Heather Fraser Brainerd's Blog, page 6

Ask the Author: Stuart West

By now, you may have caught on to my habit of jotting down questions while I read and then sending them to the author. I’ve met with great results from writers who are very generous with their time. My latest sneak-attack was on Stuart West. His Tex, the Witch Boy was amazing, entertaining, and very intense. Without further ado, here’s Stuart!

Stuart West: Hey, Heather, oh Queen of Awesome, thanks for having  me on your blog!

Heather Brainerd: So glad you could make it, Stuart! So, let’s get right to the Q & A. As a child of a parent who has battled cancer, and as a parent of a child who will start high school next year, I felt a lot of sympathy for Tex. How much did your personal experiences shape Tex’s world?

SW: Long-winded time, Heather, so batten down the hatches (whatever that means). Tex, the Witch Boy is practically an autobiography. Um, except, of course, I’m not a witch and we didn’t have a serial killer running rampant through our high school halls. At least I don’t think we did.

Like Tex, my father had MS, confined to a wheelchair when I was very young. And my mother is a two-time cancer survivor. Unlike the tale, though, my mother’s still living (just had open-heart surgery!) and, sadly, my dad died some time ago. But his spirit lives on in the three Tex books.

Regarding the high school element? Well, yeah, a lot of that’s true. Each bullying incident was drawn from something that happened to me or a friend of mine. I’m still in contact with a high school friend who can’t use several fingers from one of these encounters.

Vice Principal Hastings, Bob Bellman, Red, several others were all drawn from real people (man, if they’re still living, I hope they never read the book!). The more modern characters are based on several people from my daughter’s recent tenure in high school hell. In fact, Olivia is a composite based on my daughter, a girl I knew in high school, maybe a little bit of my wife.

As for Tex? Yeah, he’s me, I am him, we are the walrus. Except I was nowhere near as brave as him. Shared his smart-mouth and aptitude for getting into trouble, however.

HB: I love the way you tell this very intense story in a light-hearted, teenaged way. How did you nail the teen voice so well?

SW: My wife would say it comes with the territory of immaturity. Probably some truth to that. Plus, as I said, I relived the horrors recently through my daughter’s eyes. Talked to a lot of her friends. And, honestly, it was such a traumatic time for me, it still seems fresh in my mind. The most fun I had, I think, in capturing Tex’s voice was including every awkward teen moment I could think of, including each “um” and “ah” and “gah.” Teens have their own language. Why aren’t anthropologists all over this?

HB: Good question. Maybe they are, and we just don’t know it. Anyways, Tex’s real name is Richard. My husband’s name is Richard. I’m thinking about starting to call him “Tex.” Do you think he’d like it?

SW: Kinda’ doubt it, Heather. How about calling him “Dick?” Or, wait! “Sasquatch!” That’s a cute pet name, right?

HB: Hmmm… maybe I’ll just stick with “Rich.” As the book went along, I started to picture Tex as Adam Hicks (circa Lemonade Mouth). Is this way far off? And if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s a quick video:

SW: Oh, my God! It’s me in high school, complete with pasty complexion and red hair. Yeah, he’d make a good Tex, looks pretty normal and non-assuming. However, Tex has dark hair, a little longer. Still better than my cover model. Always thought that guy was a little too…”CW modelly.”

HB: Thanks so much for visiting, Stuart!

Being in high school sucks. Just ask Richard “Tex” McKenna, a Kansas sophomore. Dealing with bullying, burgeoning love,  the loss of parents, and dodge ball is bad enough. To top it off, he’s just found out he’s a witch!  Oh, and fellow students are being murdered.  The suspicious eyes of local law enforcement are looking right at Tex and his loyal group of friends.  And so is the killer. Will Tex’s new-found skills prove helpful? Or cause even more problems?

Tex, the Witch Boy is available from MuseItUp Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

And check out Stuart’s blog!

Between Tweens: Middle Grade Author Madeleine McLaughlin

Our Between Tweens series wraps up with Madeleine McLaughlin, who lives in eastern Canada and has been writing for twenty years. At first, she published poetry and later moved into flash fiction and short stories. Her new e-book, Beggar Charlie, is to be released by MuseItUp Publishing in the summer of 2014.

What drew you to writing for tweens?

