night, you’ll grow stronger and stronger as a writer. That, and don’t forget to floss.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

I’m currently polishing up the sequel to by first Jake Ransom middle school book. It’s titled Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx, where Jake’s next adventure takes him deep into Egyptian mythologies and mysteries. But I also have another two books coming out this year. This summer is the next big Sigma series book, ominously titled The Doomsday Key. And this winter will be a stand-alone thriller called Altar of Eden.

 

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