MM: It is an age I tend to think about the most. It’s hard because you can’t write about anything that’s too old for them, so I find it challenging and I like to do things that challenge me and make me work hard.

What is your favorite thing about Beggar Charlie?

MM: Just the fact that I set out to do the ‘accent’ and the publishers liked it. It’s like getting accepted in some kind of club when someone appreciates what you do.

What is your greatest ambition?

MM: I’d like to have established a reputation by the time I’m sixty-five. I’d like to be making some money by that time.

What gives you the creepy-crawlies?

MM: Evil people because they look just like everyone else and you can’t tell just by looking.

If you could give a bit of advice to your tween self, what would it be?

MM: Don’t just rush out and do what you want. You have to listen to people older because they know more, especially that there are things that a kid can do that they’ll regret for the rest of their lives.

Find Madeleine McLaughlin on her blog.

Hop over to Sandy Carlson’s blog to see how I answered her questions!

Also on the blog hop are Suzanne de Montigny and Madeleine McLaughlin. Hope to see you there!

Between Tweens: Middle Grade Author Suzanne de Montigny

Next up on the Between Tweens series is Suzanne de Montigny, who wrote her first unicorn story at the age of twelve. Several years later, she discovered it in an old box in the basement, thus reigniting her love affair with unicorns. The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy, is her first novel. Suzanne lives in Burnaby, B.C. with the four loves of her life – her husband, two boys, and Buddy the dog.

What drew you to writing for tweens?

Suzanne: It was because I taught elementary music for twenty years where I learned I was a good storyteller. So it was only natural that I write for the same age group.

What is your favorite thing about The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy?

Suzanne: The character Darius. I love him so much. He’s so selfless and good. His entire life is lived for the unicorns.

What is your greatest ambition?

Suzanne: To win some really big awards and have a movie made of one of my books.

What gives you the creepy-crawlies?

Suzanne: Demons. I can’t read any stories with them. They scare the bejeebers out of me in the middle of the night. Not that I believe in them or anything, but suppose they really did exist.

If you could give a bit of advice to your tween self, what would it be?

Suzanne: I was a very ugly tween, so I would say, “Don’t worry so much about your looks. You’ll find the right hairdo and makeup some day. Concentrate on your talents.”

Find Suzanne’s blog here.

Find Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy on MuseItUp Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Hop on over to Suzanne’s blog to see how I answered her questions!

Also on the blog hop are Madeleine McLaughlin and Sandy Carlson. Hope to see you there!

Between Tweens: Middle Grade Author S.L. Carlson

Fellow MuseItUp author Madeleine McLaughlin came up with the idea for a few middle grade (MG) authors to ask each other some questions, and then answer the questions on each other’s blogs. Brilliant, right!? Her initial email called it “Between Tweens,” and I think that’s perfect. Our first Between Tweens guest is S.L. Carlson. Her tween fantasy War Unicorn will be out this summer from MuseItUp Publishing. What’s it about? When Reg finds a unicorn bound in a ring, his simple task of returning her to the king is anything but simple. Now for our questions!

What drew you to writing for tweens?

SLC: I loved my tween years. That time falls between the innocence of childhood and the shock of realizing adulthood as a teen. There is so much change going on both around tweens and inside their heads and inside their bodies. Cool.

What is your favorite thing about War Unicorn?

SLC: I love the feisty unicorn, Neighbor, who is both old and wise and pretty much a ditz with what been going on when she’s not called on to be a War Unicorn.

What is your greatest ambition?

SLC: To live well and to tell as many stories as I can.

What gives you the creepy-crawlies?

SLC: When my husband hits his chest in the middle of the night, jumps out of bed and turns on the light, and then whispers, “Don’t move!” Naturally, I’m on the other side of the bedroom with my slippers in my hand to beat off whatever by the time the “v” sound has finished sounding from his lips. Doesn’t he know that my imagination is so much bigger than some spider?

If you could give a bit of advice to your tween self, what would it be?

SLC: Have fun. Make friends. Laugh as much and as often and as loud as you can.

Find S.L. Carlson on her blog and website.

Find S.L. Carlson’s MG fantasy Star Opening here.

Hop on over to Madeleine McLaughlin’s blog to see how I answered her questions!

Also on the blog hop are Suzanne de Montigny and S.L. Carlson. Hope to see you there